Narrator (3:51)

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Lindsey Graham (4:43)

From Noiser and Airship. I'm Lindsey Graham and this is History D History is made every day on this podcast. Every day we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is December 27, 1904. J.M. barrie's Peter Pan premieres in London. Foreign It's January 1866 in Angus, Scotland, almost 40 years before Peter Pan will open at the Duke of York's Theater. James Matthew Barry stands in his grieving mother's bedroom, unsure how to comfort Her Barry is only six years old, but already he has known great loss. His older brother, David, has just passed away in a tragic accident. He fell while ice skating and fractured his skull. The Berry family is devastated, and none more so than the boy's mother, Margaret. David was always Margaret's favorite, while the younger Barry was considered the runt of the litter. As Margaret weeps in her bed, Barry, being shy and reserved, has no idea how to react. He simply stands there quietly until his mother notices him. Margaret sees his shadow in the dark and asks, is that you? And somehow, Barry knows that his mother isn't talking to him. She's talking to David. Wishing her older son was still alive, Barry replies in a meek voice, no, it's not him. It's only me. This moment stays with Barry for the rest of his life. In his mother's eyes, he's never enough. He lives his life in the shadow of his dead brother. The years pass, but Margaret never gets over David's death and thinks of her late son as frozen in time, believing that because he died just a boy, David would never grow up. This, too, has a profound impact on young Barry, planting a seed in his mind that will eventually grow into his most famous character. Just a few years later, Barry is sent to the first of a series of boarding schools where he becomes less painfully shy. He joins the school drama club and writes his first play at the age of 17. It's a goofy adventure starring gallant heroes and dastardly villains. But it upsets a local clergyman who writes to the newspaper to complain about Barry's grossly immoral play. The ensuing controversy over good taste reaches newspapers from Scotland to London. Other writers might have been scared off by this, but Barry is delighted by the reaction. His first attempt as a playwright could have largely been forgotten. But instead, Barry has made a name for himself. He begins to write books and articles. And one of his novels, the Little Minister, is so successful that Barry adapts it into a play which proves popular enough to travel to America, where it's performed on Broadway in 1898. The same year, a chance encounter in Barry's new home of London changes the trajectory of the writer's life. While taking his sheepdog for a walk in the Kensington Gardens of Hyde Park, Barry meets two young boys, George and Jack Davis, aged five and four. They take a liking to the funny little man with the giant dog, and Barry strikes up a friendship with the boys. He routinely meets them and their nanny in the park and tells them stories. Many modern scholars will consider the possibility that Barry had inappropriate intentions with the Davies boys. But there will be little factual evidence supporting this accusation. And for their whole lives, George, Jack, and their three boys, Peter, Michael, and Nicholas, will refute any theories that Barry was anything more than their cherished friend and a father figure. Still, even by the standards of the time, Barry develops a uniquely close relationship with the Davies family. He becomes friends with their mother, Sylvia, and cultivates a slightly cooler friendship with their father, Arthur. During the summer, the Davies stay for weeks at a time at Barry's lake house with his wife Mary. And Barry thinks of the Davies children as his own. And inspired by his friendship with the older boy, George, Barry writes a novel called the Little white bird in 1902. In this book, the stand in character for Barry tells a story to the stand in character for George. This story within a story is the first appearance of the character Peter Pan. The book is a success, but those middle chapters starring Peter Pan prove to be the most popular. Barry becomes famous with a new audience. Children. His walk through Kensington Garden starts to get interrupted by kids who recognize Barry and ask him for an update on their new favorite character. It seems to Barry that the public and the Davies boys all want to know what happens next. But children aren't the only ones anxious to hear more from the writer. American theater producer Charles Frohman wants Barry to write another play to replicate the financial success they had together with the Little Minister on Broadway. When Barry eventually gives Charles his script for Peter Pan, though, he's a little nervous. The script is the indulgence of his fantasies, and he feels embarrassed to have written something so pure and magical. But Charles loves it. He tells Barry that he will give the play an enormous budget, but he has one. Charles wants Peter Pan to be a vehicle for the young American actress Maude Adams. She's acted in Barry's plays before and proven herself to be a star. And if Peter Pan is a hit in London and comes to America, Charles wants Maude Adams to be the lead role, not as Wendy, but as Peter. Barry agrees and suggests the London version of Peter Pan be played by a young woman as well. Setting a new theatrical tradition and for decades to come, the character of Peter Pan will most often be played by a woman. The choices Barry and Charles make in contemplating their new play will have an impact on generations to come. But it will take a huge effort to build this legacy as Peter Pan turns out to be far more difficult to put on stage than anyone ever anticipated.

Narrator (10:46)

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Lindsey Graham (11:27)

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Lindsey Graham (11:35)

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Narrator (11:45)

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Lindsey Graham (13:01)

