Bob Welbaum: Four More Disney Legends Named by NFFC
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Caption: When Legends Get Together: Bill Sullivan with a gift from Jess Rubio.
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Gretta Verity
Gretta Verity�s first brush with Disney was as a member of a musical group, the
Ramon Lite Accordion Group, which appeared on �The Mickey Mouse Club.� Her
career at Disneyland began in August, 1964 as a Guest Relations tour guide and
VIP hostess. When she had finished college, her �best girlfriend� who worked at
Disneyland had encouraged her to apply for a job with Guest Relations � not an
easy job to get because tour guides had to be bilingual. But Gretta had majored
in languages with the intent of working as a interpreter. After modeling the
costume to make sure she had the Disney �look,� she was hired and worked there
for six years.
During that time, she escorted such celebrities as Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn. �I still think to this day I was one of the most fortunate people ever to work at Disney. And working as a VIP hostess and as a tour guide, there were many thrilling moments that were brought about. I think my most memorable moment was working on an Easter Sunday.� She was supposed to be off, but had been called at home and talked into coming in and taking a tour. To her surprise, her guest was Lillian Disney and her grandchildren. �We ate at Club 33 at Disneyland, and after eating, the park was already dark and we were about the last ones in the park. And she came up and she grabbed me by the arm and as we walked down Main Street [pause] all she basically did was talk about Walt.�
Regarding the Disney look, the costume worn at Disneyland during those years is basically the same red plaid with accessories that�s worn today, and is the most photographed costume in the world. It�s a plaid that�s especially selected for Disneyland, and during Gretta�s years was made by Pendleton Woolen Mills.
After almost seven years at Disneyland, Gretta transferred to Walt Disney World six months before opening. Because her then-husband worked in park operations, she was offered a position in creative costuming as Appearance Coordinator, and in that role was responsible for working with management and cast members to establish and maintain the Disney look. Gretta explained how Walt established the look so cast members� appearances would not detract from the attractions. She told the story of Walt talking to his wife Lillian about the looks he had seen in other amusement parks One of the first days Disneyland was open, Walt noticed women in then-fashionable beehive hairdos who could barely get through a doorway.
At Walt Disney World, it became Gretta�s job to enforce this look. She did her job so well she was given the nickname �Gretta Groom� and Jungle Cruise cast members wrote a song about her. She had walk-throughs with management almost on a daily basis. When some managers saw her approaching and knew one of their underlings wasn�t meeting appearance standards, they would try to find hiding places (�Could you just kind of go hide in the freezer for awhile?�). So during her career she opened quite a few freezers just to find cast members. Then there was the time she heard a rumor that a Jungle Cruise skipper was hiding a pony tail under his hat. So she stood at the Jungle Cruise exit with the usual suspects, flicking off hats until she found the offender.
When Gretta arrived at Walt Disney World, it quickly became evident that some costume adjustments were required. Costume fabrics had to be chosen with Florida�s humidity in mind, and when WDW opened in 1971, the available fabrics were all 100 percent polyester. However, through the years, WDW has been the innovator for new fabrics. And of course, Florida cast members had to match the Disney look � a challenge in the early 1970s with men wearing long hair & sideburns and women who resisted wearing enclosed shoes. Certain modifications were made to accommodate regional differences. For example, more Florida ladies had pierced ears, so they were allowed to wear post earrings on-stage.
After five years in that role, Gretta took some time off to raise her son. But as the opening of Epcot approached, she was invited back in 1981. She spent another couple of years as Appearance Coordinator, then in 1983 became buying manager for costumes. In that role, she sourced and purchased the fabric, notions and other material needed for costumes. This involved her in virtually every aspect of the resort, as the department handled costumes for all on-stage cast members, plus all shows, parades, characters, and even Audio-Animatronic figures. Before she retired in September, 2004, her final role was running the costuming department for the Disney Cruise Line.
Clearly Gretta thoroughly enjoyed her job, her co-workers (especially her fellow legends), and really lived the Disney magic.
Jess Rubio
Although Jess Rubio loved working in the meat department of his father�s grocery
store so he could draw on the pink butcher paper, he seemed destined for a
career in music. He was accepted with the Air Force field band as a clarinet
player. But during his military physical doctors discovered tuberculosis. This
ended his band career, but in the Disabled American Veterans rehabilitation
program, counselors spotted Jess�s artistic talents; he returned to California
to begin artistic training.
