Movie Musings: Disney and More

Ron Miller: LA Ram to Disney Leader

Having a family as big as possible was always important to Walt Disney. He and his wife, Lillian Bounds Disney, had two children together: one biological, Diane Disney Miller, and one adopted, Sharon Mae Disney. But both Walt and Lillian were overjoyed when their first son-in-law, Ron Miller, came into their lives. 

Ronald William Miller played college football at the University of Southern California, and was drafted as a quarterback by the L.A. Rams. After just one season, however, he was persuaded by his father-in-law to work for him. Miller became a producer on many classic films in the ‘60s and ‘70s and ultimately was named president of the Walt Disney Company in 1980.

Ron met Diane Disney on a blind date. They were married on May 9th, 1954 in a church ceremony in Santa Barbara. Throughout the first five months of their marriage, he worked as a liaison between WED (Walter Elias Disney) Enterprises and Disneyland, but then suddenly, he was drafted into the army. As a result of being drafted, Miller never finished college. Two months after his drafting, Diane gave birth to their first son, Christopher. (They had three more children during the first six years of their marriage. They had seven children total.) When Ron’s army service was complete, he returned home and played one season of football with the Los Angeles Rams. In the middle of one his games, he caught a pass and was knocked unconscious by an opposing player after he caught it. Walt Disney happened to be in the stands during this game, and the end of the football season Walt 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?” Ron agreed, and Walt got him inducted into the Screen Director’s Guild (now Director’s Guild of America). His first job working for the studio was as a second assistant on Old Yeller (1957).

Ron Miller was one of the Associate Producers on the television series Zorro (1957-1959), and also the films Moon Pilot (1962), Bon Voyage! (1962), Son of Flubber (1963), the sequel to The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), and That Darn Cat! (1965). His first movie as the only credited producer was Never a Dull Moment (1968) which starred Dick Van Dyke. After the unfortunate passing of his father-in-law in 1966, Ron Miller continued to be a producer on films such as Guns in the Heather (1969), The Boatniks (1972), Now You See Him, Now You Don’t (1972) (the first sequel to The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)), Snowball Express (1972), and No Deposit, No Return (1976). In 1971, he won a Primetime Emmy for his work on the show Disneyland (1954-1991). He also was an executive producer on a few animated films for the studio as well, including The Rescuers (1977), The Fox and the Hound (1981), and The Black Cauldron (1985).

He was elected President of Walt Disney Productions in 1980 and CEO in 1983. Sadly, though, many people who worked at the studio did not agree or even disapproved of Miller’s leadership. In 1984, Michael Eisner and Frank Well’s were elected the co-CEO’s of Disney. Miller, however, was successfully able to create Touchstone Pictures, which allowed Disney to produce adult-oriented films. Their first film was Splash (1984) with Tom Hanks. That hit paved the way for Disney to produce The Little Mermaid (1989)). Miller also created “The Disney Channel,” network and funded the first two short films for a young Tim Burton, Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984). Ron also helped with getting the film rights and the development of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and he even funded Disney’s first Broadway show, Total Abandon, with Richard Dreyfuss in 1983.

Ron Miller made wonderful contributions to the Walt Disney Studios throughout his life. No matter how unlikely his success, considering he really wanted to be a pro football player, his contributions helped Disney Studios to many future successes.