... Frank Armitage , renowned Disney layout and background artist on such classic Disney films as "Sleeping Beauty," "Mary Poppins," and "The Jungle Book," and a longtime Disney Imagineer who contributed murals and designs to a wide range of theme parks all over the world, passed away on Monday (1/4/16) at his home in Paso Robles, California, from age-related causes.
He was 91 years old. In addition to his accomplishments with Disney, he served as a production illustrator on the 1966 Academy Award® -winning Fox film, "Fantastic Voyage," and was an expert medical illustrator. ...
And so another Disney veteran departs.
I have vivid memories of Mr. Armitage. He came up to numerous parties thrown by my parents in La Crescenta. I was nine and ten years old, and there would be the entire Disney background department eating, drinking and making merry in our living room. Frank had a great beard then. He was a handsome guy with a good-looking wife, but what sticks with me fifty-five years later is his distinct Australian accent. His was the first one I ever heard.
Julie Svendsen, daughter of Julius and an indispensable assistant to Walt Peregoy in the last years of Walt's life, told me a couple of months ago that Frank was battling the vagaries of old age. Sorry to see that he's now gone.
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