Roy O. Disney

Roy Oliver Disney ( DIZ-nee; June 24, 1893 – December 20, 1971) was an American entrepreneur. He co-founded with his younger brother Walt what is now the Walt Disney Company in October 1923. Disney also served as the company's first chief executive officer and was the father of Roy E. Disney.

Disney was born to Irish-Canadian Elias Charles Disney and English-German-American Flora Call Disney in Chicago, Illinois, on June 24, 1893. The family moved to Marceline, Missouri, 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 Kansas City Star to more than 600. The number of customers served increased with time.

Disney graduated from the Manual Training High School of Kansas City in 1912. He left the paper delivery route and worked on a farm in the summer. He was then employed as a bank clerk along with brother Raymond Arnold Disney at the First National Bank of Kansas City.

Disney served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919. His military career was cut short by a contraction of tuberculosis during his service and Disney was honorably discharged from military duty.

While convalescing from a recurrence of tuberculosis at the Sawtelle Veterans Home in Los Angeles in October 1923, his brother Walt came to visit late at night to ask for his help in establishing a cartoon studio. After Walt explained that he had secured a deal with New York distributor Margaret Winkler, Disney agreed and left the hospital the next morning—never again having a relapse of tuberculosis.

Together brothers Roy and Walt founded the Disney Brothers Studio in October 1923, which served as Winkler Pictures' West Coast branch until 1928. Unlike Max and Dave Fleischer of rival Fleischer Studios, Roy was not a co-producer. However, Roy was an equal partner in all facets of the production company. While Walt led the creative side, Roy guided the business side and finances.

Roy left Winkler with Walt, Ub Iwerks and a small number of employees to produce the successful Mickey Mouse series, continuing to manage the studio's finances. Roy became the company's first chief executive officer (CEO) in 1929, although the official title was not given to him until 1966. He also shared the role of chairman of the board with Walt from 1945 and succeeded Walt in the position of president around this time as well. He held the position until 1968 when he handed it to Donn Tatum. In 1960, Walt dropped the chairman title so he could focus more on the creative aspects of the company. Following Walt's death on December 15, 1966, from lung cancer, Roy postponed his retirement to oversee the construction of what was then known as Disney World. Five years after Walt's death, Roy was able to open the resort at a cost of $400 million without having additional debt. He later named it Walt Disney World as a tribute to his brother.

Disney was married to Edna Francis from April 1925 until his death. Disney met Francis in Kansas City, Missouri when she worked at The Kansas City Times along with close friend Meredith A. Boyington, and she introduced Boyington to Disney's older brother Raymond Arnold Disney. Raymond and Meredith were married and were lifetime close friends to Edna and Roy; they had two sons, Charles Elias Disney and Daniel H. Disney. Roy and Edna's son Roy Edward Disney was born on January 10, 1930.

Roy E. Disney later was vice chairman of the Walt Disney Company. Throughout his life, Roy O. Disney rejected the publicity and fame that came with being Walt's brother. Disney's nephew Charles Elias Disney chose to name his son Charles Roy Disney in Disney's honor. Disney remained a member of the Freemasons for decades before he resigned his membership.

One of the Walt Disney World Railroad locomotives was named after Disney. On June 6, 2002, his son Roy E. Disney rededicated this locomotive in his father's honor. In September 2016, the locomotive took part in its centennial celebration hosted by the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society.

One of the three Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad locomotives is also named after Disney, where each locomotive is named after a past Walt Disney Company president.

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.

Sharing the Magic, a statue of Disney seated on a park bench beside Minnie Mouse, was dedicated in October 1999 as a companion piece to the Partners statue of Walt and Mickey Mouse. The statue is located in the Town Square of Main Street, U.S.A., at the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. A duplicate of Sharing the Magic is located outside the Team Disney building at Disney's corporate headquarters in Burbank, California—dedicated in 2003. A second copy is at the World Bazaar section of Tokyo Disneyland. The Roy O. Disney Suite is located on the top floor of the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.

In 2014, Disney was portrayed in the feature film Walt Before Mickey by Jon Heder.