Disney In Memoriam 2020 – We’ll Miss Them All

Each year, some of our favorite celebrities and Disney influences die. 2020 was no different, with some beloved people stepping into the light.

Here’s our annual Disney in memoriam for the year.

Alex Trebek (Ellen’s Energy Adventure)

Of course, we all know game show Alex Trebek best for his decades of work on Jeopardy.

Disney fans love him that much more for Ellen’s Energy Adventure.

In this ride video, Trebek appeared in a fictional game of Jeopardy, helping Ellen DeGeneres learn about fossil fuels.

Ann Sullivan

Many of the people on this list lived rich, full lives.

Ann Sullivan definitely qualifies, as the former Disney animator died at the age of 90.

Sullivan worked on some of Disney’s earliest blockbusters like Peter Pan before retiring to raise a family.

Once her four children were old enough, Sullivan returned to animation at Hanna-Barbera.

She eventually rejoined Disney for projects like The Little Mermaid and Lilo & Stitch.

Aunty Kau’i

Kau’ihealani Mahikoa Brandt passed away early in January, leaving an irreplaceable hole in the hearts of fans of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.

Since 1971, Aunty Kau’i had warmly greeted guests in the Great Ceremonial House, offering them leis that she had hand-crafted.

Disney officials loved the woman so much that she received a eulogy on the Parks Blog.

Bob Mathieson

Disney Legend Bob Mathieson passed away this morning from a brain hemorrhage. Bob, who started at Disneyland in 1960 as a sound coordinator, helped open WDW as top man in Operations. He retired as Executive VP of WDW in 1994. pic.twitter.com/uAoLkWMdTD

— David Koenig (@davekoenig) January 6, 2020

The tweet tells the story better than I possibly could. Mathieson worked his way up from the bottom at Disney.

He eventually became a high-profile executive at the theme parks, meaning that we’re all eternally grateful to him for his contributions.

Bonni Lou Kern

Back in 1955, months after Disneyland opened, Walt Disney’s brilliant tie-in program debuted.

The Mickey Mouse Club became a seminal part of children’s entertainment for generations.

Bonni Lou Kern stood on the set that day as one of the original Mouseketeers.

She gained such a following that one episode of the show was called Save Bonni Lou Kern!

Brian Dennehy

This legendary performer stakes a claim as one of the greatest character actors ever.

To Disney fans, Dennehy proved unforgettable as Django, Remy’s father, in Ratatouille. I also highly recommend his work in F/X.

Chadwick Boseman

This one still feels fresh even though it happened four months ago.

Boseman ascended the Hollywood food chain so rapidly that you may not believe he was already 43.

The actor’s big break came in 2013 when he portrayed Jackie Robinson in 42.

He was already 36 by that point and still accepting small parts on shows like Fringe and Justified up until then.

Afterward, Boseman’s talent broke down all the industry’s doors and ceilings, eventually leading to his casting as Prince T’Challa.

The actor stole all his scenes in Captain America: Civil War and then became eternally iconic for the character’s standalone movie, Black Panther.

Boseman blended charisma and intelligence as well as anyone I’ve ever seen.

He may receive two posthumous Academy Award nominations as a tribute to his greatness. As things stand, he’s the current favorite to win Best Actor.

Boseman deserves that and oh so much more for his impact on society.

David Lander

Okay, if you’re old enough, you would know Lander best as Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley.

However, that would undersell his impact on Disney animation.

Thanks to his unmistakable voice, Lander proved perfect for such projects.

He worked on Who Framed Roger Rabbit as Smarty the Weasel. He later worked on Talespin, 101 Dalmatians: The Series, and The Little Mermaid series.

Lander was quietly a workaholic for Disney. Well, quietly isn’t the right word there, but you get the point.

David Prowse

I have to hand it to Darth Vader. Few people who are 6’6” or taller live into their 80s.

Prowse first gained attention as a bodybuilder and weightlifting champion. He later turned to acting, where he eventually won the role of a lifetime.

The actor portrayed Darth Vader in the Holy Trilogy, going so far as to voice the character. Alas, George Lucas didn’t think the English accent fit the role.

So, James Earl Jones would take over the audio for Vader while Prowse did all the heavy lifting through Return of the Jedi.

Fred Willard (WALL-E)

When you needed a comedy companion over the past 50 years, Willard was your guy.

He could sell the jokes as a straight man or steal the show with a quick jab of a one-liner.

The Ohio funnyman’s sense of humor relied on goofy confidence and the pure optimism in his voice.

That translated well to animated movies, which Pixar recognized in casting Willard as Shelby Forthright in WALL-E.

Hilariously, the actor filmed his parts, as Pixar shocked everyone by adding a bit of live-action to the animated flick. It’s pretty great:

Disney fans who watched ABC loved Willard in his later years for a different reason. He played Phil’s tirelessly happy dad on Modern Family.

Grant Imahara

At the age of 49, the Mythbusters star experienced an aneurysm and died in his sleep.

As a BattleBots fan, I’ve adored the man for many years. However, Star Wars fans feel an even more profound sense of kinship.

Imahara came up through Lucasfilm’s THX. He quickly proved his technical wizardry and earned a rare privilege.

