It's always sad to write these. If you haven't heard already, we lost Dave Smith on February 15th at the age of 78. Four decades he's been with The Walt Disney Company, & chances are a good portion of anything you know about Disney's past came from him. Founder of the Walt Disney Archives, & dubbed an official Legend in 2007, he's been gathering & preserving historical treasures of film, TV, theme parks are more since his hiring by Roy Disney in 1970. With his first job cataloguing everything in Walt's untouched suite after his death, later being responsible for it's full restoration in 2015. He's wrote numerous books on the subject, some of which I own myself, such as Disney A to Z, Disney: The First 100 Years, The Quotable Walt Disney, Disney Trivia from the Vault, and The Ultimate Disney Trivia Books 1, 2, 3, and 4. He also appeared in many publications throughout the years as well. Even after his retirement in 2010, he kept going as a consultant for 9 years. Truly devoted in every way to all the things of Disney's past. He will be missed by all. CEO Bob Iger stated it best, “He was the unsung hero of Disney’s history who, as our first archivist, spent 40 years rescuing countless documents and artifacts from obscurity, investing endless hours restoring and preserving these priceless pieces of our legacy, and putting them in context to tell our story. Dave was a true Disney Legend, and we are indebted to him for building such an enduring, tangible connection to our past that continues to inspire our future.” Condolences to his friends & family. I'm sure Walt has a place for him.
