list_text=          Imagineer Wathel Rogers was the man to call whenever inanimate objects were to come to life in grand Disney fashion. Wathel breathed life into robotic (Audio-Animatronics) figures featured in such theme park attractions as the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland and The Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World.
          Senior Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering John Hench recalled, "Wathel was always making everything come to life. If it was stationary and we wanted it to move, all we had to do was call Wathel and in his quiet, calm way, he'd make it work."
          Born and raised in Stratton, Colorado, Wathel's unique sculpting ability became evident while a boy, making one-of-a-kind toys out of household items and other scrap material. By 1937, he entered Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and from there, joined The Walt Disney Studios in 1939, where he worked as an assistant animator and later, animator on such films as "Pinocchio" and "Bambi."
          World War II briefly interrupted his tenure in 1943, when he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corp and served as a staff sergeant in the photographic section. After the War, he returned to Disney's Animation Department, where he contributed to such beloved classics as "Alice in Wonderland," "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," "Lady and the Tramp" and "Sleeping Beauty."
          In his spare time, Wathel continued to sculpt and build toys, including model railroads, which caught Walt Disney's attention. Soon, he was asked to contribute his sculpting talent to the Studio, creating props and miniatures for live-action films including "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" and "The Absent-Minded Professor," as well as television shows including the "Mickey Mouse Club" and "Zorro."
           In 1954, Walt asked the artist to help develop the model shop for his latest project - Disneyland. There, Wathel became an ace Imagineer, who assisted in construction of architectural models during the Park's design and development phase.
          Among Wathel's greatest challenges was when Walt assigned him to help research and construct a nine-inch tall figure of a moving/talking man. "Project Little Man," as it was called, became the prototype of Audio-Animatronics technology and Wathel was about to become known as "Mr. Audio-Animatronics."
          In the early 1960s, Wathel continued to conquer the new technology. Among his greatest achievements was to help develop a robotic Abraham Lincoln for the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln attraction, which debuted at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. He also contributed to Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise and The American Adventure at EPCOT, which featured the first "walking" Audio-Animatronics figure, Benjamin Franklin.
          Wathel retired in 1987, after 48 years with The Walt Disney Company.&