It's October 1904 on the busy streets of London. Hilda Trevelyan makes her way to the Duke of York's Theatre it's her first day of rehearsal for the new play, Peter pan. Although she's 27 years old, she'll be playing a teenager, Wendy Darling, who befriends the titular Peter Pan. Besides that, Hilda doesn't know much about the new Play. The author, J.M. barrie, has kept the contents a closely guarded secret so as not to spoil the magic. And as she walks to the theater, Hilda wonders what kind of scene she'll be playing today. Perhaps she'll be crying, or maybe falling in love. She tries to prepare for these possibilities. But when Hilda arrives at the theater, she learns she won't be doing either. She won't be rehearsing any scene at all. Instead, she'll be learning how to fly. The stagehands are trying out a brand new wire system to lift the actors off the ground. This new flying contraption has been just invented by George Kirby. He's been making actors and dancers fly through the air since 1899. But his previous harness was big, bulky, and took up to 10 minutes to connect to an actor. And once in the air, the actors could only be yanked crudely around. As pre production began on Peter Pan, Barry approached George Kirby and asked if he could come up with a better way to fly. The inventor agreed and began to make improvements and updates to his old system. Now a new kind of harness is more easily hidden under costumes, and a wire can be attached in just seconds by a stagehand. The wire itself can support 2 tons of weight, and the system of barrels and drums above the stage means that several actors can fly at the same time. But the actors still need to learn how to launch and land without getting hurt. So Hilda and each of her fellow actors sign a life insurance policy protecting the theater from any liability in case of injury. Then they each take about two weeks to learn how to fly safely and convincingly, as well as a special pose for when they are ready to take off. It's when stagehands see this pose that they pull their ropes and launch the actor. The actors are able to look like they're the ones in control. While this updated flying system seems to be a breakthrough, other special effects on set don't work the way they were intended to. To make the fairy Tinker Bell look just a few inches tall to the audience, Barry planned to use a giant reverse magnifying lens that a normal sized actress could step behind. But finding a lens of that size and getting the lighting right proves too difficult. Instead, Tinkerbell becomes a small brilliant point created by shining a bright light onto a small mirror backstage with a stagehand tilting the mirror around to make Tinkerbell move. With these bits of stagecraft magic combined with JM Barrie's delightful fantasy writing, Peter Pan is a hit in London. Charles Frohman gets his wish and the play moves to Broadway, where Maude Adams plays Peter Pan. And if the play had been a success in London, it's a box office smash in New York. Audiences and critics alike are won over, and while there have been plays for children before, none have been put on with such daring and gusto. None able to delight the adults just as much as the children. It turns out the adults of the era are famished for light hearted entertainment. Most productions are problem plays, a genre dealing with social issues and ethical dilemmas. Though important and dramatic, these productions are rarely fun. So when Peter Pan debuts on Broadway in 1905, it's a breath of fresh air, giving audiences permission to enjoy themselves at the theater again. And the legacy of the play will prove an enduring one. Over the next 120 years, Peter Pan will grow from a character in a few chapters of a novel, to a play, to its own novel, and then to something even more it will inspire a generation of storytellers to tell their own version of the story, from The Elves and J.R.R. tolkien's Lord of the Rings books to Steven Spielberg's film Hook, starring Robin Williams as a grown up Peter Pan. But no one will be more inspired to produce their own version of Peter Pan than the century's most influential animal.

Walt Disney (17:04)

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Lindsey Graham (19:13)

It'S 1909 in Marceline, Missouri. Backstage at Park Elementary School, a young man is about to make his debut as Peter Pan in front of an audience of parents and classmates. His name is Walt Disney. Young Walt recently saw Maude Adams perform the role as the play toured across America and through his hometown. He was enchanted by the play, emptying out his piggy bank to afford a ticket, and now it's his chance to bring one of his favorite characters to life. Although this is a low budget production, Walt is about to fly just like all the Peter Pans before before him. But instead of George Kirby's professional flying equipment, Walt's brother holds a rope tied around Walt's back. And when it's time, Walt is thrust into the air and soars out over the crowd. But his flight is cut short when the rope gives way and he flies right into the faces of a surprised audience. It's a humble start to Walt's entertainment career. After working as a cartoonist in Kansas City, Walt moves to Hollywood at age 20. There he and his brother start Walt Disney Pictures, where Walt goes on to create Mickey Mouse, star of many short cartoons. But Walt isn't satisfied. He wants to tell a full length fairy tale and against all odds he does in 1934 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the first ever full length animated feature and it's a smash hit. With Snow White's success, Walt has the opportunity to turn any story he wants into his next animated movie. But he chooses Peter Pan. Production is delayed because of World War II, but it's eventually released in 1953 and remains the version of Peter Pan most people remember today. In the Disney film, Tinker Bell is changed from a point of light to a fully articulated fairy and she becomes one of the Walt Disney Company's most popular mascots. Disney will later create a theme park ride based on the movie. Peter Pan's Flight will be one of the original rides on opening day of Disneyland in 1955 and will remain one of the most popular rides today. Then, following the Disney film, there will be seven major live action film adaptations of Peter Pan, as well as a movie starring Johnny Depp as J.M. barrie called finding Neverland. This film will be nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It will follow Barry creating the story for the Davies boys, but the tale will be a romanticized one. The real story is a bit sadder. Although the Davies boys will be financially compensated for their contributions to creating the iconic character, their association with the play will haunt them throughout their lives. The British press will sensationalize their personal successes and private failures as they live their lives known as the real Peter Pans. And Barry will never write another play as popular or successful as Peter Pan. He'll die of pneumonia in 1937, having no children of his own. He'll leave all the rights and royalties of every Peter Pan work to the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London. Today, the hospital is one of the largest centers for children's heart transplants in the world. And near the entrance is a bronze statue of Peter Pan, who along with his friends the Darlings, the Lost boys and even Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, have become part of one of the units Universal Myths of Childhood. Since their stage debut on December 27, 1904. Next on History Daily.

Narrator (22:39)

December 30, 1941 in a speech to the Canadian Parliament, Winston Churchill celebrates holding off Nazi Germany in the Battle of Britain.

Lindsey Graham (22:55)

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham. Audio editing by Mohammed Shahzeeb Sound design by Misha Stanton Music by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written and researched by Jack O'Brien. Executive producers are Alexandra Curry Buckner for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.

Walt Disney (23:23)

How do you make an Airbnb a VRBO picture? A vacation rental with a host who's showing you every room like you've never seen a house before. Now get rid of em. There you go. No host ever. Now it's a vrbo. Make it a vrbove.