New Walt Disney Concert Hall, to open Oct. 23, a distinctive L.A. landmark - CJAD (Canada)/AP, 10/17/03
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Diane Disney Miller can't suppress a chuckle when she reads news reports that her late mother donated more than $50 million to build the new Walt Disney Concert Hall because she loved classical music.

"That isn't true at all, and mother would be the first to scoff at it," says Miller, 69, the only living child of Walt and Lillian Disney. "Her favourite music was Lawrence Welk."

Walt Disney, who died in 1966 at age 65, had the greater appreciation for classical, as evidenced by his 1940 film, Fantasia, which featured animation set to familiar compositions. Lillian Disney simply wanted an important city landmark to carry her husband's name, Miller said.