John Hench has passed away.

[daannzzz]

read here on Mouseinfo.com.
http://www.mouseinfo.com/mousetalk/showthread.php?t=13481

 

[WDWHound]

This is sad news indeed. John Hench was one of the most creative Imagineers who ever worked for Walt. His contributions to the art of theme park and attraction design are legendary.

 

[lenshanem]

Oh, I'm so sad to hear this.

Dh just bought his book off Amazon the other day to use for work to try to spark soem creativity with coworkers.
I was amzed when i flipped through it. He really was super talented and used his gift in so many differnet areas for the Disney company.

Was thsi sudden? I know he was up there in age, but from what I read he was quite active!

 

[daannzzz]

[QUOTE
Was this sudden? I know he was up there in age, but from what I read he was quite active! [/B][/QUOTE]

I read that he was ill last week and then early today that he was critical. I also read something about him having a fall at WDI as well but do not know if that is true.

 

[WDWHound]

Daannzz - Do you have any other links? I can find very little regarding his death on the web

 

[daannzzz]

So far I have only found the one I linked to and a couple sentences mentioned on Laughingplace.com along with someone who "confirmed" it on the laughingplace message boards. I suspect there has not been any formal or even casual annoucement.

 

[Goofyposter]

RIP John.....Walt truely appreciated you.

 

[renknt]

From the BBC:

John Hench, the official portrait painter of Mickey Mouse, has died in California at the age of 95. Hench, a prominent Disney artist whose work was featured in classic cartoons such as Fantasia and Dumbo, had worked for Disney since 1939.
The artist, a close associate of Walt Disney, also played a key role in the creation of Disney theme parks, including the design of Space Mountain.
Disney chairman Michael Eisner called Hench "a vital creative force". "John Hench taught me and so many others about the essence of the Disney legacy," he said.
When Walt Disney started planning for Disneyland, Hench was one of the first artists he enlisted.

After the founder's death in 1966, he oversaw the creation of Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971 and the addition of Epcot in 1982.
He also helped supervise the design of Disney's first overseas park, Tokyo Disneyland, which opened in 1983.

Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he grew up in southern California and received a scholarship to the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. He later studied at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
He won an Oscar for special effects for the 1955 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Hench died of heart failure at a hospital in Burbank, the Disney company said. He leaves a widow, Lowry.

This is a truely sad day for Disney.

I love the quote from E$iner "John Hench taught me and so many others about the essence of the Disney legacy," The way he is doing things it makes me wonder if he paid any attention to John.