After all, who was Roy O. Disney?

Disney studios have become a true empire! This is because, in addition to animated narratives — which the studio emerged to create — the label also releases live-action films, series, musicals, theaters, games and various collectible items that have been part of the lives of many around the world for more than 100 years, as the company was founded in 1923 by Walt It is Roy Disney.

The legacy of Walt is widely known, after all, there is no shortage of material to unravel the hits signed, animated and produced by the businessman. But who was it? Roy Disney? RECREIO brought together everything that is known about the man who is as important as Walt for the birth of one of the largest entertainment companies in the world.

Meet Roy O. Disney

Roy OliverDisneyis the couple’s third child Elijah It is Flora. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 24, 1893, making him eight years older than Walt and the person who was always ready to make his brother’s dreams come true, supporting his career and being side by side in many of his biggest steps in his professional career.

The brothers’ long partnership began when the two began delivering newspapers for the Kansas City Star, and evolved when Roy I heard about a vacancy from a co-worker and recommended it. Waltearning him his first artistic job at a commercial art studio called Pesmen-Rubin, where he started as an intern.

In the meantime, the Disney The older man worked as a bank teller in Kansas City, Missouri and, with the arrival of the First World War (1914-18), he had to enlist. During the conflict, Roy he acquired tuberculosis, one of the oldest diseases in the world, requiring him to be bedridden in a hospital for some time.

Still, in 1923, Roy I would find a new professional perspective. This is because, it was in this year that he became a partner in Walt and they both founded Disney Brothers Studio, a company in which he started doing a little bit of everything, as his roles varied between cameraman and accountant at first, as revealed by the Walt Disney Family Museum blog.

Roy it remained with the label until 1926, when it requested that it be renamed The Walt Disney Studio. However, he returned to the studio as Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Productions and succeeded Walt as president in September 1945, assuming administrative responsibility in his place so that the youngest could focus his energy on other sectors of the company.

Just over 20 years managing behind the scenes, in the mid-60s, Roy left his position as business manager to take on a new role, President of Walt Disney Productions, which previously belonged to Waltas he had a new ambition: to open Walt Disney World, in order to fulfill the wish that his brother was unable to fulfill during his lifetime, as he passed away on December 15, 1966, due to cancer.

That way, Roywho, in addition to managing the company’s finances very well, always knew how to manage the dreams of Walt to make them real, he left behind his desire to leave his life out of the spotlight, postponed the retirement he wanted at the age of 73 and continued with the “Florida project”, which would become the great park.

Furthermore, in 1968, Roy resigned from his position at the company to “focus his efforts on finalizing financing plans for the massive Walt Disney World project”, as explained in a press release from “News from Walt Disney World” shared by the Walt Disney Family Museum blog. From then on, he became Chairman of the Board.

please note that Roy never wanted any credit for the park, always defending that the idea was Walt. So much so that the place would be called Disney Word, but, at his request, it was called Walt Disney World, in honor of his brother and to ensure that everyone knew which member of the family Disney belonged to the creation of that park.

I fought him over it. ‘Disney World’ was a better title for the market. But he said, ‘No, Card, I want it that way.’ Then boom! We said, ‘Okay. And that.’ And that was the end of it,” recalled Card Walker, former president of Walt Disney Productions in a 1973 interview (via Walt Disney Family.

As a result of so much effort and several personal sacrifices, Roy opened the park on October 1, 1971, after five years of intense work and around US$400 million invested.

Roy was able to see the company’s other plans take shape for almost another decade, as he passed away on December 20, 1971, eight years after realizing his brother’s last big dream, leaving a widow, Edna Franciswhom he married in 1925, and Roy E. Disneyhis son, born on January 10, 1930, who became the last Disney actively working in the company.