This is from the This is True newsletter. They print stories about strange stuff, but usually have an "honorary unsubscribe". Kind of a "noteworthy person who passed on this week". They are ALWAYS interesting people, but I thought I'd pass today's on to you all!
THIS WEEK'S HONORARY UNSUBSCRIBE goes to Ralph Kent. An artist, Kent
spent most of his professional career -- nearly 40 years -- with
Disney. And during most of that time, it was his job to be "protective"
of the image of iconic Disney characters, and none more so than Mickey
Mouse. "He wouldn't let out certain merchandise, things Mickey
shouldn't be on," said his wife, Linda. "Mickey was the standard bearer
of Disney; Mickey was the one that made Disney. He had to be kind of
kept that way." So much so that around the company, Kent became known as "The Keeper of the Mouse." He trained other artists on how to draw the famous rodent and the rest of the company's "Fab Five" -- Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto -- so that they always looked the same, and decided which products Mickey would be licensed for. When Kent first asked Walt Disney for a job, Disney said no: he had no jobs for 8-year-olds. So Kent kept studying art, and eventually was hired at the company, and one of the first things he designed was the Mickey
Mouse wristwatch. He later moved east to Disney World in Florida, where he became director of Walt Disney Imagineering East. He died at his
home in Florida on September 10 from esophageal cancer. He was 68.
-- Honorary Unsubscribe archive:
http://www.HonoraryUnsubscribe.com
.....it's a surprise...Mom doesn't know yet!!!!!!
Thank you very much.