When he left his first year of art school in 1957, he was broke. �I had no money, not even for tacos or tortillas,� was how he phrased it. He accepted the recommendation of one of his instructors to apply for a job at Disneyland, and was prepared to do anything, even follow the horses down Main Street with a bucket. He was interviewed, showed his artwork, and was hired to start the next day drawing portraits at Disneyland. Originally he was promised a 15-day stint to replace an artist who was on leave. On his fourteenth day, a Saturday, he had gotten there early to prepare materials for his 12-hour workday when he noticed a man standing behind him. The man asked him what he thought of his location. �He had his back to me and I thought he was an art director. So I thought here�s my big chance. So I said �Hey, pal! Hey, buddy! Come here.�� He proceeded to explain to the stranger how in the afternoon the sun would shine on the guests waiting for portraits and how uncomfortable they became. Couldn�t something be done about this? �Now I�m looking at this man. With the nose. Mustache. I thought to myself, wait a minute, there�s nobody allowed to wear a mustache in this park except one guy. I stuck my hand out, �Mr. Disney, My name is Jess Rubio.� He said �Call me Walt, everybody does.� And I said �Yes sir, Mr. Disney.��
Walt talked to Jess for about 20 minutes about his work, his art training, and the feedback he was getting from guests. Walt was �very cordial, very friendly, very interesting questions that he would ask�. I listened and Walt asked questions. �Do you speak Spanish?� �Yes sir.� �Do you speak to people that come into the park who speak Spanish?� I said, �Yes sir, I do. Most of the day I have questions asked.� �What kinds of questions do they ask?� �They want to know about that restaurant, Mr. Disney.� �Call me Walt.�� This was the nature of Walt�s dialogue � very down-to-earth. Walt also explained to Jess how his studies in the art school connected with drawing portraits at Disneyland. Jess was awestruck that he was getting inspiration from �the world�s greatest grandfather,� which was especially high praise since Jess didn�t grow up with a grandfather.
The next day Jess was offered a regular assignment; the individual he was filling in for was transferring to another department. Calculating that working summers and holidays would allow him to earn enough to pay for school, he accepted. �The next four years, which completed five years of study, was because of the Walt Disney Company. Because of Disneyland. And because of Walt.�
Soon Jess was doing portraits for Disney executives, doing caricatures at Disney Studio parties, teaching other artists, and doing artwork for everything from napkins to shopping bags at the park. In 1962, Jess got a contract signed by both Walt and Roy Disney to serve as a lessee, providing portrait and caricature artists to the park.
Toward the end of the interview, Jess shared a poster he had brought displaying two photos � Jess with Walt Disney (on the night Walt Disney World was announced and autographed �To Jess, All Thanks� by Walt) and Jess with Roy Disney (on Walt Disney World�s opening day) �He [Roy] took time out to come over and speak to me.�
Jess also made a point of showing off the shirt he was wearing � blue, long-sleeved, collared, and a pocket over the left breast with a logo and �Disneyland � Where Dreams Come True� just above it. �In many ways, my dream has come true. Ten times. A hundred times. I�ve raised my family through the park. I completed my education because of the Disney organization.�
Today Jess lives in Florida and runs his own company, Rubio Arts Corporation. The company still provides all the portrait and caricature artists for Disneyland, Disney�s California Adventure, and the Magic Kingdom & Epcot at Walt Disney World.
A personal note: thanks to the NFFC�s Florida Planning Committee for an exceptional job in organizing this convention. This included providing the biographical summaries for the Legends which served as the foundation for this column. I�ve been around enough to know that these are not easy events to organize, yet this convention gets better every year.
Finally, while wandering around Downtown Disney, I noticed the Virgin Megastore was promoting the book The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead. Was this for Halloween or for the election?
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-- Bob Welbaum
Bob Welbaum is a longtime Disneyana fan and NFFC member from the Dayton,
Ohio area.
For more about the NFFC, its conventions, and its Disney Legends program,
visit www.nffc.org.
-- October 22, 2008