Mousetalgia Episode 540: Ron Miller and Dave Smith
In the past two weeks, the Disney fan community was rocked with the news of the passing of two legendary names in the history of the Walt Disney Company. On February 9, Ron Miller – the son in law of Walt Disney and CEO/President of the company for many years – passed away at the age of 85. Miller helped bridge the gap between Walt Disney’s personal enterprise and the international entertainment corporation that the Disney company would become, and was president of the Walt Disney Family Foundation, which is responsible for the Walt Disney Family Museum. Then, on February 15, Dave Smith passed away at the age of 78. Smith was responsible for developing the Walt Disney Archives for the Walt Disney Company, which he started in 1970, and was regarded as the highest authority on the history of everything related to Disney. In today’s episode, Team Mousetalgia share stories of our personal interactions with both of these men, who were so important to making the Walt Disney Company what it is today.