Jack Gladish started his Disney career as a precision camera machinist, working on classic animated films, and he later became an engineer working on attractions for Disneyland and Disney’s exhibits at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and eventually for the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Some of the projects Jack was involved with throughout the years include Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, the Carousel of Progress, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise, Adventure Thru Inner Space and much more.

AUDIO INDEX
1:11 The process for creating the Jungle Cruise animals, particularly an elephant; Creating a master mold; How to cure the animals in an oven; Creating the vinyl skins and ensuring they won’t wear from rubbing against the fiberglass shell

As a singer, Jay Meyer has appeared in countless performances on television, movies and stage. He was a regular singer with the Ray Conniff singers, in the “Top Twenty” choir on the Tennessee Ernie Ford television show, and with the Sportsmen Quartet in the Phil Silvers and Alice Faye show and the Jack Benny show, first on radio, then on television. Jay sang in the chorus on such movies as “Mary Poppins,” “The Sound of Music,” “Annie get your Gun,” “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad,Mad World” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” He’s appeared in concerts at the Hollywood Bowl with people such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Ray Charles, and in radio and television commercials for companies such as Post cereals, Mattel, Knotts Berry Farm and was seen singing “You Deserve a Break Today” for McDonalds. Jay is also seen and heard as a singing statue in the Disney “Haunted Mansion” attractions around the world. For fourteen years, Jay also appeared live in Disneyland entertaining audiences with Irish tunes in the historical Golden Horseshoe Revue.

HEAR JAY’S INTERVIEW:

SEE JAY IN VARIOUS PERFORMANCES:

ENJOY THESE PHOTOS:

AUDIO INDEX
1:19 Jay sings “It’s a Great Day for the Irish”

1:30 Jay’s start as a singer; Played trumpet and was the sole cheerleader at school; Jay joined the Marine Corps; Performed in the Marines

4:37 Jay moved to Los Angeles; Sang with Spike Jones, when Jones’ singer wife was pregnant; Joined the Jack Benny show as part of the Sportsmen
Quartet, including the Lucky Strike commercials

5:47 Jay sings one of the Lucky Strike songs plus clips of the original Lucky Strike commercials

8:29 Working on the Jack Benny Show and the Phil Harris/Alice Faye show; Went to New York and did Summer Stock; His wife, Tommy Meyer was a writer; Came back to California and did films and television

11:14 Jay was called to become a singing statue in the Haunted Mansion; Also did the Golden Horseshoe Revue as Fulton Burley’s substitute; Agreed to do the Horseshoe for six weeks in 1972 and stayed for 14 years

13:20 Jay sings “Too Ra Loo Ral” in a Golden Horseshoe Revue performance at Disneyland