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The Ryman Centennial: Jack Of All Trades

Oh Buzz, get over yourself…

By 1959, Herb Ryman had been working on Disneyland projects at WED Enterprises for several years. Walt’s studio was always big on cross-pollination, though, and when the Studio side needed a fine art painting done for The Shaggy Dog they called Herb. The film was Disney’s first live-action comedy and […]

The Ryman Centennial: The Phone Call

Walt Disney displays a number of concept art pieces for Disneyland, all created by Herbert Ryman

“Hello?”

“Hi Herb, it’s Bill Cottrell. We’re over at the Studio working on something and Walt wants to talk to you.”

“Well, OK…”

“Hiya Herbie, it’s Walt!”

“Well hi, Walt, how are you?”

“Fine, Herb, fine. Now listen. I’m […]

The Ryman Centennial: An Intermission With Herb

As we take a brief intermission before we start looking at Disney artist Herbert Ryman’s contributions to Imagineering – contributions that would occupy the last thirty-some years of his life – perhaps it would be nice to hear, for the first time, from the man himself. Author John Donaldson has uploaded this video, which originally […]

The Ryman Centennial: Herbie Ryman, Or Two Years With A Circus

Herb Ryman with one of his paintings of the circus, 1953

It seems so strange today how great a hold the circus held on the psyche of young Americans in the last century. For Herb Ryman, it was no different; he, too, was drawn to the romance of sawdust and greasepaint and the open road. […]

Making Magic: How Computers Influenced Roller Coaster Design

When one thinks about Imagineering, it’s most likely that the mind first runs to the artists. With fifty-five years of renderings, sketches, models, sculptures and amazing artwork, it’s perhaps no surprise that the fine artists have often become the public face of Disney’s creative workshop. Unfortunately this can do a disservice to the engineering side […]