Roy E. Disney: Life Celebration
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Screen and organ at El Capitan
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Amongst the numerous speakers was president and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger who said “…..It’s really an honor for me to be here to help celebrate Roy’s life, both the life that he led outside the company and the life that he led inside the company…As many of you know, Roy and the company didn’t always see eye to eye (laughter) that may be a bit of an understatement….but we figured out a way to make peace, the way to get along and most importantly a way to allow Roy to spend his remaining years inside the company, instead of outside the company…We really benefited tremendously as a company from all of that knowledge and all of that wisdom….Roy knew that as animation went, so went the Walt Disney Company… It was Roy taking all those people and animation under his wing that led to all of those great films in the mid ‘80’s and ‘90’s from Little Mermaid to Lion King to Aladdin to Beauty and the Beast. We certainly owe Roy a great debt of gratitude for all of that…..Animation really is our crown jewel. It’s the heart and soul of Disney and it defines Disney magic….Roy served as animation’s guardian angel…I’ve got a little surprise for you...If we can bring this slide up, from here on in, the animation building will be (interrupted by prolonged cheering and clapping when the audience saw the slide of the renamed Roy E. Disney Animation Building).....I don't know what Roy thought of the building but I know what he thought of what it symbolized, I know what he thought about what went on inside that building and we want everyone who walks through those doors every day to remember just how important Roy was to what goes on inside that building and so to Roy Disney Thank you very much!"
Bob Iger with renamed Animation Building
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This was followed by Don Hahn “That is so cool. It makes me tear up a little bit. Roy’s family has been so generous to us to gather today and celebrate his life and to speak for his family. We have actually broken our show down into chapters of Roy’s life. First chapter is Roy and his family life and here is Roy Patrick Disney to talk a little about his Dad.”
Roy Patrick Disney
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With much applause Roy Patrick Disney spoke” …Forty five years ago right across the street …it was for the premiere of Mary Poppins…Dad used to tell a story about how a limo with the Sherman Brothers pulled up to the red carpet, the paparazzi descended on the car, leaned in and then declared its no one. Well the Sherman wives would have none of it and shouted back We are too Someone. WelI I think Dad related to this story because it said as much about him as it did the Shermans. Without the Shermans there would be no Mary Poppins, as we know it and without Dad, there would be no Disney as we know it. But like the Shermans, Dad was never the headliner. The theatres were always filled for someone else but not today. Today this theatre is filled to standing room only for Roy Edward Disney….Susan, Abby, Tim and I were privileged to see all the various aspects of this multi faceted man. …As a father, he was a steady guiding presence…He knew when to be involved and he also knew when to let go and put trust in others….His championing of animation is one of his most famous legacies… He was a man of great gentility and generosity…He may have grown up in the shadow of greatness. Today we recognize the shadow that he casts over all of us. Happy Birthday, Dad. ” Next home movies put together by Roy’s family were shown of him from babyhood into adulthood along with his family.
Richard Sherman with an accompanist for Ashley Brown and Jodi Benson
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