Roger Edward Broggie was an American mechanical engineer, who worked with The Walt Disney Company. He is considered the first Disney Imagineer.
Broggie was born October 2, 1908 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He later moved to Chicago, Illinois where he graduated from Mooseheart Child City's high school in 1927. Afterward, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked for various production shops, like Technicolor, Bell & Howell, and General Service Studios. In 1939, he joined the Disney Studios as a precision machinist. Broggie's initial assignments included installing the multiplane camera at the new Burbank studio, working with Ub Iwerks on special effects.
In 1949, Broggie worked with Walt Disney to create model trains for Disney's 1/2 mile-long Carolwood Pacific Railroad located in the backyard of Disney's home. Broggie is credited with supervising the building of the Lilly Belle, a one-eighth scale miniature working live steam locomotive named for Disney's wife, Lillian. The next year, he was promoted to head of the Disney Studios Machine Shop where he became the transportation specialist. He created the special effects for the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and as the plans for Disneyland the early 1950s, he oversaw development of the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, the Disneyland Monorail System, and the Matterhorn Bobsleds. He was instrumental in developing the mechanical aspects of all Disney attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, including the Omnimover ride transit system with co-developer, Bert Brundage.
He was also instrumental in "Project Little Man" with fellow Imagineers Wathel Rogers and Fred Joerger, Broggie constructed a nine-inch tall figure of a man that moved and talked; it became the prototype of Audio-Animatronics® technology. In 1963, Broggie and his department completed Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, the first application of Audio-Animatronics technology to a life-sized human figure along with prototypes for The Enchanted Tiki Room. The show(s) premiered at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
When Walt Disney World was being built Roger was once again called upon to assemble a railroad. To acquire the locomotives for the Magic Kingdom. Between 1973 and 1975, Broggie worked on the EPCOT Center project at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Upon retiring in 1975, he said "Walt left me 10 years of work when he died; once it was done, I was ready to retire." He continued to consult for Walt Disney Imagineering. He was named a Disney Legend in 1990 and died on November 4, 1991, at his home in Carmel.
Trivia[]
- His sons Roger Jr. and Michael all have worked for The Walt Disney Company as Imagineers during and after his lifetime.
- The Walt Disney World Railroad's (WDWRR) No. 3 locomotive was named after Broggie. During its rebuild, Broggie did not like the sound of the locomotive's original bell and commented that it "sounded like a hammer hitting an old frying pan." Per advice of Broggie, WDWRR restoration supervisor George Britton secretly swapped out the No. 3 locomotive's original bell with the Liberty Belle stern-wheeler's bell. On October 21, 2003, Broggie's sons rededicated the No. 3 locomotive in his honor.
- On March 30, 2007, he was honored with a window on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland. The text reads: "Can Do Machine Works / Mechanical Wonders / Live Steam Engines / Magical Illusions / Cameras / Roger Broggie, Shopmaster / Advisor to the Magic Makers".
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