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Imagineer Bob Gurr has always been a man on the move. For nearly 40 years, he’s helped move many happy Disney theme park guests aboard vehicles and ride conveyances of his own design. As he has often quipped, “If it moves on wheels at Disneyland, I probably designed it.” He developed more than 100 designs for Disneyland from Autopia to the Matterhorn bobsleds. Upon graduation from Art Center, he was hired by Ford Motor Company and soon after was hired by Walt Disney as their Imagineer. For nearly 5 decades he worked transportation magic. In 1981 he launched Gurr Design, working on “leisure-time spectaculars” and “Fantastic Beasts.” Bob’s authored books, raced cars, flown airplanes, and had a hand in a multitude of automotive designs including the Kaiser Willys, Lincolns at Ford Styling, cars, trains, trams, monorail trains, and the list goes on and on and on. In 1999, Bob was honored with the Themed Entertainment Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award (THEA). The Walt Disney Company honored him in 2004 as a Disney Legend, and again in 2008 with a Disneyland Window on Main Street.
SHOW SPONSORS
American Collectors Insurance • Linkage Magazine • Techforce Foundation • RPM Foundation • Cars Yeah TV
INSPIRATION
Strother MacMinn, one of Bob’s teachers at Art Center, who was very tough, was a major inspiration along with Elbert Leander “Burt” Rutan, an aircraft designer. Adrian Martin Newey, a British Formula One engineer, was another mentor and of course Walt Disney, a man Bob worked with for decades.
CHALLENGE
Bob is a free thinker and has never thought that there was a challenge too big.
SPECIAL AUTOMOBILE
Bob purchased the first model Citroen SM Maserati, a car Bob bought and was the first one sold in the USA west of the Mississippi.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
How to Draw Cars of Tomorrow by Bob Gurr*
Design Just for Fun by Bob Gurr*
More books by Bob Gurr*
PARTING WORDS OF INSPIRATION
Do everything right. Understand what right means in any endeavor. Understand the essence of story and never clash with anything in the essence of a story. Purity and simplicity are the most important essence’ of great design. Beware of committees!
Bob Gurr practices a favorite life philosophy as quoted in the words of Malcolm Forbes: “While alive, live!”
You get one free life. Use yours right up to your last gasp.
If you enjoyed this show, please go to Apple Podcast and leave me a five-star review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and help others to be inspired by Cars Yeah. * indicates a past Cars Yeah guest.
Just listened to Bob Gurr. Wow! What an interesting man with a great and insteresting life. More amazing is he is 92. He sounds more like 62. Life has been good to him and his great design projects, cars, and more. Now, when you go have fun at Disney, you will know who designed whatever ride your own. And his suggestion to all, “do it right” is exactly what you should be doing anyway.
Great show Mark. So glad Bob found time out of his extremely, busy, schedule to do an interview. Thank you Bob.