list_text=          Bill Cottrell was the first president of what is today known as Walt Disney Imagineering, the design and development arm of the Company. During the planning and construction phases of Disneyland, Walt relied heavily on Bill's creativity, wisdom and foresight to make his dream come true.    
          Fellow Disney Legend Marvin Davis once recalled "Uncle Bill," as he was nicknamed by his colleagues, saying "It was Walt who said, "Let there be Disneyland," like the good Lord said, "Let there be a world." But it was Uncle Bill who was Walt's counselor and right-hand man."
          Born to English parents in South Bend, Indiana, in 1906, Bill graduated in English and Journalism from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. After working on George Herriman's "Krazy Kat" comic strip for a time, in 1929, he was offered a job working cameras at The Walt Disney Studios.
          He soon moved into the Story department and contributed ideas to shorts, including "Who Killed Cock Robin?" Fellow Legend Joe Grant recalled, "Bill was a great fan of Gilbert and Sullivan and you will see elements of that, such as the jury box chorus, in "Who Killed Cock Robin."
          Bill went on to direct the wicked witch and evil queen sequences in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and contributed to story on "Pinocchio." In 1941, he joined Walt Disney and a small group of artists on a goodwill tour of South America on behalf of the U.S. Government, which inspired "The Three Caballeros" and "Saludos Amigos," for which he also helped develop story. Bill also contributed to "Victory Through Air Power," "Melody Time," 'Alice in Wonderland" and "Peter Pan."
          During the 1950s, he carried his interest in story over to Walt Disney Imagineering, where he helped develop story lines and dialog for such Disneyland attractions as Snow White's Adventures.  
          Bill was also keen on nomenclature. As senior vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering John Hench recalled, "He was a talented writer and helped shape how we referred to events and attractions at Disneyland. For instance, he encouraged us to quit using the term "ride" and to refer to attractions as an "experience," which is exactly what they are - an experience."  
          Among his many contributions to Disney, Bill also helped develop the popular "Zorro" television series and in 1964, was named president of Retlaw Enterprises, the Walt Disney family corporation. He held that position until 1982 when he retired after 53 years of service. A life-long fan of Sherlock Holmes, Bill's idea of a movie about an animal detective inspired the 1986 animated feature "The Great Mouse Detective."
          Bill Cottrell died December 22, 1995, in Los Angeles.&