"Life is made up of meetings and partings; that is the way of it.” That line, delivered by Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Christmas Carol, always feels extra fitting this time of year. With another year about to be put behind us, it’s time to pay respects to those the Disney community lost in 2024. At Disney, the salutation “Goodbye” is seldom used, so for this year’s in memoriam, we’ll keep to the vernacular and just say “See ya real soon.”
Glynis Johns
Best known for her role as Mrs. Winifred Banks in Mary Poppins (1964), Glynis Johns’ other career highlights included an Oscar-nominated performance in The Sundowners (1960) and her Tony-winning performance as Desiree Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, in which she was the original performer of the hit song “Send In The Clowns,” which was written specifically for her.
Carl Bongirno
As a financial leader throughout Disney Parks history, Bongirno was at the forefront of a truly unprecedented decade of The Walt Disney Company’s growth, from EPCOT to Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. While serving as director of the Finance Division, Bongirno was part of the highly secretive “Project X,” which would become the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. As a result of his decades of important service to The Walt Disney Company, Bongirno was named a Disney Legend in 2007.
James Earl Jones
Disney Legend James Earl Jones joined the celestial kings in the sky at the age of 93, passing away at his home in Dutchess County, New York. Best known for his rich, deep bass voice, Jones’ credits include providing the speaking voice of Darth Vader and Mufasa, Simba’s father, in The Lion King (both the animated classic and 2019 remake). Inducted as a Disney Legend in 2019, James Earl Jones reprised his roles as Darth Vader and Mufasa numerous times through sequels and spin-off projects for Star Wars and The Lion King, plus theme park experiences, including Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.
William Sullivan
Disney Legend Bill “Sully” Sullivan, recognized for many milestones during his nearly 40 year career at the company, passed away at the age of 88. After seeing the opening of Disneyland on television, Sully promised himself he’d work there and found work at the park where he progressed from ticket-taker to ride operator to operations supervisor. He relocated to Florida for the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, where he went on to serve as the Magic Kingdom’s Vice President from 1987 to 1993.
Shelley Duvall
Actress Shelly Duvall passed away at the age of 75. Movie fans will likely remember her from her role as Wendy Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. She was also famously cast as Olive Oyl in the 1980 live-action Popeye movie alongside Robin Williams as the title comic-strip character. This film was a co-production between Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Studios, the latter of which distributed the movie internationally. Duvall also starred as Susan Frankenstein in Tim Burton’s 1984 live-action Disney short film Frankenweenie.
Pete Renaday
Pete Renaday’s voice could be heard all over the Magic Kingdom when it opened in 1971. In addition to his best known roles as Henry and Max in the Country Bear Jamboree, he could be heard as Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Abraham Lincoln in The Hall of Presidents, along with other roles in Flight to the Moon, Mission to Mars and Snow White’s Scary Adventures. In the 1990s, Renaday provided even more voice work to Magic Kingdom attractions, as the memorable 1994 narrator of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and Astro Orbiter, the narrator of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, among many others.
Ray Chan
Ray Chan, a visionary Art Director and Production Designer at Marvel Studios, left an indelible mark on the studio’s films, including Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Doctor Strange, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home and Deadpool & Wolverine.
Chris Mortensen
Chris Mortensen, a legendary and award-winning NFL journalist and analyst for ESPN, passed away at the age of 72. Mortensen was diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer in January 2016 and stepped away from his role at ESPN last year. Mortensen joined ESPN in 1991 as a contributor to the network's NFL shows and SportsCenter.
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers was recently nominated for an Emmy for his role as Greef Karga in The Mandalorian. Other Disney work includes voicing Combat Carl in Toy Story 4 and Omnitraxus Prime on Star vs. The Forces of Evil. For 20th Century Studios and Television, he appeared in the first Predator film, narrated The Comebacks, and played a caricature of himself on Arrested Development.
Teri Garr
Two of Garr’s best-known roles were in the 20th Century Fox (now the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios) films Mr. Mom and Young Frankenstein. In Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein (1974), Garr played the role of Inga opposite Gene Wilder. In the 1983 comedy Mr. Mom, she starred alongside Michael Keaton as Caroline Butler. For Disney proper, she appeared in supporting roles in the television series Adventures In Wonderland and Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme, both on the Disney Channel.
Bob Newhart
To generations of children, Newhart was the voice of Bernard the mouse in Disney’s 1977 animated feature The Rescuers, its 1990 sequel The Rescuers Down Under, and most recently, the 2023 short film Once Upon a Studio. Other Disney credits include playing himself on The Simpsons (Season 7, Episode 15: “Bart the Fink”), a recurring role on ABC’s Desperate Housewives, and an iconic Lost parody on Jimmy Kimmel Live! But his indelible legacy extends far beyond the screen.
Ken Page
Broadway star Ken Page passed away at the age of 70. To Disney fans, Page is undoubtedly best known as the voice of Oogie Boogie from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The actor went on to reprise the role in numerous Disney Parks projects, such as Haunted Mansion Holiday, Halloween Screams and the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular. Film and TV roles outside of Disney include All Dogs Go to Heaven, Dreamgirls, Charmed and Family Matters.
Dame Maggie Smith
Dame Maggie Smith, widely known for her portrayal of Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, passed away at the age of 89. Disney fans will immediately think of her role as Mother Superior in the hit Touchstone pictures film, Sister Act, starring alongside Whoopi Goldberg – a role she reprised for Sister Act 2. On the animated side of things, you might remember her turns as Lady Bluebury in Touchstone’s Gnomeo & Juliet, and later, Sherlock Gnomes (which moved to Paramount). She also had an acclaimed performance in Searchlight’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Martin Mull
Mull was perhaps best known to general audiences for his role as Colonel Mustard in the 1985 movie Clue, but he also played many other memorable characters across a long and storied career in Hollywood. For The Walt Disney Company and its current subsidiaries, Mull appeared in Jingle All the Way, Lots of Luck, Beverly Hills Family Robinson, Teamo Supremo, Recess and The Golden Girls. He also had recurring roles on Roseanne (as Leon Carp), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (as Willard Kraft), Arrested Development (as Gene Parmesan) and Dads (as Crawford Whittemore).
Greg Gumbel
Longtime sportscaster Greg Gumbel has passed away after a battle with cancer. Gumbel made NFL history back in 2001, becoming the first black announcer in the US to call a play-by-play of a major sports championship during CBS’ coverage of Super Bowl XXXV. In addition to his work at CBS, Gumbel also has an extensive career with ESPN beginning in 1981. Serving as an anchor for SportsCenter, Gumbel provided play-by-play for the popular program through 1986.
Richard Sherman
Richard and Robert Sherman (who passed away in 2012) — better known as The Sherman Brothers — penned some of the most beloved tunes in the Disney songbook. This includes songs from films such as Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, among others. Additionally, their work can still be heard in the Disney Parks, including “it’s a small world” and “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” from Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. Richard was nominated for nine Oscars, won three Grammys, and had 24 gold and platinum selling albums. The Sherman Brothers are also known for having composed Walt Disney’s favorite song: “Feed the Birds.”
