OBIT : Ralph Kent
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Orlando Sentinel) – Fascinated from a young age by the art and design of Walt Disney, Ralph Kent went on to help define that Disney style himself. Kent, who was born Jan. 28, 1939, as Ralph Kwiatkowski in Buffalo, NY, died Monday in Kissimmee. His 41-year career as a designer and trainer was so influential that he was named to the Walt Disney Co.'s "Disney Legends" hall of fame and had a shop window dedicated to him on Main Street in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. He was 68. Kent is credited with designing the first adult Mickey Mouse watch in 1965. He went on to be a design leader and an instructor for Walt Disney Imagineering at Walt Disney World. He retired in 2004. He left a design legacy beyond Disney. Kent also is credited with designing mascot icons for the Buffalo Bills and the Florida Marlins. According to his Disney Legends biography, he became enamored with Disney art as a boy, creating a mural of Disney charac-ters across his family's basement wall, and that led him to exchange letters with company founder Walt Dis-ney. After attending art school at the University of Buffalo, serving in the Army and changing his name, Kent got a job designing at
Disneyland in 1963. Marty Sklar, executive vice president and Imagineering ambassa-dor, called Kent "a real 'pixie' – a big guy with a soft manner and always warm smile." In 1965, Kent designed the first limited-edition Mickey Mouse watch for adults, which Walt Disney presented to 25 of his top execu-tives, according to Kent's Disney Legends biography. He arrived at Walt Disney World in 1971 as a designer, and by the end of the 1970s he oversaw the Walt Disney Imagineering East Coast staff. In 1990, he joined the Disney Design Group as a corporate trainer. He retired in 2004. His Main Street window reads: "The Ralph Kent Collection: Fine Arts and Collectibles. Anaheim, Lake Buena Vista and Tokyo."
