Julie Riehm Casaletto is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. She was Disneyland's first ambassador. Walt introduced Julie in 1965 to a television audience during a show called "Disneyland's 10th Anniversary". They both meet various Disney imagineers like Blaine Gibson, Claude Coats, John Hench, Marc Davis and Mary Blair. The conversation is about upcoming attractions at Disneyland.
I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Julie on a few occasions at D23. Since I had watched this TV episode, I asked her what is was like to share scenes with Walt. She laughed and said that to her surprise Walt went off script quite a bit...as the cameras were rolling. She tried her best to keep up with Walt's improvisatory style throughout the shoot. Julie remembered his sincere enthusiasm for what lied ahead at the park.
I never thought that one day I might be part of the world of Disney Imagineering, but that's what happened. Currently I am an adviser on a couple of amazing upcoming projects. Who knew.....
