Walt Disney's Original "Newsie"

In light of Disney's newly Tony Award-anointed musical Newsies (and Jeff Kurtti's article about Walt and Newsies), I thought it was an opportune time to mention that Walt Disney showcased his own "newsie," Gallegher, on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. Though Gallegher wasn't a newsboy like the characters in the Broadway show, he was a copy boy on an 1890s newspaper who wanted to be a reporter—and in fact proved himself a headline-hunting scribe better than his elders in every episode. And his trademark cap was very much in the Newsies tradition. The photo above gives a glimpse at the detailed sets, props and costumes created for this elaborate TV series. For those who haven't already seen it, you can "read all about it" in the D23 article I wrote about Walt Disney's "Gallegher," starring the always-excellent Roger Mobley.