Friday, September 06, 2019

More Imagineers At the Fair! June 1964

It's time for another great photo from the 1964 New York World's Fair, with a surprise or two!

Among the slides was this group shot, and at first I recognized some of the same faces that appeared in another photo. Which was very cool. But there were some additional people added to the mix! Here's the photo all by itself.


Check it out! It took me a minute to put a name to the mustachioed gentleman, until I realized that it is legendary animator Bill Tytla! And that blonde lady in the lavender dress is legendary and beloved artist Mary Blair?!! Wowee. I am not 100% certain of the identities of the women whose names are in orange, but... more on that in a bit.

(If anybody can ID the man in the white shirt, to the left, I would appreciate it very much!)


Here's a photo of Bill Tytla (standing), along with Art Babbit, circa 1967. Bill left the Disney Studio in 1943 after the divisive animator's strike, feeling that there was too much tension and unpleasantness. He moved to Connecticut, where he worked for a variety of animation studios, including Terrytoons, Famous Studios (Popeye, Casper, etc), and Tempo Productions (which made industrial films and advertisements).

I think it's interesting that he stayed in touch with his friends at Disney, and one can surmise that they invited him to meet them at the Fair.


Historian John Canemaker called Tytla "animation's Michelangelo". Here are just a few of the animated characters that he brought to life:


I don't think I need to tell you about Mary Blair and her accomplishments - her work has achieved a level of love and appreciation that she probably could have never imagined. Here's Mary, with her husband Lee.


In this photo we can see some of the usual suspects as they head toward the entrance to the Travelers Insurance pavilion... there's Mary Blair in her lilac outfit.


I found this photo online, and it was partly the reason why I think that the lady in the blue coat might be Harriet Burns.

Meanwhile, the woman to the left is Joyce Carlson, who (obviously) worked on "The Enchanted Tiki Room, and "It's a Small World" (for the Fair). Most photos of Joyce are from when she was a much older woman, and I am even less confident when it comes to identifying her. 


Here's a side-by-side comparison of the photos, Harriet on the left, and what I think might be her on the right. I'm just not certain though! The hair looks about right, but that might have been a common style from the time. What do you think?


Here's another photo of Harriet! She was one of the very first Imagineers, and certainly the first woman among that group. She worked in the model shop along with Fred Joerger and Wathel Rogers, and built scale models for Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Matterhorn (among her many other accomplishments). She is a Disney Legend and has a window on Main Street.


Here's the pavilion of the Mormon Church. If you are wondering what relevance this has...


... we can see Bill Tytla standing with Ken Anderson (animator, Imagineer), and shaking hands with Les Clark (one of the Nine Old Men). Perhaps this was where they decided to meet up that day.


I hope you have enjoyed today's World's Fair pix; there are still a few more fun surprises to come.

19 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Pretty nice 'sleuthing'. A treasure-trove of fine folks.

Thanks, Major.

MIKE COZART said...

I think the man in the white shirt may be imagineer Paul Hartley. The hairline seems similar and Paul whore those narrow bow ties. Of course Paul created the famous “It’s A Small World” attraction poster first used at the fair among other graphics for that attraction and others. Paul Hartley is one of those designers that influenced the park’s so much but remains very under-sung.

Melissa said...

The story about Bill Tytla and the strike is very appropriate for Labor Day Week!

What a lovely, soft white babushka - a perfect birthday present! It looks like a windy day; I'm surprised more ladies aren't wearing hats or scarves. They must've loaded up on the Aqua Net.

The Travelers Insurance entrance looks like one of any number of locations in EPCOT's Future World.

I'm pretty confident in your Imigineerdendificationating skills.

Andrew said...

These pictures were quite a cool find. I know some of these people, but I will have to look up several of these names. I'm sure they all have interesting stories!

"Lou and Sue" said...

WOW! What great pictures and information! I had to take an extra moment to look around today's post to see if I was missing something - like maybe today was a special day or date . . . but, no, the Major just raised the bar, again. Major, thank you for all your hard work - it is appreciated!

That's interesting how Mary Blair has that "extra flair" - colorful and classy!

Melissa, is it your birthday today? (Or am I reading your comment wrong?) If it is your day - Happy Birthday!!!

