Ron Miller obit

Former Disney CEO Ron Miller, son-in-law of Walt Disney, dies at 85

He was not on the list.

Ron W. Miller, a former University of Southern California football star who married a daughter of Walt Disney and later became CEO of the Burbank entertainment giant, died Saturday. He was 85.
Miller passed away in Napa, where he owned Silverado Vineyards. He served as president and later chief executive of Disney from 1978 until 1984, when he was pushed out in a power struggle that left Frank Wells and Michael Eisner in charge of the company.
“Everyone at The Walt Disney Co. is deeply saddened by the passing of Ron Miller,” said company Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Iger, in a statement. “His life and legacy are inextricably linked with our Company and the Disney family because he was such a vital part of both, as our CEO and Walt’s son-in-law.”
The company credited him as being a driving force behind such initiatives as Epcot Center, Touchstone Pictures and the Disney Channel. “Miller helped navigate a difficult period of change, laying the foundation for a broader revenue base to support Walt’s vision for decades to come,” the statement said.
Miller married into the Disney clan after meeting Walt Disney’s daughter, Diane, on a blind date when she was 20 and he was 21 and a member of the USC football team, according to a company blog post.

The couple married in 1954 and Miller served in the Army and later played for the Los Angeles Rams before he came to work at Walt Disney Studios in 1957. Miller’s first job was serving as an assistant on the classic movie “Old Yeller.”

"My father-in-law saw me play in two football games when I was with the Los Angeles Rams. In one of them, I caught a pass and Dick 'Night Train' Lane let me have it from the rear. His forearm came across my nose and knocked me unconscious. I woke up in about the third quarter. At the end of the season, Walt came up to me and said, 'You know, I don't want to be the father to your children. You're going to die out there. How about coming to work with me?' I did and it was a wise decision on my part. I'm really very proud of having been a professional athlete. I think it teaches you to be competitive, to accept challenges and to see things through. I realize the image some people have of jocks, but I think that certainly has changed over the years," Miller told entertainment reporter Dale Pollock in August 1984.

On Miller’s watch, the studio released such movies as “Tron” and “The Black Hole.”  He served as a producer on 1960s and ’70s films like “Son of Flubber,” “That Darn Cat!” “Pete’s Dragon” and “Escape to Witch Mountain.” He won an Emmy for his work with The Wonderful World of Disney.

Miller was named president in 1978 and chief executive in 1983. He was forced out in 1984, a difficult year during which Disney was facing a hostile takeover bid from Wall Street raider Saul Steinberg and his Reliance Group Holdings.
The Disney board voted in June 1984 to buy out Steinberg’s 11 percent share for $325 million - earning the raider a nearly $60 million profit - but later faced shareholder lawsuits accusing directors of violating their fiduciary duty by agreeing to the deal. Disney and Steinberg settled the case in 1989 by paying $45 million to shareholders.

After leaving the company, Miller moved with his wife to the Napa Valley to run Silverado Vineyards. Later, the couple helped establish the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio area of San Francisco. He served on its board of directors and became president in 2013.
Miller is survived by his children Christopher Miller, Joanna Miller, Tamara Diane Miller, Jennifer Goff, Walter Elias Disney Miller, Ronald Miller and Patrick Miller, and 17 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His wife, Diane, died in 2013.
Donations may be made to a memorial fund that Disney Family Museum has established in honor of the couple. Donations will support the museum’s ongoing education efforts.

The list of movies Ron Miller was associated with Disney Studios:

Producer (73 credits)

 1985 The Black Cauldron (executive producer)

 1983 Never Cry Wolf (executive producer)

 1982 Tex (executive producer)

 1982 TRON (executive producer)

 1982 Night Crossing (executive producer)

 1981 The Fox and the Hound (executive producer)

 1981 Condorman (executive producer)

 1981 The Devil and Max Devlin (executive producer)

 1980 Herbie Goes Bananas (producer)

 1980 Mickey Mouse Disco (Short) (producer)

 1980 The Last Flight of Noah's Ark (producer)

 1980 The Watcher in the Woods (producer)

  The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) (producer - 31 episodes, 1964 - 1977) (co-producer - 13 episodes, 1965 - 1968) (executive producer - 11 episodes, 1968 - 1980) (associate producer - 9 episodes, 1960 - 1966)

- Disney's Oscar Winners (1980) ... (executive producer)

- The Kids Who Knew Too Much (1980) ... (executive producer)

- Baseball Fever (1979) ... (executive producer)

