A MOUSE CLUBHOUSE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
BLAINE GIBSON
talks about sculpting

by Scott Wolf

If I had to choose one word to describe Blaine Gibson I'd have to say, "humble." He does not need to be. He is a mega talent. You can see him in some Disney television shows showing Walt Disney the Abraham Lincoln bust he sculpted. He sculpted for Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, The American Adventure, and even the iconic "Partners" statue of Walt holding Mickey Mouse's hand that appears in front of the castles at Disneyland and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

But, before Blaine sculpted for Disney he was an accomplished animator on many of Disney's classic films.

He enjoyed working as a team with others and felt that everybody equally deserved the credit for the finished product.

In addition to his humility, another endearing quality is how easy it is to listen to Blaine. His voice and calm tone are like listening to the most wonderful college professor where you want to grasp on to every word.

It is such a pleasure to be able to share my Blaine Gibson interviews with you.

Blaine Gibson: I continued to work until I was way into my 80s.

SW: On what type of projects?

BG: I did different things. I did things for the "Great Movie Ride" (at Disney MGM Studios). I did a John Wayne and a James Cagney.

I designed in three dimension the carousel horse heads for the movie “Mary Poppins.”

SW: You did those horses?!

BG: I would not take the credit because there had been drawings made but this is three dimension, and they told me to try to get some of the character of the guy that was riding them, Mary Poppins or whoever was on the horse.

I don’t know how well I succeeded.

SW: Very well. I’ve noticed it. I love the one with Dick van Dyke’s grin.

BG: Well, we tried that and that was my objective was. So those were things I did after I retired. I did a lot of it really.

SW: When did you retire?

BG: I retired at 83 I think. Well, I retired before that. I retired at 65, but with Marty (Sklar of Walt Disney Imagineering) knew that I was equipped in Sedona to handle that sort of work and I was in good health so it was easy for me to do it. I had wonderful assistants there and access to any material I needed.

SW: So when you did “American Adventure” you were in Sedona at that time?

BG: I was. That was after 43 years with the company, I did retire and go to Sedona because my wife and I had already planned to build a house there. We already owned a house there but we lived in that and had our house built. It was kind of fun, the whole process and it enhanced what I was later able to do with Disney.

SW: Do you have any particular memory that stands out in your mind from your years at Disney?

BG: I don’t know about a particular memory but I would say my greatest reward for working for Disney was working with such wonderful talented people. I think that was the thing that I enjoyed most about it. And in most cases, the cooperative attitude that they all had. I remember even as an animator (which he did for twenty years before he sculpted for Disney) that if somebody had a problem with something that one of the talents, like Marc Davis, was very good on a lot of things, and you could take your drawing in and they would spend maybe an hour helping you. And this was away from their own job. They were just generous. And Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas. All those people were just very generous.

You had to be careful. You had to do your work and make sure that what you did was something they would look at and say that it has possibilities or that it was good and they would help you with it. You couldn’t just go in there and expect them to do your work. And I did that with younger people later on, too. It was a wonderful period.

SW: Well, I sure enjoyed talking with you and I thank you so much for your time.

BG: I hope I was able to do what you wanted me to do.

SW: This was fabulous.

BG: I don’t consider anything I’ve ever done fabulous.

Blaine Gibson photo provided by Walt Disney Imagineering.

More from Blaine:
How he got his start with Disney in 1939
His move to Imagineering and Disneyland on opening day
Disneyland and Great Moments with Mister Lincoln
Pirates of the Caribbean - Creating the classic attraction

See other interviews

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in the interviews are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mouse Clubhouse. Mouse Clubhouse accepts no legal liability or responsibility for any claims made or opinions expressed within.