Yale Gracey

Yale Gracey
BornSeptember 3, 1910
Shanghai, China
DiedSeptember 5, 1983(1983-09-05) (aged 73)
Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, United States
Cause of deathMurder
EducationArt Institute of Chicago, Art Center School of Design, The Chouinard Art Institute
Occupation(s)Animator
Imagineer
Years active1939–1975
EmployerWalt Disney Animation Studios (1942–1956)
SpouseBeverly Gracey
FamilyYale

Yale Wilbur Gracey (September 3, 1910 – September 5, 1983) was a Disney Imagineer, writer, and layout artist for many Disney animated shorts, including classics such as The Three Caballeros and Fantasia. Gracey joined the company in 1939 as a layout artist for Pinocchio. In the 1960s, he designed many of the special effects for the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland. Among these was a fire effect, developed for Pirates of the Caribbean,[1] which appeared so realistic that the Disneyland fire department wanted an emergency switch to turn it off in case of a real fire.[2] The Haunted Mansion character Master Gracey was named in homage to him. Gracey retired from the company on October 4, 1975.[3]

  1. ^ "The Wizard of WED: Yale Gracey".
  2. ^ Bright, Randy (1987). Disneyland : inside story. New York: H.N. Abrams. p. 193. ISBN 0-8109-0811-5.
  3. ^ "Yale Gracey - Animation, Disney Legends, Imagineering". D23.com. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved 6 March 2015.