Roy Edward Disney - R.I.P.

Sad news for Disney fans this week - Roy E. Disney, son of Roy Oliver and nephew to Walt Disney, passed away on December 16th at the age of 79. Roy succumbed to stomach cancer at a hospital in Newport Beach, California.

The month of December seems to be a bad one for the Disney clan. Walt and his wife Lillian, and Roy O. and his wife Edna all passed away in previous years in the month of December.

Instead of recapping Roy's extensive and impressive career, I will instead share my one personal memory of meeting Roy. I was part of EPCOT's World Showcase Fellowship Program between 1987 and 1988. During my one year tenure, those of us in the Fellowship Program were invited to be part of a press event - I can't remember what the event was promoting.

Castmembers participating in the event were obliged to wear our costumes...being a member of the Canadian contingent I was dressed in the costume of the exhibit's lumberjack. We were stationed around the hall and our instructions were to greet the press and answer any questions they had about the various pavilions in World Showcase.

Roy E. attended the event and eventually made his way to where I was standing. We made eye contact. I nodded at him in acknowledgment and he immediately came over and engaged me in conversation.

I told him I was a collector of 1930s Disney memorabilia, after which he asked me some questions about my collection. We spoke for around 5 - 10 minutes. I recall he seemed to be genuinely interested in what I was saying and appreciated my interest in the early history of the company his uncle and father had built. I must admit too that I was a bit in awe at the time. He looked like the spitting image of his Uncle Walt and I was taken aback by how uncanny that was.

It's sort of sad to know there is no one from either side of the Disney clan actively involved with the running of the company now, and that most of those who profit have no direct relation to either founder.