“People always underestimated Roy,” Peter Schneider, the former president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, said recently. “You underestimate Roy at your peril, as many people have learned.”

Roy started working in the family business, working on True-Life Adventure films including the Academy Award winning THE VANISHING PRAIRIE and THE LIVING DESERT.  After the deaths of his uncle and later his father, Roy decided to take more of a back seat role as a director and figurehead.  However, in 1984 Roy grew unhappy with the Disney management that had let the cornerstone of the company, the animation department, dwindle.  Roy brought in a new team, Michael Eisner, Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg, to helm the company’s comeback.

“I really credit Roy Disney completely with the renaissance of Disney animation, beginning with ‘Little Mermaid’ and all the way through that great amazing series of classic Disney films,” said John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.

After many years of wildly successful films such as THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and ALADDIN, the tension Roy and Eisner grew to its breaking point.  In 2003 when Eisner made a move to leave Roy off of the list of directors to be reelected, Roy resigned and started a campaign to oust Eisner. Eventually the battle came to a close when Eisner retired in 2006 and his successor Robert Iger quickly made peace with the Disney head.


Aside from the Disney company, Roy Disney had other passions such as sports cars, sailboat racing, philanthropy.  He served on the CalArts board of directors, the Peregrine Fund and was a donor for REDCAT, the experimental theater adjacent to the Disney Concert Hall.  Roy leaves behind a legacy of fortitude and dedication, and stayed true to the vision of that has become a staple of Americana.


Our condolences to the Disney family.  He will be sorely missed.