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Credit: DisneyWalt Disney Company veteran Dick Nunis has sadly passed away.
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The Walt Disney Company has a long and rich history of employing some of the best of the best. Without Imagineers, engineers, artists, writers, actors, and dreamers, The Walt Disney Company would be a shell of itself. This extends to the theme parks, with the incredibly important and creative Disney executive Dick Nunis passing away.
This heatbreaking news was shared by Disney moments ago on its website, where it paid tribute to the legendary work of Nunis’ long-lasting career. As stated by Disney, Nunis passed away Wednesday, December 13, 2023, surrounded by his family in Orlando at the age of 91.
Nunis began his career at Disneyland back in 1955 and was instrumental in guiding the growth of Walt Disney’s collection of theme parks. Back when the original Disneyland Resort opened in Anaheim, California, no one could have predicted what exactly The Walt Disney Company would be capable of doing, and now Disney owns and operates these parks all across the globe, with locations in France, China, Japan and of course, North America.
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“Today, we mourn the passing of Dick Nunis, a true Disney Legend whose contributions to The Walt Disney Company have touched the lives of millions of people all over the world,” said Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger. “What started as a summer job training future Disneyland employees would ultimately become a storied 44-year career at Disney. Dick took the values and philosophies he learned directly from Walt and incorporated them into everything he did at Disney. We are grateful for his many achievements and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones.”
It didn’t take long for Nunis to work his way up to attractions supervisor, where he developed operating procedures for theme park attractions. In 1961, Nunis became the director of park operations and played a key part in the development of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. By 1971, Nunis was named executive vice president of both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
Nunis retired after a very successful career within The Walt Disney Company in 1999, 44 years after the day he first joined. That same year, Nunis was honored with a window on Main Street, U.S.A., at Disneyland Park in the Disneyland Resort and was named a Disney Legend.
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