Raymond "Ray" L. Watson (October 4, 1