USA: † Disney Imagineer Marty Sklar Dies at the Age of 83
Disney Imagineer Martin “Marty” Sklar passed away in his Hollywood Hills home at the age of 83 this past Thursday. The amusement industry loses a visionary, whose working life’s heritage is impressive: during 54 years spent at The Walt Disney Company and as the leading brain of Disney Imagineers – the company’s storied theme park design and development arm –, Marty Sklar witnessed the development of the “Disney Empire” since its beginning. Sklar attended the University of California in Los Angeles and was editor of the Daily Bruin newspaper when he was recruited to create the “Disneyland News” for the new Disney Anaheim theme park in 1955. After graduating one year later, he joined Disney full-time and worked in close cooperation with him. As his “right hand”, he wrote speeches, prepared marketing materials and films to showcase Disney’s vision for Walt Disney World and the Epcot theme park in Florida. During that time, Sklar began his career at WED Enterprises, the forerunner of Walt Disney Imagineering, and would later become the creative leader of Imagineering, leading the development of Disney theme parks and attractions for the next three decades. He retired as Executive Vice President and Imagineering Ambassador on July 17th, 2009.
“He embodied the very best of Disney, from his bold originality to his joyful optimism and relentless drive for excellence. He was also a powerful connection to Walt himself. No one was more passionate about Disney than Marty and we’ll miss his enthusiasm, his grace, and his indomitable spirit,” said Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company.
Marty Sklar is survived by his wife Leah (60), his son Howard and his wife Katriina Koski-Sklar and their children Gabriel and Hannah and by his daughter Leslie with her children Rachel and Jacob. (eap)
