Al Taliaferro (1905-1969), born in Montrose, Colorado, “knew [he] was going to be a cartoonist” from childhood. Hired at the Walt Disney Company in January 1931, Taliaferro inked the Mickey Mouse daily comic strip before graduating to full art duty on the Silly Symphony Sunday feature. There Taliaferro would unite with Donald Duck, the star with whom he would forever be associated—and for whom Taliaferro personally created the inimitable Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Earl Duvall (1898-1969) was an animator and story man who worked with Disney in the early sound era. As the original writer and artist of the Silly Symphonies Sunday comic strip, Duvall created Bucky Bug, the first Disney star character to make his debut in comics rather than animation. In later years, Duvall also worked for the Leon Schlesinger animation studio (Looney Tunes).

Ted Osborne (1900-1968), born in Oklahoma, moved to California for work as an in-house writer with Los Angeles radio station KHJ. When, in late 1931, the station collaborated with Disney on a Mickey Mouse radio special, Osborne made the jump to Disney employ, where he became a celebrated comic strip writer, writing the Silly Symphonies strip for artist Al Taliaferro and scripting Mickey Mouse for plotter/artist Floyd Gottfredson. In later years, Osborne left Disney and managed a photographic studio.

Merrill De Maris (1898-1948) was born in New Jersey and started work with Disney in 1933. De Maris divided his time between scripting the Silly Symphonies and Mickey Mouse comic strips and working as an animation story man. In the late 1930s, De Maris began a five-year run as the main Mickey scripter for plotter/penciler Floyd Gottfredson, creating such classics as “The Bar-None Ranch” (1938) and “Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot” (1939). In later years, De Maris left Disney to become a professional gardener.