Melissa - Aqua Net - hahaha! I remember that smell well, as my mom used it for her perfect beehive do (doo?), for years.

Sue

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure that is Harriet Burns. Her nose looks the same in all the pictures... and the nose knows! My mom used Aqua-net. I still remember the can with the stylized net pattern on it (although at the time I thought it was just diamond shapes). Ah, the 60's...if only they were as good as I remember them being....

Melissa said...

It is my birthday; thanks! I remember in high school drama club we had this big box of enormous pink cans of Aqua Net that looked like it had come through WWII in a bomb shelter, judging by the very vintage design on the can. And the smell! I always felt bad for anyone playing an older person, cuz the teacher doing hair and makeup would put clown white and baby powder in their hair, and then seal it in with a top coat of this ancient hair shellac.

"Lou and Sue" said...

Happy Birthday, Melissa!!!! Today IS a special day - that's why we have a special post!

Sue

JC Shannon said...

So much talent in one place. They all left a pretty great mark on the world. Happy birthday Melissa, I haven't had one since I turned 39. I figured that was enough. Thanks major.

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday, Melissa! You're exactly one week before me! September kids rock!!!

JG said...

Major, a serious work of scholarship.

Amazing to see these folks reunited at the Fair.

Thanks Major!

JG

Nanook said...

@ Melissa-
Well... this IS a special day, indeed. Just LOOKIE HERE to see the celebration-! Happy Birthday.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, thanks!

Mike Cozart, it would be cool if it that man is Paul Hartley! He produced tons of artwork that I admire, including several attraction posters (like the “Small World” example you mentioned). I thought that doing a Google image search would find some photos of Mr. Hartley, but so far, I’ve had no luck.

Melissa, your mention of wind makes me think that these are not actually from June of 1964, despite the date stamp on the slides. People would not be wearing those coats in NYC in June! I agree, the Travelers Insurance building does look EPCOT-y.

Penna. Andrew, yes, I think you’ll find that all of those people have interesting stories!

Lou and Sue, it’s just a Friday - I generally try to post something a little nicer on Fridays (though I don’t always manage it). And I totally missed Melissa’s birthday comment! Doh.

Stu29573, the more I compared the photos, the better I felt about my guess for Harriet. I wish I could find some better photos of Joyce Carlson from those days - most pictures show her in her 80’s.

Melissa, Happy Birthday! It’s my mom’s birthday too. Back in the 80’s many girls I knew who had upswept “New Wave” hairdos swore by Aqua Net. I remember watching one girl basically hang upside down while she shellacked her hair!

Lou and Sue, you picked up on it before I did.

Jonathan, why didn’t I think of stopping birthdays at 39??

Stu29573, there sure seem to be a lot of kids born in August and September!

JG, I can’t help thinking that these slides would have been completely unidentified if I hadn’t happened to get them. It almost feels like fate, if I believed in such a thing!

Nanook, wow, that is some photo.

Melissa said...

JC - You, my Grandma, and Jack Benny!

Stu - Lots of happy parents on New Year's Eve.

Nanook - Wow! Those ladies are ready for their Lawrence Welk debut!

Nanook said...

The ‘Joyful Sounds’ album cover came from the LP Cover Lover site. The original cover merely had ‘outreached hands’. The blog master is a genius in captioning the covers in his extensive collection, and sometimes challenges his viewers to provide captions, or other things. This work of Photoshop genius was provided by a follower of the site. It’s easily worthy of an Aqua Net ad of its own-!

Matthew said...

@ Mike Cozart - My immediate thought to the man in the white shirt may be Dick Nunis? https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/dick-nunis/ Just a thought.

Always your pal,
Amazon Belle

JG said...

Happy Birthday, Melissa. Echoing Winnie-the-Pooh, I wish you many happy returns of the day!

JG

"Lou and Sue" said...

Happy Birthday to Mom Pepperidge, too!

Sue

MIKE COZART said...

MATHEW:
Dick Nunis could totally be the man in the white shirt!! I’ve been comparing pictures of Nunis . But the single shot of Paul Hartley .. the both have a similar look.

-Mike