John Hench: Celebrating All the Colors of His Rainbow
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Michael Eisner, CEO of the Walt Disney Company

Michael Eisner prefaced his statements by saying, “When I came to the Company in 1984, I found my way to WDI. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to find. Marty Sklar introduced me to a 75 year old man with an incredible sparkle in his eye.�? Eisner related his many dealings with Hench over the years. “I raced around the world following John Hench. I could not imagine a more vital, energetic person.�? Eisner was the first to comment on what would prove to be one of the afternoon’s motifs: John Hench’s mastery of color. “Nobody at WDI would dare to think of a color without John Hench standing next to them,�? he said. Eisner remembered his latest meeting with Hench, “I recently met with Marty and John Hench to look at Mickey’s 75th birthday portrait. John Hench had the same twinkle in his eye.�? Eisner concluded his comments by saying, “What most impressed me about John was how the spirit of this man is embodied in WDI, and vice versa.�?

Marty Sklar then introduced Roy Disney, who was also identified as a colleague and friend of John Hench. Roy Disney recalled the words that had been spoken ten years earlier of Frank Wells: “He was uniquely a part of the landscape, which when he falls, leaves an empty space against the sky.�? Roy spoke of his long friendship with John Hench, whom he had known virtually his whole life, saying, “We always speak of artists finding their niche. John was a man of many niches, and he fit them all.�?

Former Disney Board Member Roy Disney

Roy then briefly related Hench’s career with the Walt Disney Company: that he was hired to work on backgrounds for “Fantasia;�? his work on such classics as “Dumbo,�? “Peter Pan,�? and “Cinderella;�? the development of the cartoon art treatment for combining live action and animation in “So Dear to My Heart;�? animation effects for “The Living Desert;�? lead title special effects credits for the Academy Award ® winning “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea;�? his work with Salvador Dali on “Destino�? in the early 1940s; his 1954 move to themed entertainment; the 1960 Winter Olympics; the 1964 World’s Fair projects; and his work on every Disney theme park, including Hong Kong Disneyland, presently under construction. Roy wound up the narrative by saying, “Give me a moment to catch my breath!�?

John Hench developed the cartoon art treatment for the combination live action and animated feature “So Dear to My Heart.�?

As the crowd chuckled, a video montage was played. It included clips of the films Roy had mentioned, as well as many other projects to which John Hench contributed. As a portion of the “harem-fish�? segment of “Fantasia�? played, a recording of Hench’s voice was heard explaining, “They figured I could draw sexy girls, so I guess they thought I could draw sexy fish!�? The crowd was treated to a multitude of images…of Peter Pan’s Neverland, Alice’s curious surroundings, and the elegantly stylized world of Cinderella.

John Hench’s elegant style pervaded “Cinderella�? and other late classic Disney animated films.

As a clip from a True-Life Adventure played, Hench was again heard, saying, “I wanted to see what happened with all this stuff, so I spent three years in Camera and Special Effects.�? The results were shown in clips from “Donald in MathmagicLand�? and “Destino.�?