Bob Booth

“The similarly innovative, creative, and fascinating work of our manufacturing and production entities—and the work of steadfast guys like Bob Booth—often gets lost to the limelight. But without them, the dreams of the designers would never see the light of practical application.” —Marty Sklar, former Imagineering ambassador

Dorothea Redmond

Dorothea remained at WDI to work on the Walt Disney World project in Florida, where her work was varied and prolific, including moody studies for Fantasyland, renderings for an architecturally opulent Main Street, and Adventureland area development that communicated a feminine and ethereal mood of exotica.

Neil Gallagher

“Every project leader wanted Neil on their team because he always solicited ideas and new solutions from his co-workers,” Marty Sklar once reflected. “Neil understood that leadership requires trusting and empowering your teammates.”

Al Dempster

Disney has had several superstar background artists: Sam Armstrong, Maurice Noble, Claude Coats, Walt Peregoy, Ralph Hulett, Thelma Witmer, Eyvind Earle, Frank Armitage… and Al Dempster.

Oliver Wallace

Animation music historian Ross Care also noted of Oliver’s prolific short cartoon music, “His scores for the Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse shorts… collectively provide a virtual, though still largely unread, textbook in animation scoring.”

Art Linkletter

Walt Disney scored something of a coup in getting Art Linkletter as the primary host for his gala live broadcast of the opening of Disneyland.

Vesey Walker

He organized and directed more than 50 college, military, school, and youth bands, but at Disneyland, the master “music man” finally found the one place in the world to organize a thoroughly professional band, performing daily throughout the year—not just for Saturday football games or annual parades.

Toshio Kagami

“The fact that we were able to bring the Disney Resort to Japan and make it a success in Japan, I believe that we were able to bridge these two different cultures together. The world has to be a peaceful place and I would like to see more and more of these bridges built across the world.” —Toshio Kagami

Tom Nabbe

In 1956, Walt Disney recognized the Tom Sawyer in a young Nabbe, and he became the “Luckiest Boy in the World.” That’s what the cover of the April 7, 1957 issue of Parade magazine said, beneath a full-color photo of Tom dressed as Mark Twain’s paragon of American boyhood.

Milt Albright

In 1953, in an attempt to gain some attention from Walt and transfer to his new “amusement park” in Anaheim, Milt, an automobile buff, designed a miniature car for the Autopia, then in the planning stages as an attraction for Disneyland. When he saw that Milt had created a car as a calling card, Walt said, “Well, anybody that crazy belongs at Disneyland!”