April 23, 1923 – Virginia Davis’ Parents Sign Laugh-O-gram Films Contract
On April 23, 1923, Alice Comedies actress Virginia Davis’ parents signed a contract with the fledgling Laugh-O-gram Films, owned by Walt Disney, providing the family 5% of receipts from showings of the film Alice’s Wonderland. Davis starred as Alice, a little girl who finds herself in a cartoon world. Unfortunately, this film was never released, as Laugh-O-gram Films went bankrupt; after Walt moved to California, he was able to sell the series to Margaret Winkler based on the film, and Walt was able to convince the Davis family to join him in Los Angeles to create more Alice films, starring Virginia. Davis accepted Walt’s offer in October, and the first Alice film, Alice’s Day at Sea, was released on March 1, 1924.
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