15th February 2019 was another sad day for The Walt Disney Company. Ron Miller, a family member of the Disney family, passed away on 9th February. Now Dave Smith has passed away. He was 78.
Dave Smith was hired in 1970 by Walt's brother and the co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, Roy O. Disney. His first responsibility was to cataloguing every item inside Walt's office suite, which has been left untouched after Walt's passing in 1966. Thanks to Dave's meticulously detailed notes and records, the Archives was able to restore the suite in 2015, and today Disney employees are able to visit and draw inspiration from the remarkable space. During his time as Disney's Chief Archivist, Dave grew the Archives from a simple one-person department to a model among corporate archives. He was regarded by fans and historians as the final authority of matters of Disney history and was an active member of the Society of California Archivists. He served from 1980 to 2001 as Executive Director of the Manuscript Society, an international association of collectors, dealers, librarians, archivists, and other interested in manuscript material.
Dave was the founder of Walt Disney Archives. He was named a Disney Legend in 2007, and he was beloved by fans around the world for his wide knowledge of The Walt Disney Company's rich history, which he shared in books and through his popular magazine column "Ask Dave". He authoring, co-authoring, and edited numerous articles and books on Disney history, including the official Disney encyclopedia "Disney A to Z", "Disney: The First 100 Years", "The Quotable Walt Disney", "Disney Trivia from the Vault", and "The Ultimate Disney Trivia Books" 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Dave retired in 2010 after his 40th anniversary with The Walt Disney Company and continued working for the next nine years as a consultant for the company, with the title of Chief Archivist Emeritus.
"I'm deeply saddened to learn of Dave Smith's passing," said Bob Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "He was the unsung hero of Disney's history who, as our first archivist, spent 40 years rescuing countless documents and artifacts from obscurity, investing endless hours restoring and preserving these priceless pieces of our legacy, and putting them in context to tell our story. Dave was a true Disney Legend, and we are indebted to him for building such an enduring, tangible connection to our past that continues to inspire our future."
Dave Smith: 13th October 1940 - 15th February 2019
Source/Image: D23.com
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