Disney’s Magic Makers: Ward Kimball
Welcome to part seven of nine focusing on Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men. This week, we’re focusing on Ward Kimball.
Content:
Before the Studios
At the Studios
After the Studios
Before the Studios
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Ward Kimball was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on March 4, 1914. His fascination with drawing and railroads began at a young age (his earliest drawing was of a steam engine). From childhood and into his adulthood, Kimball took his love for drawing, along with his passion for railroads, with him wherever he went. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at the Santa Barbara School of Art in hopes of becoming a magazine illustrator. After seeing Disney’s “Three Little Pigs” at a theater, Kimball changed his mind and set out to become an animator for the Walt Disney Studios. In 1934, Kimball joined the staff of animators as the 7th of Walt’s “Nine Old Men.”
At the Studios
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While working at Walt Disney Studios, Kimball worked on Pinocchio (animated Jiminy Cricket), Alice in Wonderland (animated Tweedledee and Tweedledum and Mad Hatter), Cinderella (animated Mice and Lucifer the Cat), Dumbo (animated Crows), The Three Caballeros (animated The Three Caballeros), Mary Poppins (animated the barnyard animal scene), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (directed animation), The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, Million Dollar Duck, Babes in Toyland (helped write the story). He also received two Academy Awards. One for ”Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom” (the first CinemaScope cartoon) and another for “It’s Tough to Be a Bird” (a combination of live-action and animation).
While working for Disney, Kimball also acted as a consultant for WED Enterprises (most notably on the World of Motion at EPCOT Center). He also played the trombone with the “Firehouse Five Plus Two” in Disneyland. Ward Kimball retired in 1972, just 2 years shy of 40 years at the company.
After the Studios:
After Kimball retired, he worked on his other obsession: trains (which was what led Disney to ask him to consult on the World of Motion). Kimball was an avid railroad enthusiast (along with co-worker Ollie Johnston and employer Walt Disney). He built a railroad in his own backyard called “Grizzly Flats.” The full-size steam engine that ran along the tracks bears original artwork by Kimball and was donated to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California, after his death. It is thought that Kimball’s fascination with railroads (along with Walt’s) lead to the developement of the Disneyland Railroad. Disney used Kimball’s Grizzly Flats Train Station as a model for the Frontierland Train Station in Disneyland (trivia fact: In 2005, Engine #5 on the Disneyland Railroad was introduced as the Ward Kimball).
In 1989, Ward Kimball was inducted as a Disney Legend. He died on July 8, 2002, of natural causes.
Sant was flying in his car full of presents across the moonlight sky, with a group of Reindeer very sad watching him from a hilltop. Any information would really be a great help with my search. Thanks, Jackie
Ah, Ward Kimball. If I”m not mistaken, he was at the opening of the first Walt Disney Gallery store in Santa Ana, CA. My mom and I were there – I was a CM at the time (tho not at that store). Everyone was mingling, and Mom made a point of literally bumping into him, you know, so she would say she “bumped into Ward Kimball”. We were both glad he didn’t fall and break a hip.