Lanny Smoot, Hidden Hero of History

A tale of imagination, invention and real-life magic! Lanny Smoot is an Imagineer and electrical engineer with more than 100 patented inventions for Disney theme parks. He’s the mind behind the real-life lightsaber and a floor that makes you feel like you’re moving through other worlds. His inventive spirit started early, inspired by his father and a fascination with the lightbulb. He went from building his own unicycle as a kid to being honored in the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his work with Disney. Lanny brings joy to millions and his journey lights the way for future inventors.

Go to the episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/lanny-smoot/              

Get a free activity guide on Lanny Smoot: https://dorktalesstorytime.aweb.page/ep118freePDF 

If you enjoyed this story about Lanny Smoot, you may also enjoy learning about Lewis Latimer, the inventor and patent draftsman who helped improve Thomas Edison’s light bulb: https://jonincharacter.com/lewis-latimer/ 

CREDITS: Hidden Heroes of History is a Jonincharacter production. Today’s story was written by Rebecca Cunningham, edited and produced by Molly Murphy and performed by Jonathan Cormur. Sound recording and production by Jermaine Hamilton at Pacific Grove Soundworks.

We love the new book Hope in the Nick of Time by Deedee Cummings! Out September 30th and available for pre-order now!

Chapters

• 1:30 Jonathan and Redge in Whimsy World
• 2:46 Jonathan tells Redge about Lanny Smoot
• 4:59 Lanny's early life
• 9:07 Lanny's work at Bell Labs
• 11:57 Lanny becomes an Imagineer!
• 16:26 Credits, how to contact Jonathan and Redge, theme song

Transcript

JONATHAN CORMUR: Hello Dork Squad. I'm Jonathan Cormur and you're listening to Dorktales Storytime, the podcast for kids and their pop culture-loving grown-ups, and this is an inspiring story about a hidden hero of history.

THEME SONG: It's a beautiful day for a story, adventure and glory, new friends and old ones too. It's an excellent day to get swept away in a tail, so let us regale you.

MAGICRAIL CONDUCTOR over a speaker
 Stand clear of the closing doors please. Por favor, aléjense de las puertas que se cierran.

Doors of the magicrail close.

REDGE
 Ugh. My poor aching feet. I’ve never walked so much in my life, Jonathan! 
 
 JONATHAN
 You’re tellin’ me, Redge. We must’ve done 50,000 steps at Whimsy World today. 

REDGE

Completely worth it. It’s been the BEST. DAY. EVER. The snacks, the rides, the firework show, and my favorite character Ricky Rat waved at me. HE WAVED AT ME, JONATHAN.

JONATHAN

(giggles) That was for sure a highlight. It really was the best day ever. And we’ve got a second one planned tomorrow. Just gotta get a good night’s rest at the Whimsy World Resort. 

REDGE

If only this magicrail would go a little fas–

SFX The magic rail stalls. 

JONATHAN

Uh oh.

REDGE

That can’t be good. 

MAGICRAIL CONDUCTOR over a speaker
 Whimsy World guests, thank you for riding the magicrail. We are experiencing a slight delay – what’s that? Oh, more than a slight delay? Whimsy World guests, we’re experiencing some downtime that should last abouuuuut the length of a podcast episode. The fairy godmother is on her way over to get us back up and running. Our apologies for the inconvenience. In the meantime, enjoy the view of this … dark tunnel.

REDGE

Noooo. But I just want to get back to my cozy hotel bed!
 
 JONATHAN

Eh, it’s not so bad. You know what this is the perfect time for? 
 
 REDGE
 Time to eat this stale Ricky Rat-shaped waffle I kept in my fanny pack? 

JONATHAN

Ew, no. Is that syrup all over that thing? Never mind – it’s time for a Hidden Heroes of History story. 

Hidden heroes trumpet sound

REDGE
 Oh, yes. Good idea, Jonathan. But I will be eating this waffle while you tell it. (with a mouth full of waffle) Who’s on deck for today? 
 
 JONATHAN

Lanny Smoot. 

REDGE

What a hoot. Sorry. I can’t stop myself from rhyming. Who is Lanny Smoot? 

