Bill Novey

Bill Novey
Born 1948
Downers Grove, Illinois
Died August 1, 1991
Burbank, California
Occupation Special Effects Master / Head of Special Effects at Walt Disney Imagineering/ co-founder of Art & Technology, Inc.
Spouse(s) Jody Van Meter

William 'Bill' Novey (1948–1991) was an American special effects guru in Hollywood, Head of Special Effects at Walt Disney Imagineering in the 1970s, and co-founder of Art & Technology, Inc. with Disney executive Joe Garlington in the 1980s.[1]

At Disney, Novey was tasked with overseeing 6000 special effects in the Epcot Center near Orlando, Florida and Tokyo Disneyland.[2] He invented over 300 projectors and helped inspire a new wave of special effects and technological innovations including the first use of holograms and vector-scanning laser projections in a theme park.[3]

At Art & Technology, Novey developed a number of memorable special effects and high-tech exhibits seen in various theme parks around the world, including the first ever motion-simulator in a museum.[4]

Novey holds a number of US patents.[5]

Personal life

He was born William E. Novey in 1948 in Downers Grove, Illinois.

Novey earned bachelor's degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering, and a Master's in Theater Technology from California Institute of the Arts.

He was married to entertainment executive Jody Van Meter.[6]

He died in 1991 at age 43 from Non-Hodgkins lymphoma.[7] He is buried at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills.[8]

In October 2008, a bench was donated in Novey's honor in the Garden Walk at the library in his hometown of Downers Grove, Illinois with an inscription that reads: “William E. Novey, Who Made the World a Happier Place."[9]

References

  1. ↑ Maureen, Santini. "Special Effects Bring Epcot Alive". The Gainesville Sun.
  2. ↑
    • Ruben, Judith. "Concerning Theme Park Special Effects". Judith Rubin Etc. Blog.
    • Willis, Deb. "Happy 30th Birthday Epcot". All Ears.Net - Sharing the Magic.
  3. ↑
    • Wade, Sampson. "Imagineer Rock Hall Remembers". Mouse Planet.
    • Shapiro, Eben. "All About Theme Park Spinoffs; Need a Fantasy?". New York Times Newspaper.
  4. ↑ Rubin, Judith. "Art & Technology : Bill Novey and the Business of Theme Park Special Effects". Bloop Loop.
  5. ↑
    • Patent Genius Org. "William E. Novey Patents". Patent Genius.
    • Justia Legal. "Patents By Inventor William E. Novey". Justia Patents.
    • USPTO. "Solid state timer-stepper". Archived from the original on 2016-12-08.
  6. ↑ Van Meter, Jody. "Jody Van Meter". Zoom Info.
  7. ↑ Kania, Carol. "Discoveries" (PDF). Downers Grove Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-30.
  8. ↑ Find a Grave. "William Novey". Find a Grave.
  9. ↑ Kania, Carol. "Discoveries" (PDF). Downers Grove Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-30.
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