Marvin Aubrey Davis was a master planner, art director, and scenic designer. He was remembered by Disney fans for turning Walt Disney's idea for Walt Disney World and Epcot into workable site plans as well various buildings in Disneyland.
Born in Clovis, New Mexico; Davis attended UCLA for two years before transferring to the University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in architecture and, as top student in the class of 1935, he also received the prestigious American Institute of Architects medal. Two years later, Marvin won a job at 20th Century Fox, where he worked as an art director on films, such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Asphalt Jungle. In 1953, he was invited by his friend, former Fox art director Dick Irvine, to join WED Enterprises. Today, WED is known as Walt Disney Imagineering.
Davis was instrumental in helping Walt bring his idea of "Disneyland" to life, exactly as he envisioned it. He developed the first diagrammatic plan for Disneyland. On the morning of August 8, 1953, Walt reviewed the site map that Davis was working on and picked up a No. 1 carbon pencil and drew a triangle around the plot of land to indicate where he wanted his railroad to run. That historic drawing still exists today. For two years, Davis worked on more than 100 different versions of the master plan for Disneyland. He designed the exterior of The Haunted Mansion, Sleeping Beauty Castle, and the buildings on Main Street, U.S.A.
After the theme park's successful opening in the summer of 1955, Marvin returned to art directing, as well as scenic design for motion pictures, which included Moon Pilot, Babes in Toyland, and Big Red, and television series as |Zorro and Mickey Mouse Club. In 1962, he received an Emmy Award® for art direction and scenic design on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. Outside of Disney, he worked on shows, like Father of the Bride and Corky and White Shadow.
In 1965, Davis returned to WED as a project designer for Walt Disney World in Florida, at time was known as The Florida Project. He devised the master plan for the Magic Kingdom theme park and Walt’s futuristic city of EPCOT. Following Walt's death in 1966, Davis continued to work on the project under Roy O. Disney when it was decided to make a resort instead. He contributed to the design of resort hotels, including the Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Resort, and the Golf Resort. The resort opened in 1971 and, after 22 years with the company, Davis retired in 1975. In 1994, he was inducted as a Disney Legend alongside Adriana Caselotti, William Cottrell, and fellow Imagineer Bill Martin.
Davis passed away on March 8, 1998 in Santa Monica, California.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1955-1958 | Mickey Mouse Club | Art director |
| 1955 | Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier | Art director |
| 1955-1965 | The Magical World of Disney | Art director |
| 1956 | Westward Ho, the Wagons! | Art director |
| 1957-1961 | Zorro | Art director Production Designer: "Presenting Señor Zorro" - uncredited |
| 1961 | Babes in Toyland | Art director |
| 1962 | Moon Pilot | Art director |
| 1962 | Bon Voyage! | Art director |
| 1962 | Big Red | Art director |
| 1962 | The Mooncussers | Art director |
| 1963 | Savage Sam | Art director |
| 1964 | A Tiger Walks | Art director |
| 1966 | The Ugly Dachshund | Art director |
| 1966 | Follow Me, Boys! | Art director |
Gallery
Trivia
- His wife, Marjorie, the daughter of Hazel Sewell, Lillian Disney's sister, and William Cottrell's step-daughter, was one of the first live-action Disney stars appearing in "Clara Cleans Her Teeth" in 1926 and was Walt's favorite niece.
- When Walt was visiting Florida anonymously to check out a property, he borrowed Davis' last name as part of the pseudonym, "Walter E. Davis." the initials "WED" matched the initials on Walt's luggage.
