1311 Washington Street Calistoga, Ca 94515
Our search for another “hidden” gem of Disney-related history takes us through dense stretches of California Oak and Douglas Fir. We emerge in Napa County, California and arrive in the town of Calistoga, California. Here, in a town known for its wineries and hot springs, a town where some of the notorious Donner Party settled and where Robert Louis Stevenson honeymooned, we find our next destination - the Sharpsteen Museum of Calistoga!
If the name of the museum sounds familiar, its because the institution was founded by one of Walt Disney’s most prized employees - Ben Sharpsteen. Now, you may wonder how Ben came to be affiliated with a history museum of a town situated more than 400 miles North of Hollywood. Well, Ben used to frequent the town as a boy, during summers. Now (a lifetime later) and upon retirement in 1978, Ben and his wife Bernice moved to this rustic little town that Ben was so fond of. Once there, the couple’s love for the Calistoga area moved them to open a museum that would pay homage to local town history.
There is much to discover inside the Sharpsteen Museum of Calistoga. Ben has presented the colorful history of the resort community through antiques, artifacts, and numerous dioramas and models in miniature form (with contributed murals by then Walt Disney Studio artist Kendall O’Connor). We will not preview these elements during this tour, but I urge you to visit Sharpsteen Museum and hear the town’s unbelievable story - another “True-Life” tale (presented by Ben Sharpsteen) featuring the notorious “Donner Party”, California’s first millionaire Sam Brannan, and even notable author Robert Louis Stevenson! Today we will examine the life of the producer of this marvelous museum, as presented through antiques and artifacts displayed inside the first gallery. Please step this way as we explore the True - Life Adventure of Ben Sharpsteen!
Benjamin Luther Sharpsteen was without a doubt Walt Disney’s most prominent feature film director and producer - directing more than thirty beloved animated and live-action feature films for the studio from 1940 to 1975. He contributed to the production of many animated short films featuring Mickey Mouse, as well as Walt Disney’s first successful feature length film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Ben was also at the helm for the ambitious new direction of studio features - the “True-Life Adventures” series which awarded the studio many Academy Awards in the Best Short Subject and Best Documentary Feature categories during their years of release.
“FUN AND FANCY FREE”
Original Ben Sharpsteen in-between drawings, c.1916 - 1919, Sharpsteen Collection.
What sort of reputation preceded Ben as he searched for work in California! After serving with the Marine Corp, the Washington native went to work as an illustrator for the Oakland Tribune and for several New York based animation studios, like the historic Hearst International Film Service and popular Fleischer Studios. Ben was so good at what he did that Max Fleischer wrote and implored him to return to New York. Ben went back east, but he also “freelanced” for a time - producing commercial art and newspaper illustrations. This he did before moving on to a position of which he would be most remembered for.
BEN SHARPSTEEN’S ILLUMINATION TABLE - Disney animators broke with tradition by anchoring their drawings with pegs at the bottom instead of at the top. This allowed them to “roll” five drawings around at a time with their fingers, without lifting the drawings from the board.
After completing those drawings, each animator worked atop a lighted drawing board like this one. After finishing one drawing, he would place another piece of paper over it and vary the drawing just enough to make the movement look natural!
“DRAWING FROM LIFE’S EXPERIENCES”
During 1929, Ben received a letter from Walt Disney who was currently exploring synchronizing sound with animated imagery. After touring Walt’s Hollywood Studio, Ben came on board as an animator (just after Mickey Mouse cartoons began production). Ben loved to draw, but with a growing studio and an influx of artists, this passion was put on hold. Walt saw potential in Ben and an ability to be re-purposed to take on a much needed role. With many years of experience under his belt, Ben was reassigned (by Walt himself), to supervise and train the new hires throughout the 1930’s. He performed this task while directing the production of twenty-one animated short films. Most of these short films starred Mickey Mouse, though Ben also directed a couple of Silly Symphonies as well as a few cartoons featuring Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. In fact, Ben made major contributions toward some of the most memorable and comedic short films produced during the 1930’s. Mickey’s Fire Brigade, Moving Day, Moose Hunters, Hawaiian Holiday, Clock Cleaners, and Mickey’s Trailer - these are just a few of the short films produced under Ben Sharpsteen’s direction. Below, you will see a few of Ben’s drawings that qualified him for this new position of supervision at Walt Disney Studios.
BEN’S IN-BETWEEN DRAWINGS - His detailed in-betweens are even more incredible when you figure that a short subject requires about 14,400 frames and as 50,000 of these drawings! The Sharpsteen Collection.
As mentioned, Ben was promoted to a director of short subjects. This was mostly owing to his strength for action scenes as well as slapstick comedy. It was during this time that some of his fellow employees developed much appreciation for his direction in their work that some of them fashioned this director’s chair as a gift for him. This was a memento that Ben treasured through the years, long after his retirement.
During the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Ben was so good at what he did that Walt would assign him to oversee several scenes that called for slapstick comedy. One such sequence was the sequence involving the Dwarf’s race to the cottage to save Snow White from the witch. Ben went on to spearhead several subsequent animated feature length films - including Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and in addition to war time shorts produced for the United States government. However, he is most commonly credited with contributing to the success of Walt Disney’s masterpiece Cinderella. The film has been highly regarded over the years as the box office success that financially saved Walt Disney Studios.
