Roger Broggie, Jr, the genius Imagineer, passed away on Dec 11 at the age 72 in La Pine, Ore. Sadly, He fell from a Christmas float he had been working on and didn’t recover from his injuries.
Roger was perhaps best known to Disney fans as the man who pioneered the art of animatronics. Next time you visit Pirates of the Caribbean, Enchanted Tiki Room or Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, you are watching some of Roger’s greatest works.
Our friends at the Disneyana Fan Club shared a short video clip in which Roger explains what makes Disney so special. He concludes it’s the people. We couldn’t agree more. And Roger was one of those people who made Disney what it is today. He will be dearly missed.
The Los Angeles Times shared Roger’s start with Walt Disney himself: Roger Broggie Jr. dies at 73; audio-animatronics whiz for Disney
The son of Disney’s original Imagineer, Roger Broggie Jr. began working for the man he called “Uncle Walt” as a boy in 1950 when he tended the backyard railway at the studio mogul’s Holmby Hills home.
Broggie was 11 when he and his younger brother, Michael, started serving as the crew for Walt Disney’s miniature steam-engine railroad. The siblings pulled cars out of storage, dusted them off and rolled them down the track to a “Valley” called Yensid – “Disney” spelled backwards.
A scholarship fund in Rogers name, dedicated to the advancement of engineering education, has been established. Donations can be sent to: HIGH LAKES CAR CLUB Roger Broggie Memorial Scholarship Fund. The address is: High Lakes Car Club, P.O.Box 2252, La Pine, OR. 97739