Building a Company

Without Roy, the world might never have known Walt. As his younger brother Walt Disney dreamed, drew, and imagined, Roy O. Disney stayed in the shadows, forming an empire. A brilliant financier and businessman, Roy helped turn Walt Disney's dreams into reality, building the company that bears his brother's name. Closer than the Warners or the Gershwins, Roy and Walt's lifelong partnership had its stormy moments, but neither of them ever wavered from their joint goal of producing high-quality family entertainment. While Walt's pen gave birth to Mickey Mouse, Roy founded the Buena Vista Distribution Company, brought Disneyland to a fledgling medium called television, and pioneered a merchandising business that would put Mickey on shelves from Brooklyn to Beijing.