On December 16, 2009 Roy Edward Disney, a powerful and fundamental force in the Disney company, succumbed to his year-long battle with cancer. Though his face bore a strong resemblance to his famous uncle Walt, Roy’s continuance of Walt Disney’s legacy involved far more than looks.
The son of Walt’s brother Roy O., who co-founded the entertainment company with Walt in 1923, Roy didn’t join the family business right away. After attending Pomona College and then Harvard University, Roy first became a film editor on the television show “Dragnet” in 1952.
Before long Roy did follow in his family’s footsteps and took a job at the studio that shared his name. His most significant early work was in nature films, most notably the Academy-Award winning “The Living Desert” and “The Vanishing Prairie.”
When his uncle and then his father died, Roy had difficulty maintaining a larger role in the company, and was forced to step down to a figurehead position on the board of directors. Many thought that the billionaire scion of the Disney legacy would end his career there.
But what I learned, sadly only after his passing, was just how much more vital Roy would become to company. I have him to thank for my all-time favorite Disney films. In the 1980s Roy took on the mantle of the head of Disney Animation and ushered in its renaissance, overseeing movies like “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King.”
I cannot stress enough how important Roy was to Disney Animation in this era in particular. Roy returned to the company in one of the animation department’s darker moments, after 1985’s weak “The Black Cauldron.”
The atmosphere at Disney Animation was despondent, but Roy swooped in and crusaded for the revival of the department. He said that the Disney Corporation felt more like a real estate company that happened to make movies, and he wanted that to change. Cue “The Little Mermaid” in 1989.
For years Roy remained a constant figure in the company, walking the halls unannounced just to drop by and lend encouragement and support to the animation team. When Robert Iger became the new Disney chief executive in 2005, he gave Roy the title of “director emeritus.”
Roy’s influence on the Disney company extended beyond the animation department. He is one of the main people responsible for the ousting of the two prior Disney executives: Ron Miller in 1984 and Michael Eisner in 2005.
Both cases were awkward, as Miller was Roy’s son-in-law and Eisner was the man whom Roy installed in place of Miller. Roy did not make either decision lightly, but he was devoted to his uncle’s legacy and demanded change when he felt the company began to go astray.
I always recognized Roy Disney’s face when I saw it, and not just because of his resemblance to his uncle. Whenever I’d watch specials and features on my favorite Disney films Roy was there, and after awhile seeing him became an assurance of the studio’s continued excellence. He will be missed.
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