Rolly Crump: Crazy Artist

Even though Walt is the icon of Disney, many people were needed to make this wonderful franchise possible. In 1952, Roland Crump (Rolly Crump) joined the Walt Disney studios working on projects like Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp. However in 1959 he switched to working with WED Enterprises to help progress Disney into the future. His creations inspired the designers working on some of the attractions at DisneyLand. Some of these attractions are the Haunted Mansion, the Enchanted Tiki Room, it’s a small world, and attraction posters.

Being born on February 27, 1930, Crump joined Disney in his early 20’s, and now he is 88 years old still pouring his personality and his dreams into Disney. But that doesn’t mean he was always with them. Rolly Crump often would leave Disney, and then come back just like that. Nowadays Crump is extremely protective of his fellow workers art.

This is surprising however because of his old ways. Crump used to give straightforward critiques; he was a say it how it is kind of guy.

However when he was extremely protective of his own work and wouldn’t receive any critiques. But in the modern times, when someone suggests an improvement to any of the rides or creations at Disneyland, or in any of the works he worked on or knew, he would instantly shut it down. If someone would suggest that something in It’s a Small World, then he wouldn’t let anything change. One of the things he says is “I knew it was only going to work if everything looked like Mary Blair.

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As far as I was concerned, this is a Mary Blair ride,”. Crump tried to say goodbye to Disney, but he couldn’t. He even said, “It just became cumbersome,” which means that it’s too much of a weight on his shoulders. He told reporters however that he just couldn’t let go, and sometimes he would have to keep himself from crying when he saw his artwork packed away in boxes when he was at the dinner table.

Rolly Crump is one of the original imagineers, right alongside Ward Kimbell, Bill Justice, and Yale Gracey. Crumps son Christopher says, ‘Remember, that the original Imagineers were “artists who don’t have to give a you-know-what about anything, people who say what they say because that’s what they think. That’s dad. He’s not going to tailor his opinion to make someone feel good. That’s a byproduct of a particular time, and a time in which he was extremely prolific. So that part of him hasn’t changed. That’s core Rolly.”  One of Crump’s biggest critiques over the years is that of Club 33. He claims that it is pretentious. However one of his fondest memories is in the the 33 club. Roy Disney, Walt Disney’s brother, came up to him and told him he was inspired by Crump’s work. Without Rolly Crump, Disney would not be the famous and iconic franchise we have today.