For more than a half-century, Harry Holt was instrumental in creating Walt Disney's magic. As an artist, he helped design legendary scenes for such animated classics as Snow White and Lady and the Tramp. As art director and sculptor, he helped develop attractions at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Epcot and at Disneyland in California and Japan.
"He was a very simple man, very quiet and modest, but he knew his trade," said his wife of 27 years, Barbara.
Holt, 93, of Casselberry, died April 14.
His career with Disney began in 1936, when he applied to become an artist. To test his skills, he was told to take the major Disney characters and write and illustrate a scenario for each in comic-strip style.
Animators saw something they liked and gave him a tryout. After two weeks of training, he began as an apprentice and quickly worked his way to playing a role in the development of Snow White.
He remained with Disney for 20 years until he left to work in television production and art direction. After a couple of years in Chicago, he moved back to Los Angeles and joined Hanna-Barbera Studios, where he worked on the Flintstones TV series and Tom and Jerry cartoons.
Holt returned to Disney in the 1960s as plans were unfolding for Walt Disney World in Orlando. He worked with Walt Disney and the "Nine Old Men," the creative force supporting the entertainment giant's founder.
One of his tasks was to create sculptures from the Jungle Book to be used as background for a promotional documentary narrated by Disney. However, Disney died before they were used.
Holt became chief designer, assigned to interpret and design sculptural forms for Disney World. He sculpted the original models, called maquettes, of characters for several rides including Pirates of the Caribbean. Those models were then used as references for the sculpture department to create life-size animatronic characters. Other attractions based on his models were Country Bear Jamboree, Snow White, Peter Pan and the Haunted Mansion.
In 1979, while art director in charge of merchandising at Disney World, Holt was asked to do design work for Goebel, the company that produces the Hummel figurines. He created a set of 32 figurines called "Amerikids" representing American children.
Before retiring in the early 1990s, he greeted guests at the Disney/MGM Studio Preview Center in Orlando and signed replicas and photostatic copies of his Disney character sketches.
"Disney was his life," Barbara Holt said. "He used to show animators in the art department how to draw characters. It took 12 drawings to have a character raise an arm from his side to an up position."
Holt's talent was natural, she said. "He always drew. That was part of him."
Survivors also include a daughter, Renee Holt, California; a son, Craig Holt, California; and a grandson.
Collison's Howell Branch Funeral Home, Winter Park, is handling the arrangements.
By Joseph Rassel
