Roy E. Disney dies at 79

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 12/16/09 at 3:21pm

Given his age, it's not necessarily shocking, but still an incredible loss. I didn't even know he was sick.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121523074

Roy E. Disney, the son and nephew of The Walt Disney Co. founders who twice led shareholder revolts that shook up the family business, died Wednesday. He was 79.

The Walt Disney Co. announced that Disney died in Newport Beach, Calif., after a bout with stomach cancer.

Although he generally stayed out of the spotlight, Roy Disney didn't hesitate to lead a successful campaign in 1984 to oust Walt Disney's son-in-law after concluding he was leading the company in the wrong direction.

Nearly 20 years later, he launched another successful shareholders revolt, this time against Michael Eisner, the man he'd helped bring in after the previous ouster.

[Q]

Posted: 12/16/09 at 3:34pm

[StarStruckGB]

Posted: 12/16/09 at 3:51pm

Even though he was sick, that's still pretty tragic.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 12/16/09 at 4:41pm

Sooo sad. RIP.

[EVIE]

Posted: 12/16/09 at 4:52pm

RIP Mr. Disney.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/16/09 at 7:03pm

He saved Disney Studios so many times and was a catalyst to dump Eisner.

RIP to the last pillar of the Disney legacy.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 2:25am

This is devastating news to me. A wonderful man who will be missed immensely. He did so much for the Disney company and his work will be enjoyed by countless people until the end of time. It's quite a legacy to leave behind.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 3:12am

In all likelihood we wouldn't have Disney animation the way we do now without him--it was his insistance that persuaded Eisner and crew to give them a shot and keep the department when they came into power.

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 12/17/09 at 10:36am

And he also took a leading role in the campaign to oust Eisner a couple years back, which is part of the reason why Disney has a 2-D animation department again today after initially saying they would only be involved in CGI animation.

...which strummer girl already pointed out. Oops. That's what I get for not reading everything. Oh well, I think it's important enough to be repeated. Without that, we could have had "Sleeping Beauty 2" released direct to DVD today.

Updated On: 12/17/09 at 10:36 AM