Disneyland Windows > Richard "Dick" Irvine
Location: Disney Gallery, Town Square - Main Street USA, Disneyland.
In 1952, Walt Disney recruited Richard F. Irvine, an Art Director at 20th Century Fox who had worked on A Miracle on 34th Street and High Noon. Irvine had worked with Disney Studios in the past, but this time Disney hired Irvine for a new project, the Disneyland theme park. Throughout construction, Irvine was one of Disney's key supervisors, heading the design and planning for all of Disneyland's attractions.
After Disneyland's opening in 1955, Irvine remained in charge of the development of Disneyland attractions. In 1964-65 Irvine supervised the Disney attractions (including "it's a small world") created for the New York World's Fair. In 1967, Irvine was named Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for WED Enterprises, later known as Walt Disney Imagineering. He shaped the master plan for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. He continued to oversee development of all Disney attractions until his retirement from the Walt Disney Company in 1973.
Nine out of his ten children went on to work for the Walt Disney Company. His daughter Maggie Irvine Elliot, was Senior Vice President of Creative Administration for WDI. His daughter-in-law is noted Imagineer, Kim Thomas Irvine. After a lengthy illness, Disney Legend Dick Irvine died in Los Angeles, California on March 30, 1976.