Bill Novey

William 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]

Bill Novey
Born1948
Downers Grove, Illinois
DiedAugust 1, 1991
Burbank, California
Occupation(s)Special Effects Master / Head of Special Effects at Walt Disney Imagineering/ co-founder of Art & Technology, Inc.
SpouseJody Van Meter

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.

He died in 1991 at age 43 from Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.[6] He is buried at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills.[7]

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."[8]

References
  1. Maureen, Santini. "Special Effects Bring Epcot Alive". The Gainesville Sun.
  4. Rubin, Judith. "Art & Technology : Bill Novey and the Business of Theme Park Special Effects". Bloop Loop.
  6. Kania, Carol. "Discoveries" (PDF). Downers Grove Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-30.
  7. Find a Grave. "William Novey". Find a Grave.
  8. Kania, Carol. "Discoveries" (PDF). Downers Grove Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-30.
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