- The Omega Connection (1979) ... (executive producer)

- The Young Runaways (1978) ... (executive producer)

1980 The Kids Who Knew Too Much (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1980 Midnight Madness (producer)

 1979 The Black Hole (producer - produced by)

 1979 Unidentified Flying Oddball (producer)

 1979 The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (producer)

 1979 The London Connection (executive producer)

 1979 The North Avenue Irregulars (producer)

 1978 The Small One (Short) (executive producer)

 1978 Christmas at Walt Disney World (TV Special) (executive producer)

 1978 Hot Lead and Cold Feet (producer)

 1978 The Cat from Outer Space (producer)

 1978 Return from Witch Mountain (producer)

 1977 Candleshoe (producer)

 1977 The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1977 Pete's Dragon (producer)

 1977 Born to Run (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1977 The New Mickey Mouse Club (TV Series) (executive producer - 7 episodes)

- Episode #2.10 (1977) ... (executive producer)

- Surprise Day (1977) ... (executive producer)

- Episode #1.10 (1977) ... (executive producer)

- Episode #1.9 (1977) ... (executive producer)

- Let's Go (1977) ... (executive producer)

1977 Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (producer)

 1977 The Rescuers (executive producer)

 1977 The Ghost of Cypress Swamp (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1976 Freaky Friday (producer)

 1976 The Shaggy D.A. (executive producer)

 1976 Gus (producer)

 1976 Treasure of Matecumbe (executive producer)

 1976 The Littlest Horse Thieves (producer)

 1976 No Deposit, No Return (producer)

 1976 The Whiz Kid and the Carnival Caper (TV Movie) (producer)

 1975 Ride a Wild Pony (executive producer)

 1975 Escape to Witch Mountain (executive producer)

 1975 The Sky's the Limit (producer)

 1974 Return of the Big Cat (TV Movie) (producer)

 1974 The Castaway Cowboy (producer)

 1974 Hog Wild (TV Movie) (producer)

 1974 The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton (TV Movie) (producer)

 1973 Alvin the Magnificent (TV Movie) (producer)

 1973 Diamonds on Wheels (TV Movie) (producer)

 1972 Snowball Express (producer)

 1972 The Magic of Walt Disney World (Short) (producer)

 1972 Now You See Him, Now You Don't (producer)

 1971 The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove (TV Movie) (producer)

 1971 The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)

 1970 The Wild Country (producer)

 1970 Cristobalito, the Calypso Colt (TV Movie) (executive producer)

 1970 The Boatniks (producer)

 1970 Menace on the Mountain (TV Movie) (producer)

 1970 Smoke (TV Movie) (producer)

 1969 Secrets of the Pirates' Inn (TV Movie) (producer)

 1969 Guns in the Heather (producer)

 1968 Never a Dull Moment (producer)

 1967 Monkeys, Go Home! (co-producer)

 1966 Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (co-producer)

 1965 That Darn Cat! (co-producer)

 1965 The Monkey's Uncle (producer)

 1964 A Tiger Walks (associate producer)

 1964 The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (producer)

 1963 Summer Magic (associate producer)

 1963 Son of Flubber (associate producer)

 1962 Bon Voyage! (associate producer)

 1962 Moon Pilot (associate producer)

 1961 Zorro (TV Series) (associate producer - 1 episode)

- The Postponed Wedding (1961) ... (associate producer)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director (2 credits)

 1959-1960 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) (assistant director - 3 episodes)

- The Swamp Fox: Tory Vengeance (1960) ... (assistant director)

- Moochie of the Little League: A Diamond Is a Boy's Best Friend (1959) ... (assistant director)

- I Captured the King of the Leprechauns (1959) ... (assistant director - as R.W. Miller)

 1958-1959 Zorro (TV Series) (assistant director - 15 episodes)

- The Fortune Teller (1959) ... (assistant director - as R.W. Miller)

- Long Live the Governor (1959) ... (assistant director - as R.W. Miller)

- Masquerade for Murder (1959) ... (assistant director - as R.W. Miller)

- The Captain Regrets (1959) ... (assistant director - as R.W. Miller)

- The Sergeant Sees Red (1959) ... (assistant director - as R.W. Miller)

Miscellaneous Crew (1 credit)

 1968 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) (vice president - 2 episodes)

- The Mickey Mouse Anniversary Show (1968) ... (vice president: in charge of television)

- Pacifically Peeking (1968) ... (vice president: in charge of television)

Director (1 credit)

 1962 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Golden Horseshoe Revue (1962)