Roy O. Disney was a american businessman and was Walt Disney's brother. Since Walt Disney died in 1966 Roy took control of the rest of the construction at Magic Kingdom. The park opened in 1971 but it was also was the year that Roy died. Roy O. Disney died on December 20, 1971 in Burbank California.
Early life[]
Roy was born to Irish-Canadian Elias Charles Disney and English-German-American Flora Call Disney in Chicago, Illinois. The family moved to Marceline, Missouri, in 1896, and to Kansas City in 1911. On July 1, 1911, Elias purchased a newspaper delivery route for The Kansas City Star. It extended from 27th Street to the 31st Street, and from Prospect Avenue to Indiana Avenue. Roy and his brother, Walt worked as newspaper delivery-boys. The family delivered the morning newspaper, The Kansas City Times, to approximately 700 customers, and the The Kansas City Star to more than 600. The number of customers served increased with time.
Walt Disney Productions[]
Whilst Walt led the creative side, Roy guided the business side and finances. Roy and Walt both founded Disney Studios as brothers, but Walt would later buyout most of Roy's share in 1929 so, unlike Max and Dave Fleischer of rival Fleischer Studios, Roy was not a co-producer. However, Roy would be equal partner in all facets of the production company. Roy became the company's first CEO in 1929, although the official title was not given to him until 1968. He also shared the role of chairman of the board with Walt from 1945. In 1960, Walt dropped the chairman title so he could focus more on the creative aspects of the company. After Walt's death in 1966, Roy postponed his retirement to oversee construction of what was then known as Disney World.[4] He later renamed it Walt Disney World as a tribute to his brother. Roy became the president of Walt Disney Productions on December 15, 1966, until 1968.
Personal life[]
Roy was married to Edna Francis from April 1925 until his death. Their son, Roy Edward Disney, was born on January 10, 1930. Throughout his life, Roy rejected the publicity and fame that came with being Walt's brother. Roy's nephew Charles Elias Disney named his sons middle name Charles Roy Disney after Roy.
Death[]
Roy O. Disney's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
After the opening of Walt Disney World in October 1971, Roy finally retired. He died, aged 78, on December 20, 1971 from an intracranial hemorrhage. He is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) in Los Angeles.
Legacy/Tributes[]
Walt Disney World Railroad No. 4 Roy O. Disney
One of the Walt Disney World Railroad locomotives was named after Roy On June 6, 2002, his son Roy E. Disney rededicated this locomotive in his father's honor. As of 2016, this locomotive became a hundred years old. One of the Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad locomotives is also named the Roy O. Disney. The Roy O. Disney Concert Hall, the primary performance space for the Herb Alpert School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts (of which Disney was a benefactor), is named after him. A statue of Roy seated on a park bench beside Minnie Mouse is located in the Town Square section of Main Street, U.S.A., at the Magic Kingdom theme park in Florida. A duplicate is located outside the Team Disney building at Disney's corporate headquarters in Burbank, California. There is a third statue at the Tokyo Disneyland theme park. The Roy O. Disney Suite is located on the top floor of the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.
In 2014, Roy O. Disney was portrayed in the feature film Walt Before Mickey by Jon Heder.