Roy Bickel

Bio:

Roy was a circus rigger and performer prior to being hired as the head rigger for the first “Disney on Parade” show in 1969. He continued until 1974 when he left for Broadway to work for Pete Feller. After some time there, he went on to work the Rolling Stones tour in 1975. That marked the beginning of a long career as a “rock & roll” rigger. 

As the first head rigger on the Disney on Parade shows he trained people in climbing techniques, rigging procedures, and physical fitness regimens to maintain peak shape. Roy's techniques were taught to many first-generation entertainment riggers. This training greatly helped the industry's rapid expansion during the rock & roll explosion. 

Roy was and is a true innovator. Perhaps the two most notable contributions that changed the rigging world to what it looks like today were the introduction of slings with screw pin anchor shackles around 50 years ago. Along with the sling development, he specified the orientation and sizes of shackles used with the slings; these methods are still in use today.

A natural problem-solver, Roy revolutionized industry rigging standards during the 1970s by developing a color-coded system for wire rope lengths (Red, White, Blue, Green, and Yellow for 5’, 10’, 20’, 30’, and 50’ respectively) an intuitive organizational method that remains the industry standard today. His pioneering work extended into production logistics; ahead of the Rolling Stones’ iconic 1975 tour, Roy teamed up with Bill McManus of McManus Lighting to collaborate with CM (Columbus McKinnon). Together, they engineered a way to operate chain hoist motors in the "motor down" position. This breakthrough debuted on the Jethro Tull tour, making it the first tour in history to utilize chain motors. Roy's versatile rigging expertise also includes his work with Disney, where he managed complex setups utilizing drum motors, block and falls, and cable climbers 

Roy received the ESTA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award in 2021 and the LDI Golden DIno Award in 2025.