Spartan Profiles: Larry Pontius

WALT DISNEY IS ALIVE

            We all know that Walt Disney died Dec. 15, 1966.  Or do we?  What if the entertainment genius did not die, but has been in cryonic suspension for four decades?  That’s the premise of a new thriller, Waking Walt (Writers Showcase, 2002), a book that reads more like fact than fiction because author Larry Pontius, ’61, ’66, a writer, published poet, and lyricist of more than 100 published songs, also worked as the vice president of marketing for Walt Disney World and Disneyland from 1976-80. 

             “I never met Walt but I knew a lot of people who worked with him,” says Pontius from his Florida home.  “I’ve heard so many stories and anecdotes, and besides, I spent four years doing research.  I’ve read just about everything about Walt Disney.” 

            After graduation from MSU, Larry got his first advertising job as a copywriter at Leo Burnett in Chicago.  “John Crawford, then chairperson of advertising at MSU, placed many of his students there,” recalls Larry.  “He was a top creative guy there before coming to MSU and he taught me how to write.”  After 10 years, Larry moved to Grey Advertising and became its creative director in Australia.  “I wrote poetry in high school,” notes Larry, “and it’s a very small leap from poetry to songs.” 

            His chance meeting of a blind musical arranger, Julian Lee, led him eventually to publish more than 100 songs—many other them jingles for his clients and UNICEF.

            Larry returned to the U.S. in 1972 and after teaching two years at MSU he joined the Disney organization, rising to vice president of marketing.  “I hired many Spartans,” he notes.  One of them, “Spartan In Hollywood” Craig Murray, has become one of Hollywood’s top producer of movie trailers.  Since 1980 he has run his own advertising firm, winning an Effie, a Clio, and an Andy—all top awards in the industry.

              Any chance his new book might be made into a film?  “Yes, there’s a good chance,” says Larry.  By Disney Studios?  “Well,” he says, “a couple of my friends have told me it’s possible.”