January 07, 2003
'Waking
Walt': Pontius pens first novel about Disney cryonic legend
By JOHN EBY /
Dowagiac Daily News
A
common reaction to Larry Pontius' first novel, "Waking Walt," has been,
"I'm not actually sure this didn't happen."
The former Disney marketing
executive, in a brisk writing style disciplined by years of creating commercials,
imagines that an enduring urban legend is true.
Entertainment
genius Walt Disney really didn't die on Dec. 15, 1966, but was whisked away for
almost 40 years in cryonic suspension to await a cure for lung cancer, Linaqual.
"We
may never know why the official announcement of Walt Disney's death was delayed
until the following day, Dec. 16, 1966. Or why it informed the press and the world
that he was already gone, unceremoniously cremated and his ashes interred in Forest
Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif.," Pontius writes in a prelude to free-wheeling
fiction that is part Carl Hiassen Florida crime novel crammed with kookie characters
and part "Ragtime," leaving readers wracking their memories at the mixture
of real people like Michael Eisner and Frank Wells with fictional creations.
It's
intriguing to snoop over Disney's shoulder as he comes to grips not only with
the fate of Walt Disney World and EPCOT in Florida, opened after his reported
demise, but grappling to understand all the advances since then, from microwave
ovens to the Internet.
Disney's
timing could be triumphant with a ruthless corporate raider launching a takeover
attempt of his company, planning to sell off assets to the highest bidders. Disney
still has The Circle in his corner, those aging confidants who helped Walt cheat
death and have been guarding his secret ever since.
They're
old men now, but determined as ever to keep the company intact, although they're
only becoming aware of powerful interests which want him to stay dead. "An
interesting thing has happened," Pontius said of company reaction. "There
has been no official word at all, however, it is a hot item among employees"
since its publication in mid-December.
Pontius, who is retired in Longwood,
Fla., said in a phone interview Monday afternoon that he never met Disney, but
knows scores of people who knew the mercurial master of Mickey Mouse from working
for the company from 1974 to 1980, from marketing director in Florida to a vice
presidency over both theme parks when he lived in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Pontius
previously wrote two books of poetry and is the lyricist of more than 100 published
songs. The father of five has two sons, Jon and Noah, raised and residing in Dowagiac.
"They have both been cheerleaders," he said, "encouraging me during
the writing and editing of my first novel," which took him six years to complete.
He's now
at work on a similar novel which was to have been his first book until he picked
up on the Disney idea from friend Marty Cummins, who was his landlord when he
owned an ad agency in Orlando. Both were aware of the rumor that Disney had been
frozen, "but I didn't think of it" as fictional fodder until Cummins
suggested it. Pontius said another popular rumor about Disney was that he created
a series of films to be played for his board every few years. According to his
biographers, Disney really was interested in cryonics.
His
first wife, the late Kathy Vickerman, was Miss Dowagiac in 1958 and a founding
member of Beckwith Theatre. They were married out of college and lived in Australia,
where the boys were born. They were married about 10 years, until 1972. He taught
at Michigan State University for a couple of years.
Pontius and his wife,
Harriet, were married in 1976.
His
second novel, "Future King," is about a third done and has King Arthur
meet King Charles III.
"Waking Walt" is published by Showcase Press,
an imprint of iUniverse Inc. in Lincoln, Neb. (www.iuniverse.com).
The 427-page
novel sells for $22.95 paperback and $32.95 hardbound and is available at iUniverse.com,
Amazon.com, bn.com and bookstores.
©
copyright 2002 wakingwalt.com