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Roy Edward Disney - Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, The Walt Disney Company

Roy Edward Disney is vice chairman of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company and oy Edward Disney is vice chairman of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company and heads the studio’s expanding Animation Department.

Disney assumed the responsibility for providing overall guidance and direction to the department in 1984. This was his first full-time role at the studio since 1977. Currently, he also is serving as executive producer of “Fantasia 2000,” an ambitious animated continuation of the 1940 landmark film.
Earlier, he served Disney for 25 years in various capacities, including vice president, producer, director and writer. He became a member of the board of directors in 1967.
Concurrently, he maintains business interests outside Disney. He is chairman of Shamrock Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned family enterprise that he organized in 1978, with headquarters in Burbank, Calif.
Disney also is chairman of Trefoil Investors, Inc., the general partner of Trefoil Capital Investors, L.P., a $500 million investment partnership.
He began his entertainment industry career in 1953, working as an assistant film editor on the “Dragnet” TV series.
He joined The Walt Disney Company in 1954 and served as assistant film editor on motion pictures, including “The Living Desert” and “The Vanishing Prairie,” both Academy Award winners.
As a writer and production associate, he received an Academy Award nomination for his work on the short subject “Mysteries of the Deep” in 1959.
From writing, Disney went on to produce and direct some 35 other TV and theatrical productions then became an independent producer and investor.
Disney was born in Los Angeles Jan. 10, 1930, to Roy O. Disney and Edna Francis Disney. His father and his uncle, Walt, co-founded the Disney entertainment business.
He attended Harvard School and Pomona College, where he graduated in 1951 with a major in English.
He serves on the board of trustees of California Institute of the Arts, the advisory board of St. Joseph Medical Center and the board of Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles, Inc.
Disney is a member of the board of directors of the United States Committee for UNICEF, chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the Peregrine Fund, a member of the board of trustees of the Southwest Museum, a member of the board of trustees of Ronald McDonald House charities, and a member of the board of trustees of the American Ireland Fund.
In 1997, he was awarded the first “Mort Walker Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Cartoon Industry” by the Boca Raton International Museum of Cartoon Art.
In 1998, Disney received an honorary doctor of fine arts degree from his alma mater, Pomona College.
Disney was recently named a recipient of the 1999 National Catholic Education Association Elizabeth Ann Seton Award, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to children and education. In April of 1999, Disney also received the Henry Bergh Humane Award from the ASPCA, and in the spring of 2000, he was awarded the Inaugural Environmental Leadership Award from the Audubon Society.
Married in 1955 to Patricia Ann Dailey, Disney is the father of four children -- Roy Patrick, Susan Margaret, Abigail Edna and Timothy John Disney. He is the grandfather of 13.
Disney’s outside interests include offshore yacht racing and he holds numerous elapsed-time records for offshore passages on the Pacific Ocean, including the Los Angeles to Honolulu Transpac Race.

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