Yale Wilbur Gracey was a Chinese-American Imagineer, writer, and layout artist, who joined Disney in 1939 as a layout artist for Pinocchio. He also worked on animated shorts and films, including classics, such as The Three Caballeros and Fantasia.
By 1961, through years of hands-on experimentation and curiosity, Yale began his second career at Disney as a special effects and lighting artist at Walt Disney Imagineering - then WED Enterprises. Gracey created many of the special effects for Disneyland's attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion where he designed the iconic 'grim grinning ghosts' that inhabit the mansion as well as the realistic flames burning the overtaken city in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Gracey is also responsible for creating unique and creative illusions for Walt Disney's most beloved attractions including the Carousel of Progress for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair and it was later used in Space Mountain to block out the surrounding roller coaster structure. For the original EPCOT Center, Gracey created the breathtaking 'CenterCore' finale of the much missed World of Motion attraction.
He retired on October 4, 1975.[1]
Death and legacy[]
Gracey was murdered while sleeping on September 5, 1983 in Los Angeles, California by a burglar, 2 days after his 73rd birthday. Gracey's wife, Beverly, was injured in the attack as well.[2][3] Posthumously inducted as a Disney Legend in 1999, the Master Gracey character on the Haunted Mansion attraction is based on him. Every morning, Cast Members place a red rose on Master Gracey's grave. This is believed to have started in the 1980s after Gracey's murder as a tribute to the Imagineer.
Disney Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Pinocchio | layout artist |
| 1940 | Fantasia | segment "The Pastoral Symphony" |
| 1941 | The Reluctant Dragon | art direction: cartoon sequences |
| 1942 | Saludos Amigos | backgrounds/layout artist - uncredited |
| 1943 | Figaro and Cleo | layout artist - uncredited |
| 1944 | Donald's Off Day | layout artist |
| 1944 | The Three Caballeros | layout artist |
| 1945 | The Eyes Have It | layout artist |
| 1945 | No Sail | layout artist |
| 1946 | A Knight for a Day | layout artist |
| 1946 | Lighthouse Keeping | layout artist |
| 1946 | The Story of Menstruation | layout artist - uncredited |
| 1946 | Frank Duck Brings 'em Back Alive | layout artist |
| 1946 | Double Dribble | layout artist |
| 1947 | Straight Shooters | layout artist |
| 1947 | Clown of the Jungle | layout artist |
| 1947 | Bootle Beetle | layout artist |
| 1947 | Foul Hunting | layout artist |
| 1947 | Chip an' Dale | layout artist |
| 1948 | They're Off | layout artist |
| 1948 | Inferior Decorator | layout artist |
| 1948 | Soup's On | layout artist |
| 1948 | Three for Breakfast | layout artist |
| 1948 | Tea for Two Hundred | layout |
| 1949 | Donald's Happy Birthday | layout artist |
| 1949 | Sea Salts | layout artist |
| 1949 | Winter Storage | layout artist |
| 1949 | Honey Harvester | layout artist |
| 1949 | All in a Nutshell | layout artist |
| 1949 | The Greener Yard | layout artist |
| 1949 | Slide, Donald, Slide | layout artist |
| 1949 | Toy Tinkers | layout artist |
| 1950 | Lion Around | layout artist |
| 1950 | Crazy Over Daisy | layout artist |
| 1950 | Trailer Horn | layout artist |
| 1950 | Hook, Lion and Sinker | layout artist |
| 1950 | Bee at the Beach | layout |
| 1950 | Out on a Limb | layout artist |
| 1951 | Chicken in the Rough | layout artist |
| 1951 | Dude Duck | layout artist |
| 1951 | Corn Chips | layout artist |
| 1951 | Test Pilot Donald | layout artist |
| 1951 | Lucky Number | layout artist |
| 1951 | Out of Scale | layout artist |
| 1951 | Bee on Guard | layout artist |
| 1952 | Donald Applecore | layout artist |
| 1952 | Lambert the Sheepish Lion | layout artist |
| 1952 | Two Chips and a Miss | layout artist |
| 1952 | Let's Stick Together | layout artist |
| 1952 | Uncle Donald's Ants | layout artist |
| 1952 | Trick or Treat | background artist layout artist |
| 1952 | Pluto's Christmas Tree | layout artist |
| 1953 | Don's Fountain of Youth | layout artist |
| 1953 | The New Neighbor | layout artist |
| 1953 | Rugged Bear | layout artist |
| 1953 | Working for Peanuts | layout artist |
| 1953 | Canvas Back Duck | layout artist |
| 1954-1968 | The Magical World of Disney | layout artist stylist ("The Plausible Impossible") |
| 1954 | Spare the Rod | layout artist |
| 1954 | Dragon Around | layout artist |
| 1954 | Grin and Bear It | layout artist |
| 1954 | The Flying Squirrel | layout artist |
| 1955 | No Hunting | layout artist |
| 1955 | Bearly Asleep | layout artist |
| 1955 | Beezy Bear | layout artist |
| 1955 | Up a Tree | layout artist |
| 1956 | Hooked Bear | layout artist |
| 1956 | In the Bag | layout artist |