JONATHAN
 Back in my world, there’s a magical place a lot like Whimsy World, called Disney World. And while Whimsy World really does run on magic, Disney has to use science and imagination to make everything appear magical. 

REDGE

How do they do that? 

JONATHAN

They hire brilliant people from all over to be what they call imagineers, and one of the most brilliant minds is Lanny Smoot. He is an inventor, an electrical engineer, and creator of over 100 inventions! He is one of the most famous inventors in the United States. 

REDGE

Marvelous. Tell me his life story. Start from the beginning. And do you have a wet wipe? The syrup is making my quills stick together.

JONATHAN

Here you go. 
 
 SFX The magicrail starts back up, but it sounds different this time. Sort of wobbly and loud, like the NYC subway.
 
 REDGE
 Woah, we’re back up and running. That wasn’t nearly the length of a podcast episode. 
 
 JONATHAN
 Huh … that’s weird. Is this … this looks like the New York City Subway system.
 
 REDGE
 Oh look there’s Ricky Rat … but he’s carrying a pizza slice in his mouth?
 
 JONATHAN

I think that’s just a regular New York City rat, Redge … 
 
 SFX The train comes to a stop. Doors open.
 
 MAGICRAIL CONDUCTOR Now the Magicrail Conductor has a New York accent.
 This stop is Junius Street in the neighborhood of Brownsville. 
 
 JONATHAN
 Where Lanny Smoot was born! 
 
 MAGICRAIL CONDUCTOR
 Stand clear of the closing doors please. Hey you! Give me back my pizza, you rat!
 
 JONATHAN
 Seems like we’re not going straight to Whimsy World Resort. 
 
 REDGE
 They weren’t kidding about the magicrail being magical. It even has magical malfunctions! 
 
 JONATHAN
 Lanny Smoot was born here, in Brooklyn, New York in 1955. 

REDGE
 And this is where Shirley Chisholm, another Hidden Hero of History was from. 

JONATHAN

Great memory, Redge.
 
 REDGE

There must be something in the water here that makes everyone so smart. Or perhaps the waffles.

JONATHAN

Yeah, probs the waffles. Anyway, Lanny didn’t grow up with a lot of money, but he did have a big imagination and a serious love for science. 

REDGE
 Science is wonderful. 

JONATHAN
 It really is. Lanny’s dad, while not a professional inventor like Lanny, loved to invent things himself. He would bring home bells, batteries, wires, and lightbulbs, and show Lanny how to use science to ring the bell or make the bulb light up. Lanny was amazed. 
 
 REDGE
 It was magic! 
 
 JONATHAN
 It was science! Lanny often says that the light bulb lit the way for his entire career. He became obsessed with anything electric. He’d study an object to figure out how it worked, then he’d take it apart and build something new. He was the very definition of innovative. 
 
 REDGE
 Yes, I know exactly what the definition for innovative is. You don’t have to tell me. But I think the other people on this magicrail might want to know.
 
 JONATHAN
 Innovative is a way to describe someone who is always thinking of creative, new ideas. 

REDGE
 Oh, then I’m innovative too. For instance, I just thought of a new invention called fanny pack waffle. 
 
 JONATHAN
 Is that when you eat a waffle out of a fanny pack?
 
 REDGE
 How did you know?! 
 
 JONATHAN
 Anywhozit, when Lanny was twelve, he saw someone riding a unicycle and really wanted to give it a try.

REDGE
 A unicycle? What’s a-

SFX The ringing of a bicycle bell

UNICYCLE RIDER 

(In NY accent) Hey, look out! I’m ridin’ here!

JONATHAN

Woah! Did someone just ride through the magicrail…on…a…unicycle? 

REDGE

Oh, I see! So a unicycle is like a bicycle with one wheel! But aren't two wheels hard enough?!
 
 JONATHAN
 Lanny is nothing if not brave. 

REDGE

Clearly! So he grew up to be a professional unicycle rider–

JONATHAN
 No, he grew up to be an inventor. 

REDGE
 Oh, yes. Go on.
 
 JONATHAN
 He really wanted to ride a unicycle as a kid, but because his parents didn’t have a lot of money, he didn’t feel right asking for one. 

REDGE
 So what did he do?
 
