Yale Gracey
Yale Gracey | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 3, 1910 |
| Died | September 5, 1983 (aged 73) Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Cause of death | Murder |
| Education | Art Institute of Chicago, Art Center School of Design, The Chouinard Art Institute |
| Occupation(s) | Animator Imagineer |
| Years active | 1939–1975 |
| Employer | Walt Disney Productions (1942–1956) |
| Spouse | Beverly Gracey |
| Family | Yale |
Yale Wilbur Gracey (September 3, 1910 – September 5, 1983) was a Disney Imagineer, writer, and layout artist for many Disney animated shorts, including classics such as The Three Caballeros and Fantasia. Gracey joined the company in 1939 as a layout artist for Pinocchio. In the 1960s, he designed many of the special effects for the Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland. Among these was a fire effect, developed for Pirates of the Caribbean, which appeared so realistic that the Disneyland fire department wanted an emergency switch to turn it off in case of a real fire. The Haunted Mansion character Master Gracey was named in homage to him. Gracey retired from the company on October 4, 1975.