Even more than MGM, Disney [in the early 1960s] was the most
conservative studio in town... They were growing aware. They weren't
stupid. They could add two and two together, and I think they were beginning to suspect my homosexuality. I noticed people in certain quarters were
getting less and less friendly. In 1963, Disney didn't renew my option
and let me go. But Walt personally let me return to do the final Merlin Jones
movie, 'The Monkey's Uncle,' because those were moneymakers for the
studio.
