Disney Imagineer Lanny Smoot to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame

January 19, 2024

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If you’ve seen it, then you won’t forget it, a lightsaber that ignites in real time, right in front of your eyes, that looks like….well, like a lightsaber igniting. No plastic, just that familiar beam of light and the creator of this incredible piece of tech , the fabulously named Lanny Smoot is being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, only the second Imagineer to be so honoured.

Join us as we stop by to congratulate Lanny Smoot, the Disney Research Fellow and Imagineer behind mind-blowing special effects like making Madame Leota float inside the Haunted Mansion and our state-of-the art Star Wars lightsabers, is being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame!

Lanny is the first Disney Imagineer to receive this prestigious recognition and only the second individual from The Walt Disney Company to be inducted — the first being Walt Disney, honored posthumously for the multiplane camera.

SourceDisney Parks

Mark Newbold

Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and has been a presence online since webpage Fanta War in 1996. He is the EiC and Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and currently contributes to ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, Star Wars – Das Offizielle Magazin, Journal of the Whills and Starburst Magazine, having previously contributed to magazines Star Wars Insider, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, partworks Build Darth Vader, Star Wars Encyclopedia, and Build The Millennium Falcon, and websites Jedi.net, Jedi News, StarWars.com, Lightsabre.co.uk, and Wirezone. He is the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015 (hosting it four times), and is the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.

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September 2026

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Event Details

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art celebrates the power of visual storytelling. Founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum explores how images move us and shape our collective memory. From Frida Kahlo’s self-portrait to Norman Rockwell’s scenes of everyday life to Charles White’s portraits of dignity. Each invites reflection. Each tells a story.

Designed by Ma Yansong of MAD, the Lucas Museum is located in Exposition Park in the South Los Angeles region. The museum’s campus includes new green space designed by Mia Lehrer and her team at Studio-MLA. Inside the building, our galleries explore timeless themes—family, love, work, play, fantasy, and more. Additional spaces include two state-of-the-art cinematic theaters and dedicated areas for learning, dining, retail, and events.

George Lucas and Mellody Hobson share a conviction that illustrated stories connect people across cultures and generations. Their decades of collecting span iconic American painting and popular illustration, comics, and cinematic art.

Lucas, creator of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, and founder of the George Lucas Educational Foundation began collecting in college, when the only art he could afford was original comic art for $30. Over 50 years, that collection has grown to more than 40,000 works. “I could never sell my art,” Lucas says. “It just is not what I think art is. I think it’s more about an emotional connection with the work, not how much it cost.”

Hobson, in addition to managing Ariel Investments, is the former chair of Starbucks Corporation and serves as a director of JPMorganChase.

In 2010, Hobson and Lucas signed the Giving Pledge, a campaign and public promise by some of the world’s wealthiest philanthropists to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. The pair is committed to improving education, particularly through the arts. “We’ve always said we’re holding society’s money, which we fully intend to give back,” Hobson says. “This is how we’re doing it.”

Time

September 22, 2026 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM(GMT-07:00)

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October 2026

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February 2027

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News Conventions & Events

Disney Imagineer Lanny Smoot to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame

By Mark Newbold

January 19, 2024

- Advertisement -

Join us as we stop by to congratulate Lanny Smoot, the Disney Research Fellow and Imagineer behind mind-blowing special effects like making Madame Leota float inside the Haunted Mansion and our state-of-the art Star Wars lightsabers, is being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame!

Lanny is the first Disney Imagineer to receive this prestigious recognition and only the second individual from The Walt Disney Company to be inducted — the first being Walt Disney, honored posthumously for the multiplane camera.