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- "The companies hired me because at Chouinard, you had to be able to do children's clothing, women's clothing, men's tailoring. This was Walt's thinking, too, because I could do patterns for children's clothes, women's clothes, and men's clothes. I could sew them and put them together. But I also had a fine art background. Anyway, Walt knew he'd have somebody who knew the whole system for the Audio-Animatronics figures. Plus Marc was working on it, and I could do the costumes. Later, the only figure Walt saw for Pirates that was finished and working was The Auctioneer. Then, a day or so later, he went into the hospital. He never saw the finished Pirates ride. But he'd been very excited about it. And I did the costumes for that show."
- ―Alice Davis
Alice Estes Davis (March 26, 1929 – November 3, 2022) was an American artist and costume designer. She was most famous for her work with Walt Disney, who employed her to develop costumes for films, television, and theme parks.[1]
At Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), Alice Estes Davis was the original "designing woman." Married to Disney Legend Marc Davis, she enjoyed a fashionable Disney career of her own, designing and dressing animated figures for such beloved Disneyland attractions as It's a small world and Pirates of the Caribbean. As Alice recalled with a gleam in her eye, "I went from sweet little children to dirty old men over night." She was married to Marc Davis, a Disney animator and Imagineer. Alice was named a Disney Legend in 2004.[2][3]
Biography[]
Alice met Marc Davis while he was teaching a night class in animation. Though the class was full, Chouinard told her that she could attend the class if she "called the role" and brought the chalk to class. They did not start dating at this time but they did develop a respect for one another. In the mid-1950s, Alice received a call from Marc Davis. He needed a costume for dancer Helene Stanley to wear as she performed live-action reference footage for the animation of Aurora in Sleeping Beauty; Marc wanted to see how the skirt flowed and bunched as Stanley moved about in order to draft accurate animation. During this project, she and Marc grew closer and eventually married in June 1956.
Walt Disney saw the two newlyweds at a Los Angeles restaurant one night and immediately took a liking to Alice and her quality work. Walt hired her as a costume designer for the 1960 Disney film, Toby Tyler. She also aided in the design of costumes for various other Disney films and television shows.
Alice Davis designing the The Auctioneer.
In 1965, Alice said she "went from sweet little children to dirty old men overnight". Walt assigned her to create the costumes for the Audio-Animatronic characters that would inhabit the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Alice created 47 different costumes - each one period-specific to the 17th and 18th centuries, but still had a "Disney flair" to them. Pirates of the Caribbean opened in 1967 and remained a Disney theme park favorite to this day. Because of her versatility, she also designed the costumes for the Mission Control AA figures in the revamped Flight to the Moon attraction the same year as Pirates.
Her marriage to Marc ended with his death in 2000. On May 10, 2012, Alice Davis was honored with a window on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland. The window, above the Disneyana store, next to her husband's window, reads: Small World Costume Co. - Alice Davis - Seamstress to the Stars[4]
Alice Davis died on November 3, 2022, at the age of 93.[5]
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ 23 Questions With Alice Davis - D23
- ↑ Alice Davis - D23
- ↑ The Walt Disney Company Names 2004 Disney Legends; Tim Conway, Leonard Goldenson, Karen Dotrice Among 11 Honored for Contributions to Disney's Legacy - Business Wire - Archived
- ↑ Disney Legend and Imagineer Alice Davis Honored with Window on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland Park - Disney Parks Blog
- ↑ Remembering Disney Legend Alice Davis - D23