We all know of Walt Disney. . .

So, who was Roy Disney?

We all know the name Walt Disney, and recognize him as the dynamic force and visionary who built a worldwide entertainment empire. Through his charismatic persona he created Mickey Mouse, produced landmark movies, formed groundbreaking theme parks, and helped form an entire animation industry.

So, who was Roy Disney, and what importance, if any, did he play in Walt Disney’s history?

Roy O. Disney (1893 - 1971) was Walt’s older brother, and though he wasn’t a participant in Walt’s first failed venture, Laugh-O-Gram Studios, Walt later asked Roy to partner with him in his next undertaking, in what would eventually be the Walt Disney Company. And while Walt eventually became the face and persona of everything “Disney”, Roy Disney operated behind the scenes and played a key role in building the Disney enterprise, and the two brothers remained business partners for life.

As for Walt Disney, there is no question as to his incredible genius and innovation, and of his remarkable accomplishments over his lifetime. There is, however, strong reason to believe that Walt would not have achieved that same extent of personal and business success without his alter ego and pragmatic business partner, brother Roy. In essence, Roy was the “yang” to Walt’s “yin”.

While Walt was a legendary visionary, and a bigger-than-life personality, he did have his shortcomings. He could be self-promoting, aloof, and sometimes oblivious and/or disconnected from the realities of financial affairs, organizational dynamics, and human resource matters. When crises did arise in the Disney organization relating to these more mundane administrative areas, Walt looked to Roy to fix them. As The Orange County Register (OCR) described in a December 26, 2016 article on the Disney brothers, “where Walt was the dreamer, Roy was the doer.”

Some examples of Roy’s key business contributions include:

• When money was necessary to finish the first feature-length animated film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, it was Roy who secured the necessary bank financing.

• When the Disney labor force and animators walked-out protesting unfair working conditions in the 40’s, it was Roy that helped mediate and resolve the disputes.

• When funds were needed to build Walt’s revolutionary and massive new theme park, Disneyland, it was Roy who convinced the ABC television network to finance the endeavor.

And as the OCR article when on to describe, “Walt and Roy would frequently argue about things that Walt would want to do, but in the end, Roy would find a way to get those things done.”

The lesson learned from the Disney brothers: There are certain personal characteristics that are mutually exclusive, which makes it hard for one person to do or see it all. And frankly, the more talented or focused an individual is in one area, the more of a blind spot he or she may have in other areas. The magical combination of Walt and Roy Disney demonstrates the power of leveraging upon the various talents, skill sets, and perspectives of individuals in an executive team.

With Walt Disney’s creative genius and incredible drive, there was probably never any question that he would somehow achieve greatness. But by having Roy at his side, Walt’s journey to success was certainly made much smoother, and it helped secure his legacy.