In the enhancing world of entertainment and imagination, Disney is known for its spellbound movies or series.
Various iconic characters have captivated the hearts of the fans all over the world. Various stories were brought to life on the silver screen by Disney.
But among all these stories, one narrative always stands out due to the mystery surrounding it: Thomas Washington Disney. “Who was Thomas Washington Disney?” and if he is real or not. Join us while we will debunk this mystery of the first Black CEO of Disney.
On 27th October 2022, the 8th episode of the fourth season of the series “Atlanta” was aired. In this particular episode, a fictional story about Thomas Washington was presented in a documentary-style format. According to the story, Thomas, a black man, is appointed as the CEO of Walt Disney. However, Thomas played by played by Eric Berryman was just a mere fictional character created by Francesca Sloane and Karen Joseph Adcock.
Who was Thomas Washington Disney?
Thomas Washington was shown in episode 8 of the 4th season of the series “Atlanta.” In this particular episode, none of the main characters were shown. Additionally, the episode was created in a documentary style. It was named “The Goof Who Sat By the Door.”
The episode begins by narrating the story of Thomas Washington, who is appointed as the CEO of none other than Walt Disney. Thomas is a man with humble origins and with immense passion for the world of animation.
His student life was shown at Savannah College of Art and Design, where he was trying to pursue his artistic dreams. Thomas’s unique perspective and zeal for animation made him stand out in the class.
Furthermore, the episode shows how Thomas got attracted by the cartoons made by Disney. This also set his ground to pursue his ambition to lead in the realm of Disney stories one day. Soon, his passion for animation turned the path of destiny. Thomas was put in charge of Walt Disney.
The storyline was inspired by the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, where a black man named Thomas Washington was appointed as the CEO of Disney after the riots. Further, it revealed that, due to the confusion about names, Thomas got selected as the CEO instead of Tom Washington, a white man.
But, this little mistake turns into the favor of Thomas. Initially, he felt confused and shocked, but soon enough, he took the chance and set himself to make a change in history. He determined that he would make the blackest movie of all time, which would be a Goofy movie.
The plot of this episode was inspired by Sam Greenlee’s novel “The Spook Who Sat by the Door” and Robert Downey Sr.’s film “Putney Swope.” It was recorded that this particular episode was seen by almost 0.190 million viewers across the world.
This episode also gained a 0.06 rating share in the age group of 18-49. It also brought praise for the directing, writing, social commentary, and cinematography. Viewers and fans also crowned this episode as one of the best episodes of the whole series.
Is Thomas Washington Real? Is He the First Black CEO of Disney?
While Disney was busy removing Cinderella from the list, Thomas Washington was creating a buzz in the entertainment world. As soon as Atlanta released the 8th episode of season 4, people started searching and speculating if ‘Thomas’ was real or not.
But, despite being such an iconic character, Thomas Washington is not real and is nothing more than a fictional creation. The character and episode was by the writers Karen Joseph Adcock and Francesca Sloane. The character’s role was played by Eric Berryman. There is no basis for Thomas being a real person or the first black CEO of Disney.
However, it can’t be ignored that the character of Thomas was portrayed as an oracle. Maybe this is the reason why this particular episode gained so much fame and attention. Fans on the internet were commenting on how relatable and amazing the episode seemed.
Did you watch the 8th episode of the Atlanta series? What did you think about seeing Thomas and Disney together? Let us know in the comment section.
