Famed Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump passed away on March 12, 2023 in Carlsbad, California at the age of 93. Rolly Crump had a hand in early Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions.
Crump helped to imagine and create the famed Disney Imagineering pieces that appeared at the New York World’s Fair in 1964-1965. Along with the work at the New York World’s Fair, Rolly Crump was instrumental in fan-favorite classic Disney attractions, the Haunted Mansion and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.
The Walt Disney Company interviewed some of Crump’s colleagues about his legacy with Disney Imagineering. One of those people interviewed was Tony Baxter, who worked with Crump on Epcot. He remembered Rolly Crump by saying, “Rolly was always able to see a different way of doing things. I think that fascinated Walt Disney, who was always looking for innovations. When Rolly was right with his innovative approaches, they often turned out to be among the most memorable aspects of Disney Parks. Another thing that distinguished Rolly was his total enjoyment of creative work and being around other creative people at Imagineering.”
In addition, the Executive Director for Walt Disney Imagineering, Kim Irvine, said, “Rolly was a quintessential element of my, and many others, mentorship at Imagineering. Of all the original art directors of the 1970s, Crump was the ‘fun guy.’”
Rolly Crump was born in Alhambra, California. He wanted nothing more than to work for Disney. Eventually, he worked his way up to be in Walt Disney Animation as an in-between artist and then to an assistant animator on classics such as Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Sleeping Beauty. He worked for WED Enterprises, now known as Walt Disney Imagineering. You can see some of Crump’s imagination when it comes to Disneyland’s animated clock on it’s a small world.
Crump did spend some time away from the company to work on other projects. He returned, yet eventually retired in 1996. He was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2004. When guests go to Disneyland and The Walt Disney World Resort, they can be reminded of the Walt Disney Imagineering legend Rolly Crump.
We send our condolences to Rolly Crump’s family.
Source: The Walt Disney Company
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