Dick Nunis learned directly from Walt Disney how to run Disneyland and went on to play a key role in the development of the Anaheim theme park, Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.
The Disney Legend and former Disneyland executive vice president died on Wednesday, Dec. 13 in Orlando, Florida at the age of 91, according to the Walt Disney Company.
“Dick took the values and philosophies he learned directly from Walt and incorporated them into everything he did at Disney,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement released by the company.
Born in Cedartown, Georgia on May 30, 1932, Nunis made his way west on a University of Southern California football scholarship and took a job at Disneyland on a lark after his dreams of playing professional football were cut short by a broken neck playing the sport he loved.
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After graduating from USC, Nunis landed a summer job at Disneyland in May 1955 just two months before the Anaheim theme park opened to the public.
Nunis ended up working for Disney University founder Van France and together they trained future Disneyland employees in Walt Disney’s theme park philosophy. Their first students: Walt and his Disneyland executives.
“Walt believed strongly that what would make Disneyland different was the people — he wanted them to feel that they were part of the organization,” Nunis once said, according to a Disney statement. “That’s why he established the first-name policy — he was Walt, I was Dick and so on. From an overall operations point of view, the most important thing is to work together to make sure that when guests come, they have a wonderful experience.”
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Nunis quickly worked his way up the ladder at Disneyland from orientation training instructor to attractions supervisor to mailroom supervisor to park operations director.
Never one to…
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