Post #157101 by Tangaroa on Fri, May 6, 2005 5:59 PM

Barker,
I believe you are thinking of Walt Disney World's Trader Sam:

In the 1955 plans for the JC, there is no mention of Trader Sam, nor an indication of him on any 1955 videos I've seen.

This plan view from May of 1957 shows an interesting addition, however.

Notice figure "18-A" - Native Selling Souveniers (sp)

All the film footage from Walt Disney Presents that I have seen seems to recycle the 1955-era Jungle Cruise footage - I had to go to 1969 to find an early screen cap of him - here from "The Magic Of Disneyland", which aired in October of 1969...

I'm sure he wasn't "Trader Sam" from the get-go, but was a joke that the "skips" made up as time went by....

Eventually (possibly as early as the 1970s) he donned that mask he used to wear - probably out of political correctness:

Looks like he's back in all his maskless glory!

Lastly - as a treat for those of us who can't go to Oasis, here's a mid-70s Marc Davis concept for the queue! I wish they had done it!