November 7th, 2022 
Jerry Beck 
Alice M. Davis, whose delightfully detailed and meticulously researched costume designs for the landmark “It’s a Small World” and “Pirates of Caribbean” rides at Disneyland died peacefully surrounded by family and friends on November 3, 2022 at her Los Angeles home. She was 93.
A pioneer at WED Enterprises, now known as Walt Disney Imagineering, the company’s center for the creation of three-dimensional entertainment, Mrs. Davis was heralded as its most famous costumer in 2012, when a commemorative window in her honor was installed on a storefront along Disneyland’s Main Street. It was placed beside a window honoring her late husband, Marc Davis, one of the famous “Nine Old Men” of Disney animation and an early “Imagineer” who oversaw the creation of some of the amusement parks’ best-loved attractions. The company honored Mrs. Davis as a “Disney Legend” in 2004. Her husband, who designed and animated such classic characters as Tinker Bell and Cruella de Vil, was named a “Disney Legend” in 1989.
Mrs. Davis and her husband collaborated with the late Mary Blair, a renowned inspirational artist for Disney who conceived the “Small World” ride, to create it for the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. Mrs. Davis designed more than 300 costumes for the ride’s audio animatronic dolls representing children from all over the world.
The ride was transferred to Disneyland in 1966 and has been one of the most popular attractions there ever since. Mrs. Davis also designed costumes for another Disney attraction her husband oversaw at the World’s Fair, the “Carousel of Progress,” sponsored by General Electric, which later was transferred to Disneyland as well.
Even as “Small World” was making its debut at Disneyland, work was under way on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride, for which Marc Davis was a lead designer, creating the drawings that depicted the humorous scenes visitors see in the attraction. Alice Davis designed and supervised the creation of the pirates’ costumes as well as those of other fanciful characters.
She later joked that she’d gone directly from designing costumes for “sweet little children” to ones for “dirty old men.”
Mrs. Davis played an important role in many careers. She was particularly proud of having selected a young Bob Mackie to design a dress for Jayne Mansfield for a gala supporting Chouinard Art Institute.
Mrs. Davis and her husband, who died in 2000, were popular speakers at Disney-sponsored events around the country. As one of the few remaining artists who had worked directly with Walt Disney, she made frequent public appearances on behalf of the company long after Mr. Davis’ death. She was a mainstay in other capacities, serving as a resource on a variety of projects, including the Academy Award-winning, Pixar animated film “Up,” which was in part dedicated to her.
She and Mr. Davis were substantial benefactors to Save The Redwoods League, and both the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, which for many years hosted the annual Marc Davis Lecture on Animation Series, and the California Institute of Arts.
Under the direction of Walt and Roy Disney, CalArts was created in 1961 by merging the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and the Chouinard Art Institute, of which Alice Davis was an alumna and Marc Davis a former faculty member.
An extraordinarily generous person, Mrs. Davis’ vast array of friends and fans – many of whom were adopted in her heart as family – always were welcome in her art-adorned, hillside home in Los Angeles. Its walls were covered by artwork she and her husband collected on two trips to New Guinea, as well as many paintings by her husband and art by other friends.
Mrs. Davis was renowned for her hospitality and phenomenal skill as a gourmet chef. She served elaborate, exquisite meals with specialties that included everything from tamale pie and complex gelatin molds to stuffed breast of veal.
Pete Docter, the Oscar winning Chief Creative Officer of Pixar, said about Alice and Marc Davis: “I was initially excited to meet Marc and Alice because of all they’d accomplished, but quickly became even more enamored of them as people. I never called Alice without being invited over, and never visited without being fed.”
John Canemaker, a renowned Oscar-winning animator and animation historian, said Mrs. Davis, “was one of the kindest and most generous artists I’ve ever known.”
Marc and Alice Davis
Born Alice May Estes on March 26, 1929 in Escalon, California, she was the fourth of the five children of Bishop Estes, a former public-school principal, and Naomi McGrew, an art teacher and craftswoman.
The family moved to Los Angeles in 1933 and lived in various homes in the Los Feliz, Silver Lake and MacArthur Park areas. Mrs. Davis recalled the thrill of seeing Laurel and Hardy filming one of their comedies in Silver Lake. Also, during that time in her life, she became a favorite child singer in the Angelus Temple chorus of Aimee Semple McPherson’s Church of the Foursquare Gospel in Echo Park. Decades later, Mrs. Davis would entertain friends by singing some of the hymns McPherson taught her.
Always entranced by art, Mrs. Davis received early training in painting, weaving and sewing from her mother. As a grammar school student, Mrs. Davis visited the Chouinard Art Institute on South Grand View and got to know its founder, Mrs. Nelbert Chouinard, who encouraged her artistic ambition.
In 1941, Mrs. Davis’ family moved to Long Beach, where she went to high school. Graduating in 1947, she received a four-year scholarship to Chouinard from the Long Beach Art Association. Told that only men could become animators, she studied costume design instead – but audited the Tuesday night animation classes taught by her future husband. After graduating from Chouinard in 1950, Mrs. Davis went to work for Beverly Vogue & Lingerie House, where she eventually became manager of two factories.
In 1954, Marc Davis called her with a design job. He was animating Princess Aurora in “Sleeping Beauty” and wanted her to design a dress so he could study how the fabric moved on a live model posing as the princess dancing. Other design assignments for Disney followed – and a relationship developed with Mr. Davis that led to their marriage in 1956.
Mrs. Davis had a friendly and productive working relationship with the famously meticulous Walt Disney. She enjoyed his keen eye for detail and sense of humor. She recalled how she found during the creation of “Small World” that the plastic “skin” on the legs of the audio-animatronic French Can-can dolls tended to tear, so she covered them with knickers. Inspecting the ride before its completion, Mr. Disney spotted the alteration. He shouted to Mrs. Davis, who was on a ladder, “How come you put pantaloons on the Can-can girls?”
Much to Disney’s amusement, Mrs. Davis shouted in reply, “You told me you wanted this to be a family show!”
Mary Blair (left) and Alice Davis
Mrs. Davis expressed surprise and profound gratitude upon receiving the June Foray Award and other honorifics given to her and was humbled by receiving these accolades.
Mrs. Davis is survived by a loving family including her sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews and beloved, adopted family members.
Those wishing to honor Mrs. Davis may send contributions to CalArts, Save The Redwoods League and the Walt Disney Family Museum.
Copyright 2022 Davis Family Trust
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