Q : How do individuals get nominated to be on the Disney Legends list? I know of one person in the Disney organization whom I believe should be there, and that is Don Dorsey with his involvement in so many things—from the original Electric Light Parade to IllumiNations, the Mickey Tracks system and major input to the fireworks programs such as the air-launch system to three shell Mickey bursts. So that’s my nomination; now whom do I send it to?
Kevin, Las Vegas, Nevada
A: I’ll pass it on to the Disney Legends Committee.
Q : I recently came across Disney animator Les Clark’s grave (and that of his wife Georgia) in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in Benton County, Tennessee. There is a portrait of Mickey Mouse engraved on his stone. He was born in Ogden, Utah, and died in Santa Monica, California. I wonder, why is he buried so far from his home and his birthplace?
Andy, Nashville, Tennessee
A: This was his wife’s family’s cemetery. Les was buried in the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in 1979, followed by his wife, Georgia, in 2000. Georgia was born in Benton Co., Tennessee, so she obviously picked the last resting place for herself and her husband. Georgia’s parents, James and Ora Vester, are in the same cemetery.
Q : My grandfather was a strafing fighter pilot in WWII in the Navy, serving in the Pacific. He flew for the VC-11 squadron aboard the USS Nehenta Bay. The artwork for the squadron was created by Disney, and I would like to get a copy, in full color, of the artwork if possible. The artwork is of an ape up in the clouds with machine guns at his feet and bombs grasped in his hands. Thank you in advance.
James, Wichita, Kansas
A: The Archives does not seem to have a color photo of the VC-11 squadron insignia, sent to the unit in January 1944, but I can provide a description of the colors—ape: brown with light yellow hands, feet, ear, and face; background: yellow; cloud: light blue; machine guns: gray and black; bombs: black with red noses; muzzle flashes: yellow.