Disney Legend, Ruthie Tompson Passes Away at Age 111

Today we are learning the sad news that Disney Legend Ruthie Tompson has passed away at 111 years old. Ruthie dedicated nearly 40 years to The Walt Disney Company and worked on virtually every Disney animated feature from Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs up through The Rescuers, then retired in 1975. Ruthie celebrated her 111th birthday on July 22nd, 2021.

Ruthie was quoted saying “I used to walk by the Disney Bros. storefront,” she once recalled. “I was curious and snooped around, and, finally, they invited me in for a look. After that, I’d visit quite often. I remember sitting on the bench and watching Roy shoot the animated cels onto film.” “Once Roy asked us, neighborhood kids, to play tag in the street, while he photographed us with a movie camera,” she continued. “I suppose it was for the Alice Comedies; he paid each of us a quarter, which I was glad for because I could buy licorice.”

According to D23, Walt Disney offered 18-year-old Ruthie a job as a painter in the Ink and Paint department, where she helped put the finishing touches on the Studio’s first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which premiered in 1937. She was soon promoted to the final checker, reviewing the animation cels before they were photographed onto film. By 1948, Ruthie again transferred to animation checking and scene planning. As a result of her adept skill at guiding camera movement for animated films, in 1952 Ruthie was invited to join the International Photographers Union, Local 659 of the IATSE. She was one of the first three women to be admitted into the Hollywood camera union.

“Ruthie Tompson’s technical mind led her to be named supervisor of the Scene Planning department at The Walt Disney Studios. There, she helped to establish the camera mechanics used to photograph animated scenes and background art onto film. As Bob Broughton, a Disney Legend and former Disney supervisor of special photographic effects, recalled, “Ruthie was mechanically inclined. She was excellent at figuring out the mathematical and mechanical logistics of camera moves.”

The Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, Robert Iger, took to social media on October 11 to share: “RIP Ruthie Thompson…a true animation legend. Her contributions to Disney—from Snow White to The Rescuers—remain beloved classics to this day. While we will miss her smile & wonderful sense of humor, her exceptional work & pioneering spirit will forever inspire us.”

Bob Gurr Featured in Upcoming 20/20 Special

Legendary Imagineer Bob Gurr posted on Instagram that he is filming interviews with 20/20 for an upcoming special on Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary.https://www.instagram.com/p/CR7ybfsnoSS/

Bob Gurr is a Disney Legend and Imagineer who was hired by Walt Disney to work with WED Enterprises back in 1954. He has designed Autopia cars, the Monorail, Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Omnimover ride system used in The Haunted Mansion and so much more. His handprint is left in nearly everything that moves, in one way or another, at a Disney park. As such, he will be a wealth of knowledge on not only the last 50 years of Walt Disney World, but the workings of Imagineering and the creation process in general.

No other details were made available, but it can be assumed that the special will likely air around the date of the 50th anniversary, October 1, on ABC. Check back with WDWNT for more details as they are announced.

Betty White, Gets Her Own Little Golden Book

Disney Legend, and extremely famous American actress and comedian, Betty White, now has her very own Little Golden Book. While she is well known for her role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, most of us know Betty White for her humorous character in the ABC sitcom, The Golden Girls. Even though the show ended in 1992, it remains a timeless classic with a return coming soon to Disney+! What better way to celebrate all things Betty White than with a Little Golden Book to add to your collection?

My Little Golden Book About Betty White is available for pre-order now via Amazon Prime with a release date of October 19, 2021. “Help your little one dream big with a Little Golden Book biography about America’s First Lady of Television, Betty White! The perfect introduction to nonfiction for preschoolers! This Little Golden Book about Betty White–television star, comedian, animal lover, and game show competitor–is a celebration of the beloved woman, in time for her 100th birthday! A great read-aloud for young girls and boys–as well as their parents and grandparents who grew up watching Betty on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls.”

Betty was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2009.

According to D23: “She is the author or co-author of five books, and in 2006 was honored by the City of Los Angeles as the “Ambassador to the Animals” for her lifelong work for animal welfare. Betty was honored by the Television Critics Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. “You can’t get rid of me,” she joked at the ceremony. “I just won’t go away!”

Jim Cora, Disney Legend Who Helped Found Tokyo Disneyland, DisneySea, and Disneyland Paris, Passes Away at 83

According to the OC Register, Disney Legend Jim Cora passed away on Sunday, March 21st a following a brief hospitalization.

Cora began his Disneyland career working part-time as an Attractions Host Cast Member cleaning 3-D glasses for the Mickey Mouse Club Theater. After 43 years with the company, Cora retired as the chairman of Disney International.

