Harriet Burns
Encyclopedia
Harriet Burns was an American
artist
and designer
. Burns was the first woman hired in the Walt Disney Imagineering
department within the Walt Disney Company.
, on August 20, 1928, and raised in Seguin, Texas
. She earned her bachelor's degree
from Southern Methodist University
in Dallas and studied advanced design
at the University of New Mexico
.
Harriet Tapp married William Burns, and the couple moved to Los Angeles
with their infant daughter in 1953. William Burns died in 1986.
, including The Dunes
. She also worked at a tourist attraction theme park in Lake Arrowhead, California
, called Santa's Village during the mid-1950s. When the attraction closed, a friend advised Burns to apply for open positions at Disney.
Burns began working at Disney Studios
in 1955 as a prop and set painter for the Mickey Mouse Club
. She helped to design and build the famed Mouse Clubhouse which was a featured fixture on the show. Her appearance caused her to stand out on the set, as she dressed in high heels and a skirt to work with the hardware
and tools, such as the drill press and sander
s.
Burns shared a workstation at the Disney Studio with a fellow Disney employee named Fred Joerger. Joerger was a model
builder for WED Enterprises, which is now known as Walt Disney Imagineering
. He was working on prototype
models for the future Disneyland theme park. In addition to her job as a set builder, Burns began working with Joerger in Disney's model shop building miniature prototypes of Disneyland buildings and attractions. WED Enterprises originally consisted of just three members — Harriet Burns, Fred Joerger and Wathel Rogers — and became known as the WED Model Shop. WED Enterprises was eventually renamed to Walt Disney Imagineering
, which alluded to the engineering
and imagination
needed to design Disney theme park attractions.
Burns contributed greatly to the development of Disneyland at WED Enterprises by creating both miniature models and actual theme park attractions. One of Burns's first assignments was to craft a model of Sleeping Beauty Castle
, a Disneyland landmark
which opened with the theme park on July 17, 1955. She continued to work on Disneyland expansions after the park's grand opening. Burns designed models of the Matterhorn Bobsleds
attraction as a 1/100th scale replica
of the famous Matterhorn
in Switzerland
.
Another of Burns's job at Disneyland was what is called "figure-finishing." Figure-finishing involves applying paint and other finishes to Disneyland attractions and mannequins to create a "finished" look. Burns personally designed and painted the set pieces and underwater figurines
for the Submarine Voyage
ride. She applied individual feathers to the animatronic
birds in Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
, which opened in 1963. Burns later confessed in a 2005 interview with The Hollywood Reporter
that the Tiki Room birds were one of her most challenging projects ever. "When they breathed out, it would be fine, but when they came back they scrunched. They looked like they had mites
." She managed to fix the look of the birds and actively maintained the Tiki Room attraction after its opening. Similarly, she created the birds for the film, Mary Poppins.
Burns also helped with the models and final designs of New Orleans Square
, one of the themed lands at Disneyland. She also designed the attractions within New Orleans Square. She built an exact model of the entire Pirates of the Caribbean
dark ride
, which opened in 1967, and was also a figure finisher on the pirates mannequins. She similarly designed The Haunted Mansion, which opened to the public in 1969.
Outside of Disneyland, Burns was part of a team of Disney employees, which included Joyce Carlson
, which created several Disney attractions for the 1964 New York World's Fair
. Burns contributions to the World's Fair including designing Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
, which later opened at Disneyland, and the Carousel of Progress
.
Her work earned the attention of Walt Disney
. He featured Burns on several episodes of The Wonderful World of Color, a 1960s television show which gave a behind-the-scenes
look at the Walt Disney Company, including its theme parks.
Burns retired from Walt Disney Imagineering
in 1986. She was honored in 1992 with a window display of her work on Main Street, U.S.A.
in Disneyland with a commemorative plaque
that reads, "The Artisans Loft, Handmade Miniatures by Harriet Burns." She was the first woman in Disney history to receive this honor. Burns was also designated a Disney Legend by the Walt Disney Company in 2000, as an employee "whose imagination, talents and dreams have created the Disney magic."
in Los Angeles on July 25, 2008, at the age of 79. Burns was survived by her daughter, Pam Burns-Clair; two sisters, Wilma Draves and Suzie Mosteller; two granddaughters, Chelsea and Haley Clair; and many extended family members. She was a resident of Santa Barbara, California
where she had been active in the arts and music community.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
. Burns was the first woman hired in the Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...
department within the Walt Disney Company.
Early life
Burns was born Harriet Tapp in San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, on August 20, 1928, and raised in Seguin, Texas
Seguin, Texas
Seguin is a city in Guadalupe County, Texas, in the United States. It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,011; the July 1, 2009 Census estimate, however, showed the population had increased to 26,842...
. She earned her bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
in Dallas and studied advanced design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
at the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
.
Harriet Tapp married William Burns, and the couple moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
with their infant daughter in 1953. William Burns died in 1986.
Walt Disney Imagineering
Burns' first job in Los Angeles was at Dice Display Industries Cooperative Exchange. She designed props and sets for television shows, including the Colgate Comedy Hour, as well as interiors and sets for floor shows and hotels in Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, including The Dunes
Dunes (hotel and casino)
The Dunes Hotel was a Paradise, Nevada, hotel and casino that operated from May 23, 1955 to January 26, 1993, and was the tenth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The Bellagio now stands on the former grounds.-History:...
. She also worked at a tourist attraction theme park in Lake Arrowhead, California
Lake Arrowhead, California
Lake Arrowhead is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in the San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County, California, within the San Bernardino National Forest, adjacent to Lake Arrowhead Reservoir...
, called Santa's Village during the mid-1950s. When the attraction closed, a friend advised Burns to apply for open positions at Disney.
Burns began working at Disney Studios
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
in 1955 as a prop and set painter for the Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
. She helped to design and build the famed Mouse Clubhouse which was a featured fixture on the show. Her appearance caused her to stand out on the set, as she dressed in high heels and a skirt to work with the hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
and tools, such as the drill press and sander
Sander
A sander is a power tool used to smooth wood and automotive or wood finishes by abrasion with sandpaper. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper and a mechanism to move it rapidly contained within a housing with means to hand-hold it or fix it to a workbench. Woodworking sanders are usually...
s.
Burns shared a workstation at the Disney Studio with a fellow Disney employee named Fred Joerger. Joerger was a model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
builder for WED Enterprises, which is now known as Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...
. He was working on prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
models for the future Disneyland theme park. In addition to her job as a set builder, Burns began working with Joerger in Disney's model shop building miniature prototypes of Disneyland buildings and attractions. WED Enterprises originally consisted of just three members — Harriet Burns, Fred Joerger and Wathel Rogers — and became known as the WED Model Shop. WED Enterprises was eventually renamed to Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...
, which alluded to the engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and imagination
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
needed to design Disney theme park attractions.
Burns contributed greatly to the development of Disneyland at WED Enterprises by creating both miniature models and actual theme park attractions. One of Burns's first assignments was to craft a model of Sleeping Beauty Castle
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Sleeping Beauty Castle is the fairy tale structure castle at the center of Disneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland. It is based on the late-19th century Neuschwanstein Castle,with some French inspirations .-Disneyland version:Opened July 17, 1955, the castle is the oldest of all Disney castles...
, a Disneyland landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
which opened with the theme park on July 17, 1955. She continued to work on Disneyland expansions after the park's grand opening. Burns designed models of the Matterhorn Bobsleds
Matterhorn Bobsleds
The Matterhorn Bobsleds or the Matterhorn is an attraction composed of two intertwining steel roller coasters, which opened in 1959 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It is modeled after the Matterhorn, a mountain in the Swiss Alps...
attraction as a 1/100th scale replica
Replica
A replica is a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance. An inverted replica complements the original by filling its gaps. It can be a copy used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference...
of the famous Matterhorn
Matterhorn
The Matterhorn , Monte Cervino or Mont Cervin , is a mountain in the Pennine Alps on the border between Switzerland and Italy. Its summit is 4,478 metres high, making it one of the highest peaks in the Alps. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Another of Burns's job at Disneyland was what is called "figure-finishing." Figure-finishing involves applying paint and other finishes to Disneyland attractions and mannequins to create a "finished" look. Burns personally designed and painted the set pieces and underwater figurines
Figurines
Figurines is an indie rock band from Denmark, formed in the mid-1990s. The band released their first EP, The Detour, in 2001 and their first full-length album, Shake a Mountain, in 2004. The band began to receive national attention in Denmark around the time of the full-length release, and began...
for the Submarine Voyage
Submarine Voyage
The Submarine Voyage thru liquid space was an attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.The attraction, which featured ride vehicles designed to look like Navy nuclear submarines, opened on June 14, 1959...
ride. She applied individual feathers to the animatronic
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
birds in Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room is an attraction located in Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort and at the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort.-History:...
, which opened in 1963. Burns later confessed in a 2005 interview with The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
that the Tiki Room birds were one of her most challenging projects ever. "When they breathed out, it would be fine, but when they came back they scrunched. They looked like they had mites
MITES
MITES, or Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science, is a highly selective six-week summer program for rising high school seniors held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its purpose is to expose students from minority, or otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds, to the fields of...
." She managed to fix the look of the birds and actively maintained the Tiki Room attraction after its opening. Similarly, she created the birds for the film, Mary Poppins.
Burns also helped with the models and final designs of New Orleans Square
New Orleans Square
New Orleans Square is a themed land found exclusively at Disneyland, though a similarly themed area can be found within Tokyo Disneyland's Adventureland. Based on 19th-century New Orleans, it was the first new land to be added to Disneyland after the park's opening. The land was opened to the...
, one of the themed lands at Disneyland. She also designed the attractions within New Orleans Square. She built an exact model of the entire Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean (theme park ride)
Pirates of the Caribbean is a log flume type of dark ride at the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris theme parks....
dark ride
Dark ride
A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music, and special effects....
, which opened in 1967, and was also a figure finisher on the pirates mannequins. She similarly designed The Haunted Mansion, which opened to the public in 1969.
Outside of Disneyland, Burns was part of a team of Disney employees, which included Joyce Carlson
Joyce Carlson
Joyce Carlson was an American artist and designer credited with creating the idyllic universe of singing children at "It's a Small World" rides at Walt Disney theme parks around the world. Carlson also worked as an ink artist in the Walt Disney Animation Studios, on such films as Cinderella, Peter...
, which created several Disney attractions for the 1964 New York World's Fair
1964 New York World's Fair
The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major world's fair to be held in New York City. Hailing itself as a "universal and international" exposition, the fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding," dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe";...
. Burns contributions to the World's Fair including designing Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, also known as The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, is the name of an attraction featuring an audio-animatronic version of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. It was originally showcased as the prime feature of the State of Illinois Pavilion at...
, which later opened at Disneyland, and the Carousel of Progress
Carousel of Progress
The Carousel of Progress is an attraction located at the Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort, currently operating under the name Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress...
.
Her work earned the attention of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
. He featured Burns on several episodes of The Wonderful World of Color, a 1960s television show which gave a behind-the-scenes
Making-of
In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program...
look at the Walt Disney Company, including its theme parks.
Burns retired from Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...
in 1986. She was honored in 1992 with a window display of her work on Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many 'Magic Kingdom'-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world....
in Disneyland with a commemorative plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
that reads, "The Artisans Loft, Handmade Miniatures by Harriet Burns." She was the first woman in Disney history to receive this honor. Burns was also designated a Disney Legend by the Walt Disney Company in 2000, as an employee "whose imagination, talents and dreams have created the Disney magic."
Death
Harriet Burns died of complications from a heart condition at USC University HospitalLos Angeles County-USC Medical Center
Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, also known as County/USC, by the abbreviation LAC+USC, or by the name Los Angeles County General, is a 600-bed public teaching hospital located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California...
in Los Angeles on July 25, 2008, at the age of 79. Burns was survived by her daughter, Pam Burns-Clair; two sisters, Wilma Draves and Suzie Mosteller; two granddaughters, Chelsea and Haley Clair; and many extended family members. She was a resident of Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
where she had been active in the arts and music community.
External links
- Imagineer Harriet website The official website of Disney's first female Imagineer, Harriet Burns