It all started with a pencil.

If you've ever been to Disneyland or Disneyworld you've enjoyed the creations of Imagineer Rolly Crump. He was the key designer for the Haunted Mansion and the Tiki Room. I remember seeing his wonderfully lively exterior to the "it's a small world" pavilion at NYC World's Fair (and later at Disneyland in California) with its animated clock face, doo-dads and gizmos. — Read the rest

Rolly Crump (previously) was one of the weirdest, most bohemian of the original group of Imagineers; when he was tasked with developing concepts for the oft-stalled and perennially beleaguered Disneyland Haunted Mansion, he came up with the Museum of the Weird, a guided walkthrough spook house filled with mystical illusions, and psychedelic, daemonic imagery.

Rolly Crump: It's Kind of a Cute Story will be at the Oceanside Museum of Art, August 26, 2017–February 18, 2018. It's a must-see for fans of Disney art and design.

This exhibition invites the public to step into the whimsical mind of dreamer and designer Rolly Crump with the world premiere of a walk-through exhibition highlighting his 65-year career as one of the most imaginative attraction creators in theme park history.

Yesterday, I posted about the publication of More Cute Stories, Volume 4: 1964/65 New York World's Fair, an audio memoir of Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump. I've been listening to it today, and enjoying it immensely. I wrote to Bamboo Forest, the publishers, and secured permission to share a couple of MP3s from the collection with you.

Jeff writes in with wonderful news: the release of Disney Legend Rolly Crump's More Cute Stories, Volume 4: 1964/65 New York World's Fair. This high-quality recording includes sixty minutes of all new stories about Rolly's involvement with the legendary 'Billion-Dollar Fair'. — Read the rest

Jeff sez, "On episode 5 of the DoomBuggies Spook Show podcast (MP3), designer Rolly Crump gives a very candid interview in which he talks about his career working on Disneyland's Haunted Mansion with Walt Disney at WED Imagineering, and tells personal stories including the time he spent working with co-tinkerer Yale Gracey designing special effects for the Haunted Mansion, and how he was drummed out of the Haunted Mansion project after Walt died."

Jeff sez, "After the success of It's Kind Of A Cute Story and More Cute Stories Vol 1, Disney Legend Rolly Crump is proud to announce the release of More Cute Stories, Volume 2: Animators and Imagineers (CD/MP3). — Read the rest

Jeff sez, "After the success of It's Kind Of A Cute Story, Disney Legend Rolly Crump's memoir, Bamboo Forest Publishing is proud to announce the release of More Cute Stories, Volume 1: Disneyland History (CD/MP3). This high-quality recording includes nearly fifty minutes of all new stories about Disneyland that weren't included in the book, told by Rolly himself. — Read the rest

Jeff is helping a legendary Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump write his memoirs, and rather than wrestle with Disney archives for access to photos of Crump's work, he's hoping fans will be able to supply them.

He writes, "We need your help, oh great citizens of the Internet! — Read the rest

Legendary Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump has kicked off a weekly column describing his early years with the company. This week: How Walt Disney's incapacity to remember his name turned "Roland" into "Rolly," with a brief detour through "What's His Name."

I'd been sitting in on meetings with Walt for over a year when all of a sudden he started calling me Owen.

Howbowers sez, "Disney Legend and former Imagineer Rolly Crump, the creative force behind many great Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions including it's a small world, The Haunted Mansion, and The Enchanted Tiki Room, has recorded a guided audio tour of Disneyland's most popular attractions filled with historical and entertaining insights, personal touches and heartwarming stories from Rolly's years working alongside Walt Disney and other Disney Imagineers." — Read the rest

Rolly Crump, the Disney Imagineer who Kevin Kidney wrote about on Dinosaurs and Robots, drew these incredible beatnik posters in 1960. Here's one, here's another. (I like the sound of the Weed Quartet: "Lou blows Kazoo," "Turk on the Twig," "Betty bangs Tambourine," and "Booboo on the Bottle.") — Read the rest

[[Imagineer Chris Merritt (previously) was the protege of the Disney legend Marc Davis, the character designer whose work defined the look of such classic attractions as Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Merritt has written seminal books on southern California's themed attractions, including Knott's Berry Farm and Pacific Ocean Park. — Read the rest

The tombstones at the Haunted Mansions in Disney's themeparks are a kind of credit reel that pay tribute to the Imagineers who made the Mansion possible; in this short Disney video, you get some potted biographies of the honorees, from Claude Coats to Marc Davis to Harriet Burns to the incredible and weird Rolly Crump.

Starting tomorrow the Oceanside Museum of Art plays host to Weekend of Wonder co-creator Baby Tattoo's Carnival of Astounding Art! — Read the rest

Another outstanding photo-essay on the Long Forgotten Haunted Mansion blog shows how many of the original Rolly Crump concepts for a walk-through Haunted Mansion at Disneyland eventually made their way into the Enchanted Tiki Room, with effects based on Cocteau's 1946 movie La Belle et la Bête.

At first glance, Yaara Derkel's 'Coppelius' chair appears to be a friendly "thonet" style wooden chair.

Jeff Baham, author of The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion, celebrates the attraction's 45th anniversary with a look at its uneasy genesis—and its enduring appeal.

Jeff Baham writes, "DoomBuggies.com, a tribute to Disney's Haunted Mansion attractions, has commemorated its 16th anniversary with the launch of an audio podcast called 'The DoomBuggies Spook Show' (MP3/Subscribe). The podcast promises interviews with Disney legends and luminaries, Haunted Mansion history, news, and features on other haunted attractions and related events. — Read the rest

The original concept for Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was a walk-through "Museum of the Weird" featuring spooky exhibits (as always, the best place to read about this is Long Forgotten, far and away the top site for Haunted Mansion history, theory and context). — Read the rest