A closer look
Ward Kimball was one of Walt Disney's core 'Nine Old Men', responsible for animating iconic cultural touchstones like Jiminy Cricket and the Mad Hatter. But drawing mice wasn't enough for his eccentric soul. On the side, he formed the 'Firehouse Five Plus Two', a wildly successful Dixieland jazz band entirely made up of Disney animation department nerds. They drove around Los Angeles in a restored 1914 fire engine, played massive gigs, and actually became a staple of 1950s jazz culture. Walt Disney initially hated it, but tolerated the side hustle once he realized he could shamelessly use them for corporate synergy.
