Introduction
Roy Disney (1893 - 1971) was an American business executive and co-founder of The Walt Disney Company. He was the older brother of animator and entrepreneur, Walt Disney. Roy and Walt co-founded Disney Studios - while Walt was the creative genius, Roy was the man behind the scenes that made the dreams come true.
Early life and education
Roy Oliver Disney was born on June 24, 1893 in Chicago, Illinois. His father, Elias Charles Disney, was Irish-Canadian and mother, Flora Call Disney, was English-German-American. When Roy was 3 years old, his family moved to Marceline, Missouri, in 1896. In 1911, they moved to Kansas City, Missouri.
In July 1911, Roy’s father purchased a newspaper delivery route for The Kansas City Star newspaper. Roy and Walt, while at school, worked as delivery-boys for the newspaper, delivering The Kansas City Times, to approximately 700 customers and The Kansas City Star to approximately 600 people.
Roy graduated from the Manual Training High School, Kansas City in 1912. He worked on a farm in the summer. He got a job as a bank clerk at the First National Bank of Kansas City.
In the years 1917-1919, Roy served in the United States Navy. He was discharged from the military after he contracted tuberculosis. Walt also attempted to join the army, but he was rejected for being too young.
Career
After the discharge from army, Roy moved to Los Angeles and worked as a banker. Around that time, Walt was working as apprentice artist at the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio in Kansas City.
In July 1923, Walt moved to Los Angeles to work with Roy. Roy and Walt then formed the Disney Brothers Studio, a film-production company to produce Alice's Adventures in Wonderland series. The company later became The Walt Disney Company. Walt led the creative side of the business, while Roy guided the business and finances side.
In 1940, when their business was going through financial troubles, Roy and Walt implemented heavy salary cuts and the company's first public stock offering. This move led to a 1941 animators' strike which lasted five weeks.
Roy officially became the company’s CEO in 1968 — although, he was the unofficial CEO since 1929. He and Walt also shared the role of chairman of the board since 1945.
In 1965, the brothers announced plans to develop Disney World theme-park, in Orlando, Florida. Walt died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966. After Walt’s death, Roy deferred his retirement plan so he could oversee construction of the theme-park. A week after Walt’s death, Roy spoke to a group of company’s executives and creative staff and told them about his plan to postpone his retirement. He said:
We are going to finish this park in Florida, and we’re going to do it just the way Walt wanted it…Don’t you ever forget it. I want every one of you to do just exactly what you were going to do when Walt was alive.
One of Roy’s first decisions was to rename the park to Walt Disney World - a name that would be a tribute to his brother. The project was completed and inaugurated on October 1, 1971. At the event, Roy was asked by reporters why a grandfather had felt the obligation to tackle this impossible project at this point in his life. Roy smiled and said
I didn’t want to have to explain to Walt when I saw him again why the dream didn’t come true.
Shortly after, Roy Disney returned to California from Florida. He planned to fully retire in 1973 – when he would have been at the company for 50 years. However, he died in 1971 from an intracranial hemorrhage.
Personal life
Roy married Edna Francis in April 1925. The couple remained together until his death in 1971. Their son, Roy Edward Disney, was born on January 10, 1930. Their son later became an executive at the Walt Disney company.
Death
Roy fell into a coma on Sunday, December 19, 1971 and was rushed to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank, California. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage the following day. He was 78 at the time. It was the same hospital where Walt died in December 1966.
A statue of Roy, seated on a park bench beside Minnie Mouse, is located in Town Square at the Magic Kingdom.