Roy E. Disney has died at the age of 79 after battling stomach cancer. The nephew of Walt, whose father, also called Roy, had co-founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, which later changed its name to The Walt Disney Co., Roy jr. played an active and vital role in the company for many years.
Indeed, he was almost the public face of backstage Disney for many years. However he wasn’t merely a figurehead used because of his name, as he wasn’t afraid of launching very public wars if he felt the studio’s board was taking the company in the wrong direction. For example, in 1984 he led a campaign to oust Ron Miller, Walt Disney’s son-in-law, after concluding he was doing things wrong. This led to the hiring of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells, with Roy taking over as chairman of the animated division and helping launch a comeback that resulted in the likes of The Little Mermaid and The Lion King.
Roy was also behind a bid to oust Eisner in 2003, when he resigned from Disney and launched a very public shareholder revolt. Although this didn’t have the instant effects his 1984 actions had done, Roy, who seemed to see himself as the custodian of the Disney legacy, kept his campaign going and in 2005 Eisner was fired, and Roy was invited back onto the company board.
As well as his work behind-the-scenes at Disney, Roy was passionate about the arts and donated money to numerous theatres, and was also well known for racing yachts.
Roy’s passing leaves no one with the Disney name of the studio’s board, so it really is the end of an era.