Greetings family, friends and Disney buddies! Today's memorable character is  Disney Legend Dave Smith who we were honored to spend an afternoon with more than 40 years ago........Bill

Memorable Character

DAVE SMITH Archivist - Disney Legend

While doing research for a Walt Disney biography and after

overhearing nearby Disney executives discussing plans to create a

company archive department, UCLA librarian Dave Smith made a

bold proposal that landed him the job of Walt Disney Production’s first

Chief Archivist. Even though Walt Disney Productions had been

making films and licensing merchandise since the late 1920’s,

surprisingly the official formal archiving department wasn’t

established until 1970, four years after Walt’s death. Roy O. Disney,

Walt’s brother, wanted to ensure that the vast knowledge of Disney

history wouldn’t be lost as key Imagineers and Animators began

retiring. Under Dave Smith’s management, the Walt Disney Archives

was established to collect and preserve historical materials relating to

Walt Disney and the company that he founded. The extensive and

ever increasing collection, open to all Disney employees and qualified

students and writers, includes Walt Disney’s office correspondence

dating from 1930, gifts, personal memorabilia, awards and

photographs. The collection also includes Disney books and

publications, music, publicity materials, character merchandise,

production files and scripts for Disney live action and animated films,

and materials, plans and models relating to Disneyland. Our paths

crossed with Archivist and Disney Legend Dave Smith in 1979 thanks

to an introduction by actor and friend Hank Jones who appeared in a

number of early Disney live action films. Our personal guided tour of

the iconic 1939 Studio began at the the Disney Archives in the Roy

O. Disney Building on Mickey Avenue where many priceless classic

Disney artifacts, character merchandise, photos, and artwork are

cataloged and stored. We were led to a studio theater to see the

“daily” clip from Fox and Hound that was in currently in production

and a tour of one of the large sound stages. We were also shown the

studio’s “back lot”, western and residential streets, and the Zorro set,

location of countless live-action western Disney films and television

shows. Since our original visit more than forty years ago, animation

cels beginning with Steamboat Willy has been stored at the nearby

Walt Disney Animation Research Library and larger items stored at

the companies large prop warehouses. Movies are stored at The

Motion Pictures Film Archives on the Burbank studio lot and an

extensive collection of Walt’s personal items are on display at the

Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Dave Smith passed in

2019, however a large permanent staff carries on the work of

preserving the rich history of Walt Disney Studios. -Bill Ralph