Saturday, August 1, 2020

Disneyland True Short Stories: Wally Boag and the Golden Horseshoe Review

Wally Boag opened the Golden Horseshoe Review on July 17, 1955 - Disneyland's opening day. Actually, his first performance at the Golden Horseshoe was 2 days before that for Walt's Wedding Anniversary.  His amazing career at Disneyland spanned 27 years in which he did 5 performances a day.

Wally was also know for his creativity and being able to ad-lib when needed. On one occasion when Wally's second 5 year contract was up, Walt was in his box (stage left, up stairs) with the Indian Chief and some of the Indians from the Indian Village taking in a show.


In Wally's words:
"I had saved my 'hair gag' so that I could say, 'All right...put down your hatchet...I'll save you the trouble.' I threw my hair down there in front of them...and Walt just fell apart, laughing so hard. After the show was over, I went over and talked to him and he said, 'By the way, you're up for a new contract...don't forget to ask for more money!' You know, that was great."