 JONATHAN
 He decided he’d make himself a unicycle. He took a wheel and pedals from the front of a tricycle and hammered a pipe onto the top of the wheel. Then he added a bicycle seat to the top of the pipe. 
 
 REDGE
 Brilliant! Like the fanny pack waffle! 
 
 JONATHAN
 It was brilliant! It didn’t ride super well, but that didn’t matter. You know why? 
 
 REDGE
 I do not. 
 
 JONATHAN

Because after seeing him ride the unicycle he made, his dad decided to buy one for him. 
 
 REDGE
 That’s so sweet! His dad clearly loved Lanny. 
 
 JONATHAN
 Absolutely. And love like that can get you really far in life. Lanny went on to go to Brooklyn Tech High School, one of the best high schools in New York City, and then he went on to Columbia University!

REDGE

Lanny Smoot? More like Lanny Smart.

JONATHAN
 Good one, Redge. 

REDGE

Thank you, my dear Jonathan. 

SFX The train starts rumbling again. 
 
 REDGE
 We’re on the move again. 
 
 JONATHAN
 Hmm … if I could guess where the magicrail is taking us it would be …

MAGICRAIL CONDUCTOR
 New Jersey Transit customers, the next station stop is Holmdel. 
 
 JONATHAN
 Yep, that’s it. Holmdel, New Jersey where Bell Labs is. 
 
 MAGICRAIL CONDUCTOR
 Watch ya step as you exit. Thank you for riding New Jersey Transit.
 
 REDGE
 Wee! This is so fun! Okay, so what’s Bell Labs?

JONATHAN
 It’s where Lanny went to work after graduating. This is where he helped design some of the very first video-on-demand systems 40 years ago. It was the beginning stages of streaming. 
 
 REDGE
 Stream-ing … that’s where you merrily row, row, row your boat, correct?
 
 JONATHAN
 Oh, you’re thinking stream, like a body of water. No, no. This is streaming like with videos, songs, podcasts, or video games. You can view or listen to them all on the internet without having to download them first. 
 
 REDGE
 That reminds me. I have to watch the latest episode of The Real HedgeWives of Once Upon a Time Land when I get home. I heard it’s going to be full of drama. I can’t wait! I love streaming!
 
 JONATHAN
 You can thank Lanny Smoot for that. While he was at Bell Labs, he also invented the Electronic Panning Camera, which allowed anyone watching something on the screen to choose which angle they were looking at. So if you were looking at a video of the beach, you could pan up and look up at the sky or pan down and look at the ocean.
 
 REDGE
 Amazing. Did he happen to invent anything that makes magicrails go faster?
 
 JONATHAN
 Not that I know of. But his camera invention did get him noticed by the Walt Disney Company. 

REDGE

And that’s the connection to the Disney World place you mentioned earlier. 

JONATHAN
 That’s right, Redge! 
 
 REDGE
 See, I listen! Sometimes. 

JONATHAN
 The folks at Disney really liked the camera invention, but they liked the inventor even more. So they hired Lanny to be an imagineer, a job that combines imagination and engineering. Lanny likes to describe imagineering as using technology to make people happy. It’s his job to invent things for the Walt Disney theme parks so that they appear magical and make people happy.

MAGICRAIL CONDUCTOR like a airplane captain
 Ladies and gentlemen, please make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened, your seatback is in the upright position, and your tray table is stowed. We’ll be landing shortly. Thank you for flying with Smoot Airlines.

REDGE
 Tray table?!
 
 JONATHAN

Smoot airlines? 

 SFX Airplane sounds.
 
 JONATHAN
 Redge, look out the window! We’re flying!
 
 REDGE
 When did this magicrail grow wings?
 
 The plane-train lands.
 
 MAGICRAIL CONDUCTOR
 We have reached our final destination, Orlando, Florida. It’s a sunny 88 degrees today. We hope you enjoy your stay.
 
 JONATHAN
 Of course. We’re in Orlando, the home of Walt Disney World. This is where Lanny has been working for over 25 years. And he’s got the most patents of anyone in Disney history. 106!

REDGE
 Remind me what a patent is …
 
 JONATHAN
 A special certificate that says no one else can use or sell the invention you created. 
 
