WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING ARTIST JOHN HENCH DIES John Hench (left), 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. (PRNewsFoto)[RV] GLENDALE, CA USA
		WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING ARTIST JOHN HENCH DIES John Hench (left), 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. (PRNewsFoto)[RV] GLENDALE, CA USA

    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.
     (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040205/LATH123-a )
     (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040205/LATH123-b )
    "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.

    For further information, please contact Marilyn Waters of Walt Disney
Imagineering Media Relations, +1-818-544-2142.

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