The balloon “La Coquette” (“the flirt” in French) was used in the Oscar winning 1956 film “Around The World In Eighty Days.” Actors David Niven and Cantinflas are in the balloon, which was painted with large figures from Greek Mythology. The balloon was built by Goodyear for the U.S. Navy and originally used during World War II for the training of blimp pilots. The Balloon Club of America acquired the balloon in 1952. One of the photos below (from the LIFE archive available on Google) shows the two stars with producer Mike Todd. In 1957, La Coquette was brought out again, this time to celebrate the one year anniversary of the movie with a huge celebration in Madison Square Garden.
Flash forward to Easter, April 22, 1962, and for some reason, “La Coquette” (N9074H) found its way to Disneyland’s Central Plaza for the Easter Parade; it may have even been used again in 1965. La Coquette was featured at the climax of the 1962 Easter Parade and floated over the Matterhorn after being launched from Central Plaza. Balloonists Peter Pellegrine and Francis Shields rode to an altitude of 2,000 feet and landed 45 minutes later in an orange grove 10 miles away. Apparently, Coquette’s retirement came 13 years later in August of 1977. Tony Fairbanks, the legendary American balloonist, took the balloon to the Flying Circus Aerodrome in Bealeton, Virginia to participate in a combined World War I air show and hot air balloon rally. “La Coquette” seems to have been the only gas balloon to have both launched and landed in Virginia since perhaps the U.S. Civil War, for many reasons including terrain, prevailing wind direction, and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.
Tony Fairbanks was an avid gas balloon pilot and an original member of the Cleveland Balloon Club founded in 1932. He flew gas balloons in the early US Nationals and made at least 6 flights over the Swiss Alps. Tony and Don Piccard formed the Balloon Club of America in Philadelphia, in 1952. Several years later, in 1961, the Balloon Club of America (Philadelphia) and the National Lighter-Than-Air Society (Akron) formed the Balloon Federation of America.
Apparently, you can see a 1/8th scale model of La Coquette at The Hollywood Casino in Tunica, Missouri, created by Modelwerkes in California. Surprisingly, this Casino in Missouri has quite a collection of movie props, including the DeLorean car from “Back to the Future” and the biplane from Hitchcock’s thriller “North by Northwest.” |
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Also known as “The Hub”; designed like the spokes of a wheel, each “spoke” from “The Hub” goes to a different land. Initially, this area was also going to be the entrance to Edison Square, between The Red Wagon Inn and the INA Carefree Corner (where First Aid is currently located). The Edison Square plans were the precursor for Carousel of Progress before the revolving theater concept came about. It was originally going to be a walk-through attraction where a curtain went up at the end of each act and the guests walked to the next set. It shows up on versions of the old wall maps and the 4 scenes are labeled on the map as “American Home Pre-electricity,” “American Home Advent of Electricity,” “Contemporary Living,” and “The Electronic Age.” Previously, this area was used as the original Art Corner. Once the Edison idea went away, this same tent served for many years as the entrance to Central First Aid.)
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