The man whom many credit as one of the original creative forces behind Universal's theme parks has passed away.
Jay Stein was 87. He worked his way up from the mailroom at MCA in the late 1950s to become the chairman and CEO of MCA's Recreation Services Group - the forerunner to today's Universal Destinations & Experiences. During his time at Universal, he worked to expand the original Universal Studio Tour into what is now Universal Studios Hollywood as well as leading the development and opening of Universal Studios Florida and the Universal Orlando Resort.
In many ways, Jay was to Universal what Walt was to Disney - the person who built an organization and challenged everyone within it to create bigger and better attractions for their guests.
The best public account of Jay's life is the 2016 biography, JayBangs: How Jay Stein, MCA, & Universal Invented the Modern Theme Park and Beat Disney at Its Own Game, by Sam Gennawey. I interviewed Sam about Jay just before the book was released, and you can find that interview here: Who started the theme park war between Disney and Universal? This guy.
The book details some seemingly incredible episodes from Universal's early theme park history, including Jay's attempt to hire Frank Wells away from Disney shortly before Frank's death. As Jay told the story, that deal failed when Caitlin (then Bruce) Jenner kept flying their helicopter low over Jay's backyard, frustrating Frank to the point where he left.
But it was Universal's accomplishments, and not misses, that defined Jay's legacy. He helped transform what is now Universal's theme park segment from a single studio tour into a global entertainment leader. IAAPA inducted Jay into its Hall of Fame in 1999.
That’s awful to hear. Jaybamgs is a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it.
Legend!
Your article with Sam is one of my favourite articles of yours. The book is enlightening and was the first one from a Universal perspective against a saturated library of Disney and WDW books.
Everything we now love about the Disney v Universal theme park rivalry started with Jay.
I am open for correction but believe it was Jay who called Disney "The Ravenous Rat".
A true LEGEND!
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As a theme park fan, and as a Floridian who has been lucky enough to live within 2 hours of Orlando for most of my life, I salute this man and what he did to help reshape the industry.