Cora thanks Walt Disney himself for his quick rise through the ranks of the company. He recounts an incredible story where Walt Disney sent teenage Cora to the Disneyland Administration building to find Van Arsdale France. Cora was instructed to “Tell him Walt sent you. I think he may have something for you.” Van Arsdale France founded Disney University.

Jim Cora went on to join the opening team of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room and then to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World where he was responsible for implementing the “Disney Way of Leadership” program. Cora then helped redesign the “area concept” of the Disneyland Park, leading him to be responsible for Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

In 1979, Jim Cora became the managing director of Operations for the Tokyo Disneyland Project. He held responsibility for all of the operational planning, management, and training for the park. Before the park opened, he was promoted to Vice President of Walt Disney Productions Japan, Ltd to help oversee the Oriental Land Company and to upheld Disney’s operational standards.

After his time in Japan, Cora moved back home to California and assumed the role of Vice President of Disneyland International in 1983. Shortly thereafter, Cora took on the project of negotiating agreements and master planning for the Disneyland Paris project. He was promoted to Vice President and COO for the Euro Disney Corporation. In 1995, Jim was promoted to President of Disneyland International where he oversaw the development of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. His final focus was to develop and maintain strategies that would allow Tokyo Disney Resort to succeed and grow. He retired from this position in 2001.

Josh D’Amaro, the current Disney Parks Chairman, claims that Jim Cora was one of the few remaining connections to Walt Disney. D’Amaro said in a statement,

“His dedication to bringing Disney magic to people around the world was only matched by the passion he exuded throughout his career and for the many years that followed. I always loved hearing Jim’s thoughts about our business. He was one of our last connections to Walt Disney and he will be missed dearly.”

Disney Legend & Artist, Charles Boyer, Has Passed Away

Disney Legend Charles Boyer, who accepted a “temporary” job at Disneyland as a portrait sketch artist in fall 1960 and remained there for 39 years, passed away on February 8, 2021 in Ontario, California. He is survived by two children, Bruce and Naomi. His wife, Ellen, preceded him in death. D23 shares Boyer’s story below as they remember his amazing career with Disney.

Boyer had the unique distinction of having been Disneyland’s first full-time artist and eventually was elevated to become Disneyland’s master illustrator. He captured in his work the unique and fanciful spirit of Disney characters and theme park environments.

Charles Boyer

Itself a reflexive work referencing his earlier “Triple Self Portrait” (1978), Boyer’s later “Self Portrait: Mickey Mouse” (1989) would also playfully riff on the Rockwellian concept.

“You always remember the early days,” Boyer once said of his earliest time at Disneyland. “Mine were very memorable because it was all new. Disneyland was only 5 years old when I started. We had a family atmosphere… the feeling of the park is still carried on by the cast members. I’m proud to be a part of that.”

Boyer’s art training began with art classes in high school, where he nurtured a love for the beautiful desert landscape. While still a teen, he won first place at the Imperial Valley County Fair and developed a passion for the work of Vincent Van Gogh.

Soon after, he enrolled in courses at Chouinard Art Institute. He received a “working scholarship,” performing double duty as the janitor while attending classes as an art student. Classes in design and cartooning convinced Boyer to consider a commercial art career as an alternative to fine arts.

Charles Boyer

“A Disneyland Tribute to Fire Fighters” sought to honor its chosen subject matter “In commemoration of their heroic efforts during the Southland fires of 1993.” It would prove to be one of Boyer’s most iconic works.

Six months after beginning work at Disneyland, he joined the marketing and advertising art department as an illustrator. “We did everything—design, production, illustration,” he once said. During his 39 years with Disneyland, Boyer produced nearly 50 collectible lithographs, as well as a diverse range of artwork for magazine covers, brochures, and flyers—even Company-commissioned oil portraits for retiring employees. He worked in all media, including pastels, oils, watercolors, gouache, acrylics, pencil, and ink. He created such well-loved pieces as “Partners,” a 1981 painting of Walt Disney hand in hand with Mickey Mouse (shown in a different pose from the later “Partners” statue seen at Disneyland), and “Triple Self-Portrait,” the 1978 work based on Norman Rockwell’s similarly titled painting, featuring Walt Disney looking into a mirror and painting a portrait of Mickey Mouse.

Charles Boyer

“I know people can do things that they like,” he once remembered. “I wasn’t very good when I came out of school. I spent 40 years at this getting good.”

On his retirement in 1999, the artist reflected, “I’ve worked with such great people. My wife used to ask if I was actually getting any work done, because I was having so much fun.”