Here is the press release from Disney. Its amazing the things this man accomplished in his lifetime...
Source: Disney press release
GLENDALE, Calif., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hench, longtime Disney artist whose designs were found in both animated features and theme parks and who was the official portrait artist of Mickey Mouse, died Thursday morning, February 5. He was 95 and lived in Toluca Lake with his wife of 65 years, Lowry. Hench died of heart failure after a brief illness and hospitalization at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.
"John Hench taught me and so many others about the essence of the Disney legacy. He was at Walt's side during the creation of so much classic entertainment and continued to be a vital creative force for our company right up until the end," said Michael Eisner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "John's creative legacy will live on in the current generation of Disney designers he nurtured and inspired. He will be greatly missed by all of us who were privileged to work with him and by everyone who cherishes Disney family entertainment."
Hench began his career with Disney in May 1939 in Disney's old Hyperion Studio in Los Angeles as a sketch artist on "Fantasia." He worked in story editing, layout, background, effects animation and special effects on such legendary Disney films as "Dumbo," "The Three Caballeros," "Peter Pan" and "Cinderella." In his unprecedented 64 years with the Walt Disney Company, he was instrumental in the design of Disney theme parks and resorts and was the official portrait artist of Mickey Mouse. Hench painted likenesses of Disney's famous mouse for the character's 25th, 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays. Until two weeks ago, Hench came to work every day at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, where he was actively involved in the design of Disney's latest theme park in Hong Kong.
Hench was born June 29, 1908, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and grew up in Southern California. He attended the Art Students' League in New York City and received a scholarship to the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Hench also studied at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco and the Chouinard Institute in Los Angeles.
After completing his art training, Hench researched motion picture color processes at the Vitacolor Studios in Hollywood and then worked in special effects at Republic Studios. He also created seasonal themes for window displays and newspaper advertisements for the Broadway department stores.
After "Fantasia," Hench worked as a background painter on "Dumbo" (1941), a layout artist on "The Three Caballeros" (1945) and "Fun & Fancy Free" (1947), an art supervisor on "Make Mine Music" (1946) and on coloring and styling for "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (1949), "Cinderella" (1950), "Alice in Wonderland" (1951) and "Peter Pan" (1953). He developed the cartoon art treatment for the combination live action and animated feature, "So Dear to My Heart" (1949) and the animation effects for the True-Life Adventure "The Living Desert" (1953). Hench received the lead title special effects credits on "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," which won the Academy Award(R) in 1954 for special effects.
In the early 1940s, Hench was paired with artist Salvador Dali to create storyboard sketches for a proposed, but not completed, film called "Destino." Walt Disney Feature Animation recently used the original artwork as inspiration for a short film of the same name, which was just nominated for an Academy Award(R).
In 1954 Walt Disney asked Hench to leave the world of motion pictures and join a small team of artists and designers working on Disney's idea for a new kind of themed amusement park. The group was WED Enterprises which later became Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of Disney theme parks and resorts worldwide. Hench worked first on the creation of Tomorrowland at
Disneyland and in the process discovered a new career as a Disney park designer. After Walt Disney's death in 1966, Hench became one of Imagineering's chief designers and played a key role in the creation of every one of Disney's 10 existing theme parks, as well as Hong Kong Disneyland, now under construction. He oversaw the creation of Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971 and the addition of Epcot in 1982. He helped supervise the design of Disney's first overseas park, Tokyo Disneyland, which opened in 1983 in Japan.
Hench's talents were applied to other Disney projects, including the Olympics and the 1964 World's Fair. In 1960 Hench and his team of Disney artists and designers created the backdrop for the VIII Winter Olympic Games at Squaw Valley, Idaho, staged the opening and closing ceremonies and oversaw production of "snow statues" and other elements seen throughout the Olympic village. Hench also helped develop the four Disney shows that debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair: "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln," "Carousel of Progress," "it's a small world" and "Magic Skyway."
Hench continued to work with and inspire a new generation of Disney designers in the creation of Disney-MGM Studios in Florida (1989), Disneyland Paris (1992), Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida (1998), Disney's California Adventure (2001), Tokyo DisneySea (2001) and Walt Disney Studios in France (2002).
In 1990 Hench was named a Disney Legend, an honor awarded to individuals who have made major contributions to the company. In 1998 he was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Themed Entertainment Association, an industry trade group. This month, John was honored with The Winsor McCay award from the International Animated Film Society in recognition of lifetime career contributions to the art of animation.
Hench's recently published book, "Designing Disney: Imagineering and The Art of the Show," is already in its second printing. The book chronicles the years John spent working side-by-side with Walt Disney and the lessons he learned.
"Other than Walt Disney himself, no one symbolizes The Walt Disney Company more than John Hench," added Martin A. Sklar, vice chairman and principal creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, who spent 48 years working side-by-side with Hench. "He was an accomplished artist, designer and stylist who had a tremendous influence not only on the movies and theme parks he worked on, but on the thousands of people he worked with during his many years with the company."
"John Hench's influence will long continue at Walt Disney Imagineering through the generations of designers and artists he inspired during his career. Through his commitment to delighting visitors through his work, John embodied the essence of Imagineering," said Don Goodman, president, Walt Disney Imagineering.
Hench is survived by his wife, Lowry.
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