Marty Sklar, 1934-2017

Legendary Disney Imagineer Marty Sklar has died. He was 83.

Sklar, named a Disney Legend in 2001, began working for Disney in the summer in 1955, just weeks before the opening of Disneyland. Over the decades he came to be revered as someone who had worked with and understood Walt Disney, helping to carry on the Disney legacy after Walt's death.

Marty officially retired from the company in 2009 but continued his Disney association as an "Imagineering Ambassador" and was frequently seen at Disney events. One of many interesting tidbits about his life and career is that he attended the opening of every Disney theme park worldwide, including last year's opening of Shanghai Disneyland.

His passing on Thursday, July 27th, came as something of a surprise as he had been an active participant at the D23 Expo just a week and a half prior to his death.

His final appearance at the Expo was at the Legends of Walt Disney Imagineering panel hosted by John Stamos on July 16th. That panel can be seen in its entirety on YouTube.

One of many events at which I saw Marty was a 2008 tribute to Julie Andrews at Disneyland:

For an in-depth look at Marty Sklar's remarkable career, please visit an obituary posted by Disney. An additional obituary was published by the Los Angeles Times.

Marty spent his career working to make Disney fans happy. Thanks, Marty, for everything.