Yale Wilbur Gracey was a Chinese-American Imagineer, writer, and layout artist for many Disney animated shorts. Gracey created many of the special effects for Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion attractions. He retired on October 4, 1975.[2]
Death and legacy
Gracey was murdered while sleeping on September 5, 1983 in Los Angeles, California by a burglar, 2 days after his 73rd birthday. Gracey's wife, Beverly, was injured in the attack as well.[3][4] Posthumously inducted as a Disney Legend in 1999, the Master Gracey character on the Haunted Mansion attraction is based on him. Every morning, Cast Members place a red rose on Master Gracey's grave. This is believed to have started in the 1980s after Gracey's murder as a tribute to the Imagineer.
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- People
- Imagineers
- Disney Legends
- 1910s births
- Deceased
- 1980s deaths
- Males
- The Haunted Mansion
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Writers
- Layout artists
- American people
- Fantasia
- The Three Caballeros
- Saludos Amigos
- The Reluctant Dragon
- Donald Duck
- Walt Disney Animation Studios
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- Animators
- Chinese people
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