 REDGE
 (whispers) Jonathan, as soon as I’m back to my hibernacula, I need to find the nearest patent office for FPW. 
 
 JONATHAN
 FPW?
 
 REDGE
 Fanny pack waffle. 
 
 JONATHAN
 Right. (use last take)
 
 REDGE
 Okay, so what sort of things has Lanny invented for this Disney place?
 
 JONATHAN
 Well, as a Star Wars fan, my favorite invention of his is the real-life lightsaber. 
 
 REDGE
 Oooo. That sounds fun. What’s that?
 
 JONATHAN
 In my world, there is a very famous science fiction movie series called Star Wars. The characters in the movie use a sword-like weapon called a lightsaber, where the handle of the sword reveals a light beam that they can use to duel with one another.. Lanny figured out a way to make a real-life lightsaber, one that doesn’t hurt anyone, of course. And now people get to use the lightsabers in Disney parks! 
 
 REDGE
 So he was inspired by movie magic and made it come to life!

SFX the sound of a jungle. 

REDGE

Woah….did this train-plane-magicrail just…grow trees? 
 
 JONATHAN
 It does look like we’re in a jungle, doesn’t it? 

PARROT

Parrot sound, maybe mimicking Jonathan’s line.

REDGE

Hello, Mr. Parrot! 

PARROT

Hello, Mr. Parrot!

REDGE

This is wild! 

JONATHAN

Wait a second…I know what this is! It’s another example of one of Lanny Smoot’s inventions! 

REDGE

Did he invent…the jungle?! 

JONATHAN 

It’s actually another example of science fiction inspiring one of his inventions. The idea came from a TV show called Star Trek. It’s called the HoloTile floor. 
 
 REDGE
 What does it do? (use second take)

JONATHAN
 It lets you walk in any direction without actually going anywhere! You could wear a VR headset and feel like your legs are walking through a jungle or a castle, but when you take it off, you're still standing in the same spot.

REDGE
 Whoa! So it’s like a magic treadmill?

JONATHAN
 That’s a great way of describing it. And even if a bunch of people are using it at the same time, they can each walk their own way without bumping into each other. 

SFX sounds of the forest fade.

REDGE

That sounds so fun! 

JONATHAN

Lanny’s inventions bring joy, but he has also opened doors. He often says he never saw another Black engineer until he was about to become one.

REDGE
 His dad was kind of an inspiration, right? Even if he wasn’t a professional inventor? 
 
 JONATHAN
 You know you’re right, Redge. His dad was an inventor, even if he never made it into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Oh, that’s right! That’s one of Lanny’s biggest achievements, being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was the second Disney employee ever to do so.

REDGE
 Who was the first?

JONATHAN
 Walt Disney himself, the creator of Walt Disney Studios and theme parks. 
 
 REDGE
 That’s a real big deal.

JONATHAN
 A real big deal. 

The magicrail starts moving again.

REDGE
 The magicrail is moving again! And we’re back in the dark tunnel. It’s like magic!
 
 JONATHAN
 Or maybe it was science. 

REDGE
 Touche. 
 
 JONATHAN
 Thank goodness it was fixed. Although the magical malfunctions were pretty awesome. 
 
 REDGE
 It takes a lot of work and smarts to make a place like this run. I’d never get to have the best day ever without people like Lanny Smoot around. 
 
 JONATHAN
 I am super grateful for him too. Here’s our stop! The Whimsy World Resort. 
 
 Doors open.
 
 MAGICRAIL CONDUCTOR
 As you disembark, please remember to remain fully seated until the magicrail comes to a complete stop, then gather your belongings and watch your head as you exit.

JONATHAN CORMUR: This has been a Jonincharacter production. This Hidden Hero of History story was written by Rebecca Cunningham, edited and produced by Molly Murphy, and performed by Jonathan Cormur. Sound recording and production by Jermaine Hamilton at Pacific Grove Soundworks. We love hearing from you! Contact us at dorktalesstorytime@gmail.com or try our one-way text feature as a safe way to reach out. You can find even more ways to reach us in the show notes.

Now, go be the hero of your own story and we’ll see you next once-upon-a-time!

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