Kenversations�: The Passing of Roy E. Disney
Page 2 of 2
Roy was first elected to the Board of Directors in 1967, after his uncle had passed away. Before that, he had worked in the company as writer, director, and producer, having started out as an assistant director on films. With this experience, and having been the son and nephew of the company founders and watching as they struggled to keep and grow their business, Roy had been around to see every major step the company had taken. Roy was someone who could remember what it was like when Disneyland was being developed, and stress it put on his father and uncle.
There simply is no other person alive who provided that nexus to the company of the past, the various leadership teams over the years, and the family that started it all � someone with that personal and professional knowledge. As such, this is the end of an era.
It comes at a delicate time, too, as Disney�s first �hand drawn� or �2-D� animated feature in several years receives a warm critical reception, and hopefully will garner a lot of box office love as well. Roy had been heavily involved in the revival of Disney�s feature animation studio in the late 1980s, was saddened by demise of that golden age, and no doubt would have given some more input and encouragement going forward in the wake of �The Princess and the Frog�.
Roy was known outside of Disney and animation circles for his participation in the sport of sailing, and for Shamrock Holdings, his activist investment company through which he and Stanley Gold made waves with others companies as well as The Walt Disney Company.
I have no idea if he wrote unpublished memoirs or kept journals. He has been interviewed by authors working on books about his uncle, father, and the company, and has appeared in documentaries about the same, but his life certainly warrants a thorough biography of its own. I would like to learn more about this man to whom Disney and animation enthusiasts owe a gigantic debt.
Although Roy is irreplaceable, I hope the company�s leadership will mitigate the loss of Roy by considering more input from those who remain from the �old days� of Disney. While times do change, some lessons from the past can help keep the company strong while it is simultaneously respectful of its legacy.
Discuss It
-- Ken Pellman
Ken Pellman is a freelance writer and Public Information Officer, and occasional contributor to TheDisneyBlog.com. He resides in Anaheim with his wife, daughter, son, and dog. Ken can be reached directly at Kenversations[at]flash[dot]net and http://www.facebook.com/pellman.
The views, opinions and comments of Ken Pellman, and all of our columnists and reviewers, are not necessarily those of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
--Posted December 16, 2009
�2009 Ken Pellman, all rights reserved. Licensed to LaughingPlace.com.