Bill Novey

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

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]

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.^[citation needed]

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.
2. • Ruben, Judith (23 January 2010). "Concerning Theme Park Special Effects". Judith Rubin Etc. Blog.
   • Willis, Deb (October 2012). "Happy 30th Birthday Epcot". All Ears.Net - Sharing the Magic.
3. • Wade, Sampson (12 May 2010). "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. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
   • Justia Legal. "Patents By Inventor William E. Novey". Justia Patents.
   • USPTO. "Solid state timer-stepper". Archived from the original on 2016-12-08.
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.