Former Walt Disney Imagineer and Famed Movie Poster Illustrator Dan Goozee Has Passed Away at 80
Dan Goozee, the man behind some of the most iconic movie posters ever created, has passed away. He was 80.
Goozee was born in 1943 in Astoria, Oregon. Growing up, he worked at movie theaters that his father and uncle owned and operated. He would eventually graduate from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena in 1965.
Photo: Dan Goozee
A year later, Goozee took a job at Fox, where he worked as a production illustrator on Doctor Dolittle (1967), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), and Towering Inferno (1974).
Joining Walt Disney Imagineering
After working on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Goozee joined Walt Disney Imagineering. Interestingly, Goozee chose to work for WDI on a freelance basis, which allowed him to do other work.
Journey Into Imagination concept art by Dan Goozee. Photo: Disney (restored by JLH Media).
While he was eventually best known for his movie posters, Goozee is perhaps better recognized by Disney fans for his time working at Walt Disney Imagineering.
During his impressive career, he worked as a theme park consultant and created concept art for Tokyo DisneySea, Disneyland Paris, and EPCOT pavilions including the Journey Into Imagination pavilion and The Living Seas.
Dan Goozee’s Splash Mountain concept art. Photo: Disney
For Walt Disney World and Disneyland, he also created concept art for attractions including Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Capturing Bond
While Goozee created an amazing array of art, his James Bond movie posters became iconic. Goozee created posters for Moon Ranker (1979), Octopussy (1983), and A View to a Kill (1985).
Moonranker poster by Dan Goozee.
Goozee is survived by his wife, Michi; son Rob; daughter-in-law Sarah; and grandsons Christopher and Jonathan.
