Blaine Gibson , a fashion designer of innumerable sculptures and audio - animatronic figure of speech at Disney Parks , has died . He was 97 .
The average visitor to Disneyland or Walt Disney World may not know Gibson by name , but they ’re surrounded by his art . He mold on machinelike chassis for the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion , and designed the iconic “ Partners ” statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse that can be retrieve in all Disney Parks .
Gibson also designed the noted audio - animatronic Abe Lincoln that was featured at the 1964 New York World ’s Fair . The robotics were so impressive and vivid that some newspaper accounts from the time even delineate Lincoln as getting up and walk around the auditorium — a effort made impossible by the fact that the robo - Lincoln ’s foot were bolted to the stage .
“ Blaine Gibson was one of the most important narrator among all the big gift on Walt Disney ’s squad of Imagineers , ” Marty Sklar , an Imagineer who worked with Gibson , told theOrange Country Register . “ He showed all of us how to make our Disney park show characters so realistic you never had to guess the theatrical role of any three - dimensional figure in our attractions . ”
Gibson started at the Disney company back in 1939 as an adjunct animator , working on such iconic films as Fantasia and Peter Pan . In 1954 he join Disney ’s team of Imagineers who were task with make Disneyland park a reality . By 1961 he was made head of that team’ssculpture section .
Gibson retired in 1983 , but he came out of retreat periodically to work on the audio - animatronic figures for the Hall of Presidents . He designed every robo - United States President in the attraction up through President George W. Bush , seen in the photo above .
Sculpting started as just a hobby for Gibson until Disney took notice . At first Gibson seemed to consider it almost a distraction from his vitality work .
“ I did n’t think it was that important , but then I was told Walt was expecting me to work on these projection . So I say to myself , ‘ what the heck ’ and go [ to Walt Disney Imagineering ] , ” Gibson saidin 1995 . “ I was never sorry after that . ”
pic : Gibson in 2001 via PRNewsFoto / The Walt Disney Company ; 2015 pic of Disneyland Paris sculpture ; Screenshot from Disney Family Album TV special showing Disney and Gibson
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