The Brutons, Disney, and Mickey Mouse

The original Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie

Mickey Mouse has been in the news recently. This month, copyright  expired for the Steamboat Willie cartoon, and Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain. What you may not know, is that the Bruton sisters had an interesting connection to Disney (and Mickey Mouse)!

It all goes back to 1935, when Esther Bruton painted the murals for the Cirque Bar at the Fairmont Hotel. You might have heard the exciting news that this room has reopened as a coffee bar and was also used as a cocktail lounge during the holidays. 

If you've been to this beautiful and glamorous lounge, you might not have noticed the Mickey Mouse "easter egg" hidden in the room. If you are facing the bar, turn to the left where you will see a mural with a group of spectators looking upward at two giraffes. To the far right is a young boy wearing a white shirt.

If you look closely, you'll see that Mickey Mouse is on the back of his shirt! Several people -- including staff at the Fairmont -- have asked me about this. Wasn't it awfully early for Esther Bruton to have included this iconic Disney figure in a mural painted way back in 1935?

A close up of Mickey Mouse as he appears in the Cirque Room

As it turns out, there is a connection between Esther Bruton and Disney. All three Bruton sisters attended Alameda High School. One of their classmates was Ben Sharpsteen, who, like the Brutons, was a gifted artist. (Sharpsteen was a year younger than Margaret and a year older than Esther.) Sharpsteen joined the Marines in 1917 at the start of World War I. After the war, he worked as an animator for various film studios, eventually joining the Disney company in 1929. While at Disney, Sharpsteen animated 97 Mickey Mouse cartoons and eventually became so close to Walt Disney that he was considered Disney's right-hand man.(1)

Ben Sharpsteen
(photo from https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/ben-sharpsteen/)

The popular Steamboat Willie cartoon -- considered Mickey's debut -- was first shown in 1928, after which Mickey Mouse cartoons became ubiquitous in cinemas across America. At the time the Cirque Room murals were painted in 1935, Mickey was already a recognized figure in popular culture. So perhaps Esther included Mickey in her mural as a nod to her high school friend and fellow artist who was having such a successful career at Disney.

The Brutons' connection to Disney doesn't end there. In 1939, when Helen was placed in charge of the Art in Action program at the Golden Gate International Exposition, she composed a letter to her high school friend Sharpsteen, whom she addressed as "Benny". She was hoping to get the Walt Disney company involved in the activities at the Fair. She wrote: "Would it be possible to arrange for an exhibit, in the form of actual demonstration of some of the mechanics of producing an animated picture? ... Also I wish you would talk over the possibilities of securing a series of Silly Symphonies and Mickey Mouses to be used as part of the program..." (2)  Helen signed her letter "For Art and our Alma Mater". It's unknown whether this draft letter was ever sent. In any event, Walt Disney animators did not participate in the Art in Action program.

The next time you visit the Cirque Room for a snack or coffee, look for Mickey Mouse -- now you know why he's there!

(1) https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/ben-sharpsteen/

(2) Draft letter from Helen Bruton to Ben Sharpsteen, [ca. 1939]. Timothy Pflueger Papers, Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley