Yale Gracey was a Disney Imagineer

Imagineer

Imagineer may refer to:* Disney Imagineer, a position at the Walt Disney company* Imagineer Systems, a visual effects software company* Imagineer , a Japanese video game, mobile, software company...

, writer, and layout artist for many Disney animated shorts, including classics such as The Three Caballeros

The Three Caballeros

The Three Caballeros is a 1944 American animated feature film, produced by Walt Disney and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on February 3, 1945...

and Fantasia

Fantasia (film)

Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...

. He designed many of the special effects for the Disney ride Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. A significantly re-imagined incarnation of the ride, known as Phantom Manor, is located in Disneyland Paris...

 and the fire effect used in the 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....

attraction. He was honored by having "Master Gracey" named after him. Yale died on September 5, 1983, at the age of 73. Gracey was shot along with his wife in Los Angeles by a burglar. The circumstances were never revealed.

External links

• Tribute site. Although it is not technically about Yale, it does have an informative biography.