William Hillyard Anderson (October 12, 1911December 28, 1997) was an American producer best known for his work with

The Walt Disney Company 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 Octobe ...

. He also served on the company's Board of Directors from 1960 to 1984.

Early life and career

Anderson was born in Smithfield, Utah. From a young age, he had the desire to be an actor. To pursue his dream, he moved to California, where he found himself playing small radio parts. He eventually abandoned acting in favor of the automobile industry. He studied pre-law at

El Camino College Compton Center Compton College is a public community college in Compton, California. From 2006, when it lost its regional accreditation, to 2017, when it regained that accreditation, it operated as a part of El Camino College. Before and after the partnersh ...

and the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. In 1943, the Walt Disney Company hired Anderson to work in their production control department. By 1951, Anderson had risen in the ranks to become production manager for Walt Disney. In 1956, he was named vice president in charge of studio operations. His first film as a producer was '' Old Yeller''. He was given an associate producer credit. In 1959, Anderson's wife Virginia was instrumental in bringing

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising ...

to his attention. He then suggested to

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 ...

that the English actress would be a good fit for the lead role in '' Pollyanna''. He later produced Disney's 1960 adaptation of ''

The Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwr ...

''. He worked extensively on the ABC television series ''

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...

'', starring Guy Williams. He went on to produce many more successful Disney films like ''

The Moon-Spinners ''The Moon-Spinners'' is a 1964 American mystery film starring Hayley Mills, Eli Wallach and Peter McEnery in a story about a jewel thief hiding on the island of Crete. Produced by Walt Disney Productions, the film was based upon a 1962 suspense ...

'', '' The Happiest Millionaire'' and '' The Apple Dumpling Gang''. In 1960, he became a member of Disney's Board of Directors, a position he would hold until 1984. Anderson died from a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in 1997 after suffering a fall. He was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2004.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Bill 1911 births 1997 deaths American film producers American television producers University of Southern California alumni El Camino College Compton Center alumni Disney people People from Smithfield, Utah