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Legendary Disney imagineer Rolly Crump dies at 93
The Industry Mar 13, 2023
Rolly Crump, left, with Walt Disney. | Photo courtesy of the Walt Disney Co.
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Funeral services were pending Monday for Rolly Crump, a longtime Disney Imagineer who played a key role in the early design of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, most notably on attractions such as the Haunted Mansion and Enchanted Tiki Room.
Crump died Sunday at his home in Carlsbad at age 93, according to The Walt Disney Co.
A native of Alhambra, Crump joined Disney in 1952 as a “dipper” in a ceramic factory, working on weekends building sewer manholes to make ends meet. He eventually joined Disney Animation, where he worked as an assistant animator and contributed to films including “Peter Pan,” “Lady and the Tramp” and “Sleeping Beauty.”
In 1959, he joined WED Enterprises, now known as Walt Disney Imagineering, helping to design attractions for Disneyland. In addition to Haunted Mansion and the Tiki Room, he also helped design the “it’s a small world” attraction, including the iconic animated clock at the ride’s entrance.
Born Roland Crump, he became known as Rolly primarily thanks to Walt Disney’s inability to remember his name.
“I started off as Roland, then I was ‘Owen’ for a while, and then I became ‘Orland,’ but of course, I would answer to anything he called me,” Crump once said, according to Disney. “But the crowning glory was when he called me ‘what’s his name.'”
Crump later worked on initial designs for the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, also contributing designs for EPCOT Center, but he continued working on master planning for an expansion of Disneyland until 1981.
He left the company in 1981 to begin his own firm, the Mariposa Design Group, although he officially “retired” from the Walt Disney Co. in 1996. He was named a Disney Legend in 2004.
He is survived by his wife, Marie Tocci; children Christopher, Roxana and Theresa; and three grandchildren.
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