Three Disney Parks veterans will join a class of 14 inductees as official Disney Legends at the D23 Expo in Anaheim next month.
Including this year's honorees, more than 300 people have been named Disney Legends by the company since 1987 for their lasting contributions to Disney and its creative legacy around the world. Past inductees include Ub Iwerks, Jack Lindquist, Marty Sklar, Buzz Price, and Tony Baxter.
This year's newly inducted Disney Legends include:
Bob Foster joined Walt Disney Productions in 1956 and in the 1960s oversaw Disney's acquisition of property in central Florida for what would become the Walt Disney World Resort. In 1970, Bob was promoted to President of the Buena Vista Land Company and in 1974, Bob retired from Walt Disney Productions as Vice President, Real Estate. Bob passed away in January.
Doris Hardoon was this year's Buzz Price Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements Thea Award winner from the Themed Entertainment Association. Doris joined Walt Disney Imagineering in 1979. She worked as executive art director, producer, and creative portfolio lead for Hong Kong Disneyland as well as the never-built Westcot and Long Beach DisneySea projects, as well as contributed to projects at Epcot, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Disney's Animal Kingdom and on the Disney Cruise Line. She left the company in 2000, but returned in 2009 as executive director and producer for the Shanghai Disney Resort.
Rob't Coltrin joined WDI in 1990 for Show Set Design and went on to work on projects such as Mickey's PhilharMagic, MuppetVision 3D, and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. Recently, Rob't has been a leader on projects including Radiator Springs Racers, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, and recent expansions at Tokyo Disney Resort, in addition to mentoring countless fellow Imagineers.
Other Disney Legends to be inducted at D23 Expo will include the late Chadwick Boseman; "Frozen" stars Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad; Grey's Anatomy stars Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey; black-ish stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross; musical supervisor Chris Montan, and director and producer Don Hahn.
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TweetNope. It’s totally a judgment call by an unknown number of people within or associated with the company. And working with the company is enough. Buzz Price was never a Disney employee, for example.
I was wondering if Joe Rohde and/or Bob Weis would get the call this time, but it appears that they will have to wait until 2024, or later. And I still say that Michael Eisner should get the Legend award, too.
I can understand the Frozen gang (obviously one of the biggest hits in Disney history) but Pompeo and Dempsey seem a bit off because "Grey's Anatomy" was always bigger than just the two of them to be such a long-lasting hit. And still funny how of that cast, Katherine Heigl is the only one to win an Emmy for the show.
Very random choices.
I've said it before, but the Disney Legends have turned into a popularity contest. A far cry from the legitimate recognition of Disney icons that it was originally designed for.
Is this about how much $$$ the person has created for Di$ney?
A legend should be that castmember who lives in a car and comes to work every day with a smile and make rich peoples live a bit better.
To be honest, Legends was originally a promotional theme for The Disney Channel to get folks to watch Fred McMurray films. So there’s a promo element to who gets it and when—like Dempsey with Disenchanted coming soon. There is a also mix between star power and continuing contribution. Ellen Pompeo has been leading one of the most popular dramas of all time, which may be ending soon. Agree with Robert on Weiss, Rohde, and Eisner, although the latter has a building named for him on the Disney Lot.
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Robert:
I’m curious if there are any known set of criteria to qualify for this honor outside of having worked for the company in any capacity?