JUST A FEW OF BEN’S MANY AWARDS - (1) His Academy Award for “Ama Girls”, a “People and Places” feature released in 1958. (2) Ben’s Mousecar, presented by both Walt and Roy in February of 1959. (3) Ben’s Blue Ribbon Award for Cinderella. He served as Production Supervisor for the film. The Sharpsteen Collection.
Ben helped work on the Disneyland television series, and later produced the True Life Adventure series for Walt Disney Studios - a series which lasted an even ten years, right up to Ben’s retirement. The True-Life Adventures series presented “strange facts about the world we live in”, and according to most title cards for the series, were “photographed in their natural settings and…completely authentic, unstaged and unrehearsed.” Several of these True-Life Adventures films (like Bear Country, The Living Desert, and The Vanishing Prairie) were released from 1953 to 1955, and were also influential to the development of Walt Disney’s Disneyland project. All together, Ben won eleven Academy Awards (mostly owing to his documentary series which offered us a unique view of the world around us). Amidst the popularity of the True-Life Adventures series, Walt was so impressed with Ben’s contributions toward the company that he bestowed upon him a most coveted in-house award - a Mousecar!
Before he was posthumously honored with a Disney Legends Award in 1998, the “legendary” Ben Sharpsteen was presented the more prestigious in-house Mousecar award from Walt and Roy, on February 24, 1959! The Sharpsteen Collection.
By retirement, Ben had spent an even thirty years of his life with Walt Disney Studios. After retirement, Ben and his wife Bernice made their home in northern California, on the land purchased by Ben’s grandfather back in the 1800’s. It was in this tranquil and rustic setting that Ben began to blend his eye for slapstick, his artistic talent, and a deep-seated passion to produce something far different than anything he had created.
“BEN’S LATEST ‘MANIA’”
Ben and his newly acquired Paterson, Horseless Carriage Gazette, 1969.
While working at the studio, Ben found a kindred spirit in fellow antique automobile enthusiast Ward Kimball. Association was made with other antique car owners and it was only a matter of time before he began to actively participate in rides with the Horseless Carriage Club.
Though Ben was now retired to his North Napa Valley ranch, he served as a member to the club. When he wasn’t riding around with his club, he continued to “produce” beautiful works of art - painting subjects (of beloved days of a long-ago era). Being an avid enthusiast of antique horseless carriage automobiles, he naturally contributed scenes of the carriages which were regularly utilized as wraparound magazine covers.
CLICK on the following two windows to scroll through a truly marvelous collection of Ben Sharpsteen’s work created for the covers of Horseless Carriage Gazette magazine from 1964 to 1975. Each of these paintings depict in great detail the horseless carriage introduced into various situations which would have very well occurred during the turn of the twentieth century.
Many subscribers of Horseless Carriage Gazette could look at Ben’s work and recall those very days when the horseless carriage would clash with various elements of a changing world. With the help of Horseless Carriage member Andy Blake, we’ve compiled a collection of most all of Ben Sharpsteen’s Horseless Carriage covers which we would like to now share with you. Just note his attention to all the little details within his compositions that perfectly capture the lifestyles of individuals during the turn of the twentieth century. It was once said, that you “don’t just glance at Ben’s pictures - you sit and study and enjoy” them.
Ben didn’t just leave his mark on the covers of Horseless Carriage Gazette. Like fellow antique auto enthusiast Ward Kimball, Ben made contributions in the form of written content. When Ben began to produce covers for the Horseless Carriage Gazette magazine, an introductory article was published in their January - February 1969 issue.
“THE LEGEND”
Benjamin (the talented man, as well as loving husband and father), died on December 20, 1980 in Sonoma County, California. Most of us will unfortunately only know him from a distance as Ben Sharpsteen - Walt Disney Studios’ Oscar-winning American film producer and director. Though considerable time has passed since losing him, we recognize and continue to benefit from all of his contributions to some things that many of us enjoy.
This is where it all started - at this simple Walt Disney Studios illumination table, which you can examine in the Sharpsteen Museum’s humble first gallery.
We remember that without the post-war success of the True - Life Adventures series under Ben Sharpsteen’s direction, its safe to assume that many enjoyable elements of Disneyland & Disney Parks worldwide (like Adventureland, the Jungle Cruise, and Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland) may have never existed, or certainly not the incarnations we’ve come to know! The Walt Disney Company recognizes him again in 1998, posthumously bestowing the rare title of “Disney Legend”. This is owing to the fact that Ben left behind such a rich body of work - in particular, a legacy of recognizable contributions to Walt Disney Studios. Inspirational and delightful films which encourage us to take a closer look at our vast, diverse, and beautiful world around us!
Many prized mementos documenting Ben Sharpsteen’s career with Walt Disney Studios await curious Disney fans of all ages in the foyer!
PLEASE, STEP THIS WAY
(for a closer look at Ben Sharpsteen and his tribute to Calistoga)!
The Sharpsteen Museum’s entry is free to all - subsiding entirely on voluntary efforts and kindly donations from visitors like you and I!
HOURS : 11am to 4pm, Daily
For additional general information, hours, and online museum store please visit sharpsteenmuseum.org.