FROM 2008
WALLY BOAG
deciphers Fulton Burley's notes

by Scott Wolf

While looking at Fulton Burley's script from Wally's retirement party in 1982, I was so excited to see his own handwritten notes throughout. To a fan of the Revue such as myself, this is like discovering King Tut's tomb!

One page (see photo, right, click to enlarge), allowed for Fulton's own memories of Wally and Fulton wrote notes. 

It's been well over fifty years since Wally first started in the show, and he didn't remember a couple of Fulton's notes, although he found them humorous:

"When he sent Betty Taylor and I to a gig- all the way to the Century Plaza on the wrong night."

"It gets better... when Wally went to the Disneyland Hotel and did a whole show by himself for the wrong people."

Wally did, however, fill me in on a couple of other notes that Fulton wrote.

Scott Wolf: One note on this script says "I should tell about how many times he shot himself." (Photo right, Wally's retirement party, Fulton holding script page.)

Wally Boag: (He laughs) Yeah, I used to blow out the back of my pant legs when we were outside shooting at each other.

It was a fairly good amount of stuff in the guns but they brought it down a bit. (He laughs some more.)

I'd blow out the pants of my leg and I'd got a little burn on the back of my leg so I'd have to get redressed that day and see the doctor. It didn't happen many times but it did happen.

SW: You said this was outside?

These were gun fights out in front.We had a couple other guys and we all had guns and we ran around and shot and we did that show for quite a long time. I'd fall off the roof a few times. I would work myself to the top of the theatre outside and I'd stand up and fire and the fellow downstairs was supposed to get me and he'd shoot my hairpiece off and I'd fall over and fell about ten feet.  I never had any trouble on the stage because I didn't do that.

SW: Really?

WB: Yeah, but I had something down there to catch me. It was real fun (he chuckles).

(Special thanks to Dave at davelandweb.com for allowing me to use these images from his website.)

SW: Another note just reads, "Vietnam." Does that mean anything to you?

WB: Oh, we were all ready to go to Vietnam. We wound up in Iceland. I had all the things to send our show to Vietnam, I had it all set up and knew that it would be very hot for us. Then we were going to leave and all hell broke loose over there and they said, "Well, we can't send the show over there." So they sent us in the opposite direction to Iceland and Greenland. I had to buy all new stuff (he laughs). It was good. We were there about a month.

SW: Was there an event or reason you were going?

WB: We were entertaining the people fighting.

SW: Were you going to perform the Golden Horseshoe show?

WB: No, but it was Fulton Burley and an accordion player and we had Betty Taylor and myself.

SW: So the three of you went out and performed things other than the Revue?

WB: Oh yeah.

SW: I've recently read some scripts and learned that you did many shows at Disneyland, even Cast Member only shows, and that in one of them you and Fulton dressed as tour guides?

WB: Yeah, I have a picture of that, it's on my wall. (pictured, right, as tour guides) It was the tenth anniversary of the opening of Disneyland, and Mrs. Disney (in the picture) and Walt were there. We had a lot of fun with it.

More from Wally:
Remembering Fulton Burley

See other interviews