Yet another entertainment great passed on this weekend: Buddy Ebsen. I took note because of his Disney connections. Not only did he have a claim to fame co-starring in Disney's Davy Crockett series with Fess Parker, but he is part of the history of Disney's Audio-Animatronic figures as well — the talking robots in shows like Pirates of the Caribbean or The Enchanted Tiki Room. Disney's team filmed Buddy dancing against a grid background, and then devised a machine using cams and rods, that made a little figurine man dance like Buddy. I've seen the original "dancing man" setup twice: once as part of a touring exhibit on Disney and architecture, and again at the Disney-MGM Studios in an exhibit on Walt Disney's life. (As of this writing, it shouldd still be there.)
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