Had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Ward at his house around 1993. His big train was long gone, but the depot, track and barn were still there. Saw his massive toy train collection. And antique fire truck. His house was filled with eclectic artwork and antiques, like a wooden Indian at the front door and a calliope. I had him sign a few things.. a Fire House Five Plus Two 78 and a drawing from "The Nifty Nineties." He was funny, sarcastic and smart as a whip. His wife Betty was an accommodating host, considering about 7 of us from Warner Brothers showed up! Considering how outgoing he normally was, he must have been pretty nervous here on this show, he acts it!
Yes, it's true: Ward CREATED Jiminy Cricket. I met Ward during a meeting of a railroad club. We were at the refreshments and I had a camera around my neck. He knew I had been taking pictures, and was very nice and carried on an interesting conversation with me while everyone else was listening to the speaker on the stage. I think he really liked the idea that I wasn't taking his picture, but I really wanted to talk. He's the only animator that Walt ever complimented, and said Ward is a genius.
For those who don't know and are interested in seeing the steam engines Ward Kimball ran in his back yard, you can get to see them at the Orange Empire Railway Museum located in Perris, California.
Groucho Marx knew his guests he was just putting them on. The name of this show was "You Bet Your Life". Groucho was one of the wittiest men in entertainment.
There was a video posted on RU-vid, that's now gone, it featured Ward Kimball as a central subject on the game show "Lohman and Barkley's Namedroppers". If someone would post the entire episode. I believe a lot of people, including myself, would love to see it.
Ward Kimball hosted quite a few of the Disneyland TV shows from the 50s and 60s. You can see some of them on the Walt Disney Treasures DVD releases. Awesome stuff!
Note the mention of the sponsor and the hanging sign, I believe because these weren't censored this episode never made into syndication packages. Regardless, it's astounding how at ease Ward is, and he mixes it very well with Groucho. Note how scripted and moderately unfunny it began, because of this sweetening (laugh track) was added...but later when they go off on a tangent it becomes honestly funny, and then you can hear the audience's natural laughter
unless i was informed incorrectly, hopefully i wasnt, but as ive been told that this was actually filmed twice. the first time ward talked circles around groucho, so they re-did it so groucho didnt look as dumb. of coursr, that could be wrong, ive never looked into it further.
I first heard of Ward Kimball through his book "Art Afterpieces". I loved seeing him on Disney channel clips and interviews. I didn't realize he'd been on "You Bet Your Life". I love Groucho so this is a win-win.
If by "they," you mean Groucho Marx and the production staff of "You Bet Your Life," of course they knew about Ward Kimball's work at Walt Disney Productions. Especially with celebrity contestants on "You Bet Your Life," Marx and his staff knew a great deal more about them than about the average,or "civilian" contestants on the program, who would only have been screened in a perfunctory manner for the highlights of their lives.
Perhaps not. But Groucho Marx would have been briefed ahead of the filming of the program about the highlights of Kimball's career and life (including Kimball's hobbies), provided by his staff from a pre-production interview. Also, as a very knowledgeable person in the entertainment business, of course Groucho knew of Ward Kimball's work at Walt Disney studios, even if only superficially.
Celebrity contestants were brought on the show to make it more interesting, to provide some contrast between average and extraordinary persons playing the "game." Really, the game was just an excuse for Marx to banter with his guests, not as much about the game-play as on a more straight-ahead game show such as "Password," or even "Hollywood Squares."
Ward was a very animated and extroverted personality (no pun intended), and such cartoonish gestures were not beyond him. He was pretty beloved by just about everyone, even she seems amused by it.
