Roy E. Disney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Roy E. Disney
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Disney in 1990
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| Born |
Roy Edward Disney
January 10, 1930 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Died | December 16, 2009 (aged 79) |
| Alma mater | Pomona College |
| Occupation | Vice chairman, The Walt Disney Company Chairman, Walt Disney Feature Animation |
| Years active | 1951–2009 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
Patricia Ann Dailey
(m. 1955; div. 2007)Leslie DeMeuse
(m. 2008) |
| Children | 4, including Abigail Disney |
| Parent(s) | Roy Oliver Disney Edna Francis Disney |
| Relatives | See Disney family |
| Awards | Annie Award (1993) Disney Legend Award (1998) Lifetime Achievement Award in Animation (2002) |
Roy Edward Disney (January 10, 1930 – December 16, 2009) was an American businessman. He was a senior leader at The Walt Disney Company. This famous company was started by his father, Roy O. Disney, and his uncle, Walt Disney.
Roy E. Disney owned many shares in the company. He also worked as a consultant and director. He was known for helping to remove two top Disney leaders, Ron W. Miller in 1984 and Michael Eisner in 2005.
As the last family member actively working at Disney, he was often compared to his uncle Walt and his father. In 2006, Forbes magazine said his personal wealth was about $1.2 billion.
Disney was also a very good yachtsman. He was a member of the San Diego Yacht Club. He was famous for winning races like the Transpacific Yacht Race and the Newport Bermuda Race. Roy E. Disney passed away from stomach cancer on December 16, 2009.
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Roy Disney's Early Life and Start in Business
Roy Disney was born in Los Angeles, California. His parents were Edna and Roy O. Disney, who was Walt Disney's brother.
He finished college at Pomona College in 1951. After that, he started working for Walt Disney Productions. He began as an assistant director and producer for nature documentaries called True Life Adventures. He worked in these roles until 1967. Then, he was chosen to be on the company's board of directors.
Roy Disney's Career at Disney
First "Save Disney" Campaign (1984)
In 1977, Roy Disney left his job as an executive at Walt Disney Productions. He disagreed with some of the company's decisions. He felt that the company was not being creative enough.
He stayed on the board of directors until 1984. At that time, he resigned during a big fight over who would control the company. Some investors wanted to take over Disney and sell off its parts. Roy Disney and his advisor, Stanley Gold, worked to stop this. They found other investors to help protect the company.
Because of their efforts, Ron Miller, who was Walt Disney's son-in-law, was replaced. Frank Wells became president and Michael Eisner became CEO. After these changes, Roy Disney came back to the company. He became the vice chairman and led the animation department, which became Walt Disney Feature Animation.
Working with Michael Eisner
In the late 1980s and 1990s, Disney's animation department made many popular and successful movies. This time is often called the "Disney Renaissance". For example, The Lion King earned almost $1 billion after it came out in 1994. It was one of the highest-earning films that year.
However, profits started to drop in the late 1990s. This happened as the company made more direct-to-video movies and sequels.
Roy Disney was concerned about Jeffrey Katzenberg, another executive. He felt Katzenberg was taking too much credit for the success of the movies. When Frank Wells died in 1994, Michael Eisner did not promote Katzenberg to president. This led to disagreements between Katzenberg, Eisner, and Disney. Katzenberg eventually left the company. He later sued Disney and settled for a large amount of money.
On October 16, 1998, Roy Disney received the Disney Legends Award. This was a special honor given by Michael Eisner. Roy Disney's favorite project was the film Fantasia 2000. This movie was a sequel to his uncle Walt's 1940 animated film Fantasia. Walt Disney had planned a sequel, but it wasn't released until December 17, 1999. It took nine years to make under Roy Disney's leadership. Like the first Fantasia, it mixed animation with classical music.
Second "Save Disney" Campaign (2003–2005)
Over time, Roy Disney's relationship with Michael Eisner became difficult. Roy Disney felt his influence was decreasing. When the board of directors did not extend his term, he resigned on November 30, 2003. He said he had "serious differences" with the company's management. He wrote a letter criticizing Eisner's leadership. He felt Eisner was not focusing enough on animation and the theme parks.
After resigning, Roy Disney helped create a website called SaveDisney.com. Its goal was to remove Michael Eisner and his supporters from their positions. On March 3, 2004, at a meeting for company shareholders, 43% of them voted against Eisner. Roy Disney and Stanley Gold had encouraged this vote. This strong opposition led the board to replace Eisner as chairman with George J. Mitchell. However, Eisner remained CEO.
As more people criticized Eisner, his position became weaker. On March 13, 2005, Eisner announced he would resign as CEO. On July 8, Roy Disney and the Walt Disney Company agreed to work together again. Roy rejoined the board as a non-voting director and consultant. Roy and Gold then closed their SaveDisney.com website.
On September 30, Eisner officially resigned. Bob Iger, who had been working closely with Eisner, became the new CEO. One reason Roy Disney wanted Eisner out was Eisner's disagreements with Pixar Animation Studios. Disney and Pixar had made successful computer-animated movies like Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Iger quickly fixed the relationship with Pixar. On January 24, 2006, Disney bought Pixar for $7.4 billion. This deal made Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., Disney's largest shareholder. He also joined Disney's board of directors.
Roy Disney's Other Work
- Roy Disney was a trustee for the California Institute of the Arts. This school was also founded by his uncle Walt.
- He had a voice cameo in an episode of Mickey Mouse Works. In the show, Mickey Mouse accidentally sent him an angry fax.
- In 1998, he was an executive producer for the film The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit.
- Shamrock Holdings was an investment company that managed Roy Disney's personal money. Stanley Gold was its CEO.
Roy Disney's Personal Life
Roy Disney held several sailing speed records. He set the record for sailing from Los Angeles to Honolulu in July 1999. He did this on his boat, Pyewacket, in 7 days, 11 hours, 41 minutes, and 27 seconds.
On January 19, 2007, Roy Disney filed for divorce from his wife, Patricia. They had been married for 52 years and had four adult children: Abigail Disney, Susan Disney Lord, Tim Disney, and Roy Patrick Disney.
In 2008, Roy Disney married Leslie DeMeuse. She was a TV producer and had won awards for sailing documentaries.
Roy Disney's Death
Roy Disney passed away from stomach cancer on December 16, 2009. He was 79 years old. It was exactly 43 years after his uncle Walt Disney had died. He had been fighting the illness for over a year. After his funeral, he was cremated. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.
Honors and Awards for Roy Disney
On January 4, 1998, Pope John Paul II made Roy Disney a Knight Commander of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great. This is a special honor from the Pope.
On January 1, 2000, Roy Disney was the grand marshal of the 111th Rose Parade.
On April 26, 2008, he received an honorary doctorate from the California Maritime Academy. This was for his many contributions to California and the United States, including his international sailing.
The animation studio building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, was renamed. On May 7, 2010, it became the "Roy E. Disney Animation Building" in his honor.
See also
- Walt Disney (2015 PBS film)