He worked the buttons on R2-D2, updating some aging units to make them more modern.

Judson Green, former WDW President

Like Mathieson, Green achieved the highest levels of success as a Disney executive.

The man worked as President of Walt Disney World and, later, as President of Walt Disney Attractions. He earned the latter title in 1991.

You can do the math about whichever 1990s attractions you love and recognize how much gratitude you owe Green for his work as a cast member.

Kelly Preston (Sky High)

One of the shocking celebrity deaths this year involved a co-star of Sky High.

Kelly Preston, best known for Jerry Maguire, died at the age of 57. She’d suffered from breast cancer for two years and eventually succumbed to it.

In Sky High, Preston portrayed the Wonder Woman-esque Jetstream, the most powerful female superhero in the world and mother of the main character.

Marge Champion

Do you recognize this name? As a dance teacher, Champion helped Shirley Temple and Cyd Charisse earn global acclaim.

However, her Disney roots matter even more. In 1936, Walt Disney needed a dancer to demonstrate the moves for his first Disney Princess.

Yes, Champion’s footwork inspired elements of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!

You may think she had to have lived a long life to have that claim to fame, and you’d be right. She died at the age of 101.

Nikita Pearl Waligwa

All these deaths are sad, but some are more depressing than others.

Waligwa co-starred in Queen of Katwe when she was 11 years old.

By the age of 12, she had developed a brain tumor and then died early this year from a second tumor. She was only 15. It’s tragic.

Regis Philbin

D-23 adds pages for all Disney employees who receive the title of Disney Legend.

You can Reeg’s D-23 bio here. It tells the story of the beloved host’s value to Disney over the years.

At ABC, his most vital credential was his inimitable work on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, a show that became a national obsession for a couple of years.

He also performed voice work for Disney in Hercules and hosted the Disney Parks Christmas Parade for 17 straight years.

Sean Connery

Sure, you know him first and foremost as James Bond, but 007 shared a Disney connection several years before Dr. No.

In 1959, Connery gained third billing in Darby O’Gill and the Little People, a film that Walt Disney himself conceived.

Yes, Sean Connery worked on a Disney movie all the way back in the 1950s!

Of course, the Scottish actor possesses a more recent connection to Disney, albeit in a roundabout way.

Connery provided the perfect comic foil to Harrison Ford in Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a property Disney owns.

For now, you can watch it on Netflix, but it’ll turn up on Disney+ over the next couple of years.

This film will remind you that Sean Connery is one of the greatest talents ever.

Others We Lost in 2020

The problem with lists like this one is that I don’t want to leave anybody out. If they contributed to Disney, they’re aces by me.

Unfortunately, it’s challenging to provide a comprehensive list.

So, here are some other Disney folks we lost in 2020. If I missed any, please let me know, and I’ll add them.

Jason Davis of Recess

This actor provided the voice of Mikey Blumberg in the Recess franchise on Disney Channel.

Jeremy Bulloch

Like Prowse, Bulloch gained his reputation for his work as a body man in the Star Wars franchise.

Bulloch portrayed intergalactic bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Jerry Stiller

This legendary comedian came up as an old school tag team with his wife, Anne Meara.

To most people, he’s best known for Seinfeld and as the father of Ben Stiller.

However, he does have a Disney connection thanks to voicework in some projects, most recently Zootopia.

Kelly Asbury, who worked for Disney before Shrek 2

This animation icon is best known for co-directing Shrek 2, the biggest blockbuster of 2004.

Asbury eventually left Disney for the competition, but he worked on titles like Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, and The Little Mermaid.

Malcolm Marmorstein (screenwriter for Pete’s Dragon, Return from Witch Mountain)

You may not know the name, but you probably adore some of his films.

Marmorstein wrote the screenplays for Pete’s Dragon, Return from Witch Mountain, and…an Adam Ant comedy.

That dude has an eclectic filmography.

Pirate Bob Carlos

Who was Pirate Bob? Why don’t you give his family two minutes to explain in this NPR clip?

Rob Gibbs (Pixar Animator)

This story artist at Disney left an indelible impression on Pixar fans. He worked on films like Toy Story, WALL-E, and Up.

Of course, his greatest gift came in the form of his daughter, Mary, who voiced Boo in Monsters, Inc.

Sebastian Athie

This actor died far too young at 24. Before that, he made quite the impression on an Argentinian program named O11CE.

The show broke out in other countries as well. In England and Ireland, it was called Disney 11 and told the story of a teen soccer player.

He was training for some of his game scenes when he experienced a fatal heart attack. 2020 just plain sucked.

Sue Nichols Maciorowski

Another vital female illustrator in a predominantly male industry, Maciorowski proved vital to many animated Disney movies over the past 30 years.

The artist worked on stories and visuals for The Princess and the Frog, Enchanted, Hercules, and Aladdin. Here’s the tweet mourning her:

We’re deeply saddened by the passing of Sue Nichols Maciorowski, an influential visual development and story artist who helped define the design and narratives of the films of the Disney Renaissance and beyond. pic.twitter.com/eiHb2GwOn4

— Disney Animation (@DisneyAnimation) September 3, 2020

I know we all mourn all these lost talents, but let’s be grateful for how much joy they provided while alive.

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