Q: When your career as Disney’s first archivist began, did you ever expect to someday be an author and be in such demand by Disney fans, guest speaking at so many events? Or did you think an archivist position would be one of solitude? If the direction your job went was not expected, was it a welcomed surprise? When did you first realize that fans wanted a piece of Dave Smith?
Scott, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
A: Thanks for your kind comments. I don’t think I expected to become an author when I started the Archives in 1970, but eventually it became obvious that Disney fans wanted access to some of the information in the Archives. I started what became this “Ask Dave” column in 1983, and then the books began with four trivia books, collections of Walt Disney quotations, and the Disney A to Z encyclopedia; the latest is the current Disney Trivia From the Vault, compiling my Ask Dave questions. It has indeed been gratifying to have my books so well received.
Dave Smith