It was confirmed today that the late Dave Smith (Disney Legend and Walt Disney Archives founder) will receive one of Disneyland’s highest honors: a Main Street, U.S.A. window dedication! A special ceremony will be held at Disneyland on June 22, 2020 — the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Walt Disney Archives — to commemorate his achievements.
Here’s some details about Dave Smith and his accomplishments,courtesy of D23:
The stories of the Walt Disney Archives and Disney Legend Dave Smith will be forever tied together—Smith’s Disney career began on June 22, 1970, when he founded the Walt Disney Archives. Hired by Walt’s brother—and co-founder of The Walt Disney Company —Roy O. Disney, Smith was responsible for growing the Archives from a simple one-person department to a model among corporate archives, becoming the final authority on all matters of Disney history in the process.
Smith, who passed away in 2019, wrote extensively on Disney history, with a regular column in The Disney Channel Magazine, Disney Magazine, Disney Newsreel, and numerous articles in such publications as Starlog, Manuscripts, Millimeter, American Archivist, and California Historical Quarterly. He is the author of the official Disney encyclopedia, Disney A to Z, now in its fifth edition; with Kevin Neary he co-authored four volumes of The Ultimate Disney Trivia Book; with Steven Clark he co-wrote Disney: The First 100 Years; and he edited The Quotable Walt Disney. Dave also wrote introductions to a number of other Disney books.
In October 2007, Dave was honored with the prestigious Disney Legends Award. A resident of Burbank, California, Dave retired in 2010 after his 40th anniversary with The Walt Disney Company and continued working for the next nine years as a consultant for the Company, with the title of Chief Archivist Emeritus.
