Esmond Cardon Walker (January 9, 1916 – November 28, 2005), commonly known as E. Cardon Walker or Card Walker, was an American businessman who served as a top executive at

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He was born in

Rexburg Rexburg is a city in Madison County, Idaho, United States. The population was 39,409 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County and its largest city. Rexburg is the principal city of the Rexburg, ID Micropolitan Statis ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...

Early life and career

Walker moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in 1934, where he attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. After graduation, he began his career at Disney as a mailroom clerk in 1938. Before long, he stepped up the ladder and found himself in the camera department and later became a unit manager for short subjects. In 1941, Walker was forced to delay his Disney career to serve in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was the flight control officer (flight deck officer) aboard the aircraft carrier

USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) USS ''Bunker Hill'' (CV/CVA/CVS-17, AVT-9) was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War. Commissioned in May 1943 and sent to the Paci ...

in the Pacific Theater from 1943 to 1945, surviving eight major battles. After the war, he returned to the Disney Studio. In 1956, he became the vice president of advertising and sales before being elected to the board of directors in 1960.

Career with Disney

Two years after

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 ...

's death in 1966, Walker became executive vice president and chief operating officer. When Walt's brother

Roy O. Disney Roy Oliver Disney (; June 24, 1893 – December 20, 1971) was an American businessman and co-founder of The Walt Disney Company. He was the older brother of Walt Disney and the father of Roy E. Disney. Biography Early life Disney was bor ...

died in 1971, Walker became company president, serving under chairman and CEO

Donn Tatum Donn B. Tatum (January 9, 1913 – May 31, 1993) was an American businessman and the first non-Disney family member to be an executive of Walt Disney Productions. Tatum held senior leadership positions with Disney for 25 years, becoming President ...

. In November 1976 Walker took over chief executive officer duties from Tatum while retaining the responsibilities of president. Finally, in 1980 Walker became chairman of the Disney board upon Tatum's retirement. Walker himself retired as CEO three years later, in February 1983, but stayed on as chairman until May 1 to oversee the opening of

Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. As a top Disney executive, Walker played a major part in the early development of

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. He also sought to expand Disney's presence to international territory.

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unre ...

and Tokyo Disneyland both opened under Walker's leadership, and he presided over the dedications of both parks. Walker founded the Disney Channel in 1982. Walker continued to serve as a consultant to the company until 1990 and was member of the board of directors until 2000, having served 40 continuous years on the Disney board. His contributions culminated in his induction into the

Disney Legends 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 spec ...

in 1993.

Death

Walker died at age 89 in

La Cañada Flintridge, California La Cañada Flintridge, commonly known as "La Cañada" (Spanish for "The Canyon"), is a city in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles County, California. Located in the Crescenta Valley, in the western edge of Southern Califor ...

References

External links

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Disney Legends
1916 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Walker, E. Cardon People from Rexburg, Idaho Military personnel from Idaho Chairmen of The Walt Disney Company People from La Cañada Flintridge, California {{US-business-bio-1910s-stub