Disney understands the power of a true legend. In the decades since the entertainment juggernaut was founded, Disney has released dozens of adaptations of popular fairy tales, mythological heroes, and even epic poems to create some of the most popular movies in Hollywood history. Over the years,countless urban legends have also emerged about Disneyparks and classics, but the most fascinating might have actually beenthose surrounding the death of the company’s iconic founder,Walt Disney.
Many of theserumors gained traction after Walt Disney’s deathat the age of 65 on July 31, 2025, when the mind behind one of the most successful media ventures in history came to an abrupt end after a battle with lung cancer. An avid futurist whose fantastical visionsoften inspired audiences to reach beyond reality’s limits, many fans couldn’t believe this was the end to the animator’s story, with the most popular theory being that Disney’s body had been cryogenically frozen for future revival. However, arguably the most interestinglegend surrounding Walt Disney’s deathinvolves none other than Wyatt Earp himself,Kurt Russell.The story goes that some of the Disney founder’s very last words involved the Hollywood superstar, sowhat on earth did Walt Disney have to say about Kurt Russell?
Walt Disney Left Behind a Note With Kurt Russell’s Name
Late in 1966, the Disney founder’s health began seriously deteriorating. Company employees reported how their boss' voice had become raspy at the same time as Disney underwent a series of hospitalizations to treat the discovery of a tumor in his left lung. Yet,the true story of Walt Disney at this timewas alsothat of a man who was inordinately busy with upcoming film releasesand the development of Orlando’s Disney World, with the mogul’s final writing before his last hospitalization being a list of names scribbled at the bottom of a television production page in the founder’s signature red grease pen. And out of everyone in the world who could have featured on this list, who else should appear than thefuture star ofJohn Carpenter’sThe Thing?
Part of what makes this legend so appealing is the fact that it’s so dramatic. The coincidence that one Hollywood legend would reference another in their final momentssounds like the heartwarming conclusion to a Disney movie itself, but the truth is a bit more complicated. In reality, the details of this last-minute note — which is real, and was even included in a recreation ofDisney’s office displayed at Disney Worldstarting in 2001 —differ between each telling. In fact, the note itself even features an awkward misspelling, with Russell’s first name written as “Kirt” in a humbling moment that grounds this popular Disney legend.
In aninterview with the Huffington Post, Kurt Russell opened up about the strange story:
“They pulled me into the office a couple years after he died, and this woman — who I don’t believe it was his secretary, but it might’ve been, I don’t know ― pointed to [something he wrote] and she said, ‘Do you know what that’s about?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t.’[She said], ‘Because he wrote something after it. But then he went back up and he wrote your name. That was the last thing he wrote.’ And I said, ‘Oh gee. I don’t know what it’s connected to.'”
Kurt Russell himself has gone on the record to maintain his belief in the legend. Disney archivistDave Smithlikewise maintains thathe was the one who first showed Russell the note in 1970, while Russell instead describes being shown the note by a woman who might have been Disney’s secretary, a woman who also apparently claimed Disney went back to write Russell’s name after already compiling his initial list. Yet, while this late addition may seem to come out of nowhere for those unaware of Russell’s past involvement with the earlier days of Disney, his alleged inclusion in Disney’s final thoughtsstands as a testament to the pair’s deep personal history.
Walt Disney Was Impressed With Kurt Russell From Day One
With the veteran actor’s long history of Westerns and intense collaborations withQuentin TarantinoinThe Hateful EightandDeath Proof, it’s almosthard to imagine Kurt Russell was once a newcomer to the movie industry.Over the years, the star’s rugged, upbeat personality has shined in kid-friendly films likeSky Highand taken a darker turn in everything from ’80s action movies to ’90s thrillers, but every great career needs a starting point, and Russell couldn’t have asked for a better teacher.Russell was first fired upto meet Disney when he was just 13, but it wasn’t until Russell’s performance in Disney’s 1966 film,Follow Me, Boys!, impressed the founder so much thatDisney signed Russell to a 10-year contract while the future star was still just a teenager. Far from maintaining a distant, purely commercial relationship, however, Disney’s admiration for the young actor soon led to the pair developing a close mentorship.
Outside of taking Russell under his wing to teach the futureEscape from New Yorkstarabout the ins and outs of 1960s Hollywood,Disney and Russell also reportedly got along well on a personal level, with Russell describing how the pair often played Ping-Pong over lunch while the Disney founder asked him questions to get inside the mind of a child. What’s more, the Mickey Mouse creator reportedly spent the early days of their collaboration granting Russell special access to studio projects, treating the teenager to sneak peeks of Disney movies in development and early drawings of characters in progress. Tragically, Russell would later learn his partnership with the movie mogul had been cut short by Disney’s death while theMonarch: Legacy of Monstersactorwas shooting an early Western for his mentor’s company, but nevertheless,the veteran animator clearly advocated for Russell’s success at an early age.
The importance of this advocacy can’t be understated, as the contract Disney negotiated for Russell suppliedthe young star with a steady stream of high-profile work at a pivotal moment in his burgeoning career. Although Disney’s death the same year prevented the pair from collaborating directly on Russell’s subsequent films for the studio, the iconic animator’s guidance clearly paid off, as Russell used what he learned to gain popularity throughout the next decade in Disney films like 1969’sThe Computer Wore Tennis Shoesand 1971’sThe Barefoot Executive. ThoughRussell’s success in 1979’sElvisshowcased his willingness to eventually grow out of his Disney days, the actor nonetheless returned to the studio to voice Copper in its 1981 animated classic,The Fox and the Hound,and Russell later shared his fondness for his mentor inAmy Boothe GreenandHoward E. Green’s1999 biography,Remembering Walt.
In the book, Russell explains that he “appreciated the time [he] shared with Walt more than ever” following the dreamer’s passing,underscoring the impact Disney had on his early experience in Hollywood.Russell also goes into detail about just what the aging animator meant to him during their final days together:
“What Walt represented to me was someone who was constantly aware of what might be fun to do, not necessarily cutting edge or different or what would blow people away, but what might be fun. I remember he would always say, ‘Wouldn’t that be fun?’"
Will We Ever Know the Truth Behind Walt Disney’s Final Words?
With this professional history in mind, it’s no surprise that Disney would have been thinking of Kurt Russell at the time of his death. As a new favorite of the television and movie industry,Russell’s star was beginning to rise at the same time as Disney’s health began to decline, and the fact that Disney was still scribbling Russell’s name in his final moments signifies his regard for theclassyTombstoneperformer. As for what Disney meant by including Russell in this note, his exact intentions can never be guessed, but the top of the page did read “TV Projects In Production: Ready for Production or Possible for Escalation and Story,” implying Disney was considering Russell fora Disney TV series. And while it’s impossible to tell when Disney wrote Russell’s name on the page, the anecdote stillunderscores the short-lived, but powerful partnership between two of Hollywood’s biggest names.
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He let the spirits guide him.
In the aftermath of such an iconic loss, it’s only natural that Walt Disney’s coworkers would seek to forge meaning from the passing of their company’s beloved founder, and the idea of one last cryptic glimpse into the mind behind some ofDisney’s most beloved moviesis undeniably tantalizing.This temptation to romanticize the final moments of the founder’s lifeis even responsible for varying accounts of the note itself, with another popular assumption being that Disney’s final words were actually those written at the bottom of his note, “CIA-Mobley,” presumably in reference to child actorRoger Mobley. Yet, speculation aside, the story of Disney’s final words ultimately serves to highlight the creator’s legacy and cultivation of young talent like Kurt Russell, as Disney would know better than anybody thatsometimes a legend can mean more to the world than real-life’s bitter endings.
Follow Me, Boys!
Follow Me, Boys!is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
