When Walt Disney was looking for someone to take over construction and ownership of the DISNEYLAND Hotel, he was rejected by all of the major hotel chains and most of his friends. Except for one- Jack Wrather.
Jack Wrather was a Hollywood producer who made numerous investments in various businesses. His various enterprises included the Muzak Company:
The Lassie and Lone Ranger television shows:
The Erector set:
Sgt. Preston of the Yukon:
And of course, the Happiest Hotel on Earth:
Mr. Wrather took a risk on his friend's success. When just about everyone else thought that DISNEYLAND would fail, he trusted that it would succeed. Years later, the big hotel chains that laughed at Walt Disney were desperate to build hotels around his Magic Kingdom, but the choice location still belonged to Jack Wrather because he believed in DISNEYLAND long before anyone else did.