Walt Disney signature could go for up to $2,500

One of the most famous signatures in the world is that of Walt Disney.

The famous "W" and "D" has been plastered on many products over the years. But did you know most of what was signed was by his secretaries. This clip from the Antiques Roadshow shows what an actual Disney signature looks like and that it is indeed valuable.

 The price tag for this autograph this man obtained rom Walt Disney while visiting Disneyland as a child would be somewhere between $1,500 and $2,500.

Watch Appraisal: Walt Disney Autograph, ca. 1960 on PBS. See more from Antiques Roadshow.

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See lesser known Disney characters at Long Lost Friends week at Disney World

Clarabelle Cow, Robin Hood and The Three Little Pigs are some of the many Disney characters, but are hardly ever seen at Disney World.

The Three Little Pigs in a Disney publicity photo

But from Jan. 21 to 27, those characters and others will be showing up for meet and greets at Town Square in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World as part of the next Limited Time Magic at Disney World.

Dubbed Long Lost Friends Week, the lesser-known Disney characters get to step into the spotlight, according to a Disney news release. During the week, Disney guests will even be able to vote online for which character they want to see during future Long Lost Friends Week.

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Walt Disney Family Museum showcases Walt's Oscar collection

Now that Oscar season is in full swing, it's time for the reminder that Walt Disney still holds the record for most individual Academy Awards won. The number is 32. This includes the technical awards. If you'd like to see them you can - they are located at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.

The museum compiled some Walt Disney Oscars facts as well. Here they are:

Photo is property of The Academy of Motion
Pictures and Sciences

• In addition to holding the most individually won Oscars, Walt also holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations with 59.
• The first Oscar was for Animated Short Subjects, his Silly Symphony “Flowers and Trees” in 1932.
• Walt received an Honorary Oscar in 1932 for the creation of Mickey Mouse.
• In 1939, Walt received a custom-made Oscar statuette for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Honorary Award consisted of one standard Oscar statuette, standing above seven other miniature ones—representing each of the Dwarfs, placed on a stepped, 20-inch long base.
• The first ever nature documentary Academy Award was awarded to Walt in 1948 for Seal Island. 
• In the 1960s, Walt purchased 20 miniature Oscar charms, each engraved with the name of the work for which it was awarded. He created a  charm necklace and gave it to his wife Lilian, who then converted it into a charm bracelet, which is on view at The Walt Disney Family Museum. 

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New opera about Walt Disney puts his life in a different light

An opera focusing on the life of Walt Disney premieres in Spain later this month without any of the iconic characters he created.

Based on Peter Stephan Jungk’s novel and written by composer Philip Glass, "The Perfect American" imagines the final years of Walt Disney’s life.

The twist, according to the The Guardian, is Disney is portrayed as "a megalomaniac with McCarthyite, racist and misogynist tendencies, so it is clear why the global entertainment corporation has denied rights. Yet, ironically, the most damaging charge the new opera levels at a man whose vision continues to dominate children's culture is probably the claim that he did little actual work on the drawings that made him famous."

Clearly, this is not the type of project The Walt Disney Company would want to partner with so, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and others are off limits.

The theater group will be using using animal imagery, puppets and shadow plays to create the abstract world, John Berry, artistic director of English National Opera told The Guardian.

The novel is about Wilhelm Dantine, a German immigrant and cartoonist fired by Disney for protesting Walt's supposed refusal to open his Anaheim theme park to Nikita Khrushchev in 1959. The fired employee stalks his former boss getting an inside like at him.

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Smile of The Day: Walt Disney on What's My Line

Walt Disney spent a lot of time on television and was well known to many in the industry. See here how he tried to disguise his voice during the Nov. 11, 1956 episode of What's My Line - a television show where contestants had to guess the identity of people.

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Smile of The Day: A video of Walt Disney and Jack Benny

When you think of Walt Disney on television, it's usually him introducing the "Wonderful World of Disney" or him talking about a movie or Disneyland. Well, there are a few other times he appeared on other shows. Here's one. A cameo on "The Jack Benny Hour" in 1965. Here you can see how comedic Walt was.

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