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Didier Ghez: When and where were you born, and what did you do before joining Disney?

Ron Carman: I was born in Hollywood, California, December 1946. I was raised in a house that was built by my grandfather, located just a block from the ABC Television Studios. And, when I was about seven or eight years old, my mother went to work for ABC. I spent many hours of my childhood on the ABC Television lot. There were various children’s shows that I, and even my tortoise, got to be on. Chucko the Clown, Buffalo Bill, Soupy Sales, Doctor IQ were some of the shows I was part of either as a participant, audience member and even a contestant. Later on, when I was a teenager, I was dancing on American Bandstand. So a lot of my early life was associated with what was to become part of the Disney organization, ABC Television Studios. Another tie to Walt Disney and my childhood was Walt’s aunt. At Christmastime she would make peanut brittle and sell one-pound boxes to everyone in our neighborhood. She owned duplexes next to our house; that is why she was selling in my neighborhood. When I went to work at WED in 1968, she was still selling her Christmas peanut brittle, but now just to Disney employees.

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