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Alice Estes Davis | |
|---|---|
 Davis at the2014 Annie Awards | |
| Born | Alice Estes (1929-03-26)March 26, 1929 Escalon, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 3, 2022(2022-11-03) (aged 93) Los Feliz, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Costume designer |
| Spouse | |
| Awards |
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Alice Estes Davis (March 26, 1929 – November 3, 2022) was an Americancostume designer. She is most famous for her work withWalt Disney, who employed her to develop costumes for films, television, and theme parks.[1] She was married toMarc Davis, a Disneyanimator andImagineer. Alice was named aDisney Legend in 2004.[2]
Davis died on November 3, 2022, at the age of 93.[3]
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Alice Davis was born Alice Estes inEscalon, California.[3] She was a talented artist in high school and received a scholarship from the Long Beach Art Association to study at the prestigiousChouinard Art Institute.[4] She wanted to study animation at Chouinard Art Institute but due to the timing (World War II ending and the GI bill), there was a two-year waiting list to enter that field of study. So Chouinard, herself, got her in the school in the only opening they had for the next semester and that was in costume design.
She met Marc Davis, her future husband and fellow Disney Legend, 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 roll" and brought the chalk to class. They did not start dating at this time but they did develop a respect for one another.
After graduation, Alice began her career designing women'slingerie for the Beverly Vogue & Lingerie House in Los Angeles. Because of her skill, she quickly rose through the ranks to head designer. She designed two lines of fashion lingerie herself. Alice earned a reputation within the fashion community for her pattern-making skills and her expertise with different types of exotic fabrics.
In the mid-1950s, she received a call from Marc Davis. He needed a costume for dancerHelene Stanley to wear as she performed live-action reference footage for the animation of Princess Aurora inSleeping 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 Davis 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 her and her work. Walt Disney hired her as a costume designer for the 1960 Disney featureToby Tyler. She also aided in the design of costumes for various other Disneytelevision shows.
In 1963, Walt Disney came to Alice Davis with an assignment to assist artistMary Blair in designing the costumes for theAudio-Animatronic (AA) children of Disney's1964/1965 New York World's Fair attraction"it's a small world". She researched the different cultures and regions being represented and translated the attire customs into over 150 different costumes.[5] Her other work for the Fair included the period-specific costumes for theGeneral ElectricCarousel of Progress.
During the "small world" project, she established an AA figure costume manufacturing area, quality control system, and refurbishing techniques atWED Enterprises inGlendale, California. These systems and techniques are still used today by Imagineers and maintenance staff at the Disney theme parks worldwide.
In 1965, she said that [she] "went from sweet little children, to dirty old men overnight".[6] Walt Disney assigned her to create the costumes for the AA characters that would inhabit thePirates of the Caribbean attraction. She created 47 different costumes – each one period-specific to the 17th and 18th centuries, but still had a "Disney flair" to them. Walt Disney visited her in the studio and was able to see The Auctioneer pirate in full attire. Then, the following day or two, he went into the hospital before dying. He never got to see any of the other pirates.[6] Pirates of the Caribbean opened in 1967, and remains a Disney theme park favorite to this day. She also designed the costumes for the Mission Control AA figures in the revampedFlight to the Moon attraction the same year as Pirates.
Following Marc Davis' lead, she retired from WED in 1978, but still consulted on various projects forThe Walt Disney Company, such as Pixar'sUp (2009). In order to solve a central question of that film, "What are the most important things in life? – theUp filmmaking team turned to their oldest acquaintances and relatives, mining their memories for stories. The influences included the legendary Disney animatorJoe Grant (who died in 2005).[7] She also made appearances at Disney-related events and fan meet-and-greets.
Her marriage to Marc Davis ended with his death in 2000.[8]
In 1997, Davis received theDisneyana Fan Club Disney Legend award.[9]
In 2004, in a ceremony at theWalt Disney Studios inBurbank, California, Davis was inducted as aDisney Legend.[2]
On May 10, 2012, she was honored with a window onMain Street, U.S.A. atDisneyland next to her husband's window.[10]
In 2014, Davis was the recipient of theJune Foray Award in recognition of a significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation.[11]
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