Roy Williams (July 30, 1907 – November 7, 1976) was an artist and entertainer for The Walt Disney Studios, best known as "Big Roy," the adult mouseketeer for four seasons on the ''

Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...

'' television series and for his invention of the Mickey Mouse hats.

Early life and career

Williams was born in

Colville, Washington Colville is a city in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,673 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stevens County. History John Work, an agent for The Hudson's Bay Company, established Fort Colvile near the ...

and raised in

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, where he attended Fremont High School. After graduating, he was hired as an artist by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

in 1930. He worked on animated shorts while attending

Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art I ...

at night. He later also developed story ideas for Disney. He also designed over 100 insignias for the

U.S. armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and is credited with designing the mouse ears worn on the ''Mickey Mouse Club'' which would later be sold at

Disney Parks Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...

. Williams also produced one-panel gag cartoons for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', '' Saturday Evening Post'', and other magazines. Disney director

Jack Kinney John Ryan Kinney (March 29, 1909 – February 9, 1992)Lenburg (2006), pp. 180 was an American animator, director and producer of animated shorts. Kinney is the older brother of fellow Disney animator Dick Kinney. Early life Jack Kinney was born ...

described Williams as a "big fat balding hot-headed unpredictable bastard", but hugely admired his prolific talent, saying that he could "sit down and grunt out a few pounds of gags as if it were nothing". The Mouseketeers who worked with him on the original ''Mickey Mouse Club'' series, conversely, remembered him fondly. Former Mouseketeer

Lonnie Burr Lonnie Burr (born May 31, 1943) is an American entertainer and writer best known as one of nine of the original thirty-nine Mouseketeers who remained under a seven-year contract for the complete filming (1955–1959) of Walt Disney’s children ...

, appearing on Tom Snyder's '' Tomorrow'' show on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in 1975 to talk about the Mickey Mouse Club at the time of its 20th anniversary, called Williams "a warm guy, who liked kids, always had time for kids, and always helped us any way he could."

Legacy

Williams died in Burbank, California on November 7, 1976, aged 69. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

of Los Angeles. He was posthumously inducted as a

Disney Legend The Disney Legends Awards is a Hall of Fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company. Established in 1987, the honor was traditionally awarded annually during a speci ...

in 1992. The historic Roy Williams Airport on Sunfair Road in

Joshua Tree, California Joshua Tree is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2010 census. At approximately above sea level, Joshua Tree and its surrounding communities are located in the High ...

is named after Williams. In 2015, the airport site was proposed to be converted to a solar farm.

References

Sources

*Kinney, Jack, ''Walt Disney and other assorted characters - An unauthorised account of the early years at Disney's'', Harmony Books, New York, 1988

External links

* Retrieved September 2012 1907 births 1976 deaths Animators from Washington (state) Entertainers from Washington (state) Chouinard Art Institute alumni Walt Disney Animation Studios people People from Colville, Washington John C. Fremont High School alumni 20th-century American inventors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) {{Disney-stub