Anecdotes

Had a plaque outside his Encino, CA, home dedicating it to a cat (in reference to L'Espion aux pattes de velours (1965)).

Author of the Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip from 1943 until 1964. Bill Walsh took Mickey to new science fiction heights involving time travel, aliens, and mad scientists, until the strip switched to gag-a-day format in 1955. Previously, the strip had focused on Westerns, espionage, and private investigator stories, although mad scientists were not unknown in it. Walsh briefly had Mickey getting into horror scenarios before the editor toned the series down. Arguably Walsh's most famous Mouse Family creation was Eega Beeva, an endearing little alien who was Mickey's primary adventuring companion from 1947 until 1950, and has been prominently featured in Italy's edition of the Mickey magazine since the 1950s. In 1949, Walsh introduced Goofy's pet myna bird Ellsworth, who was smarter and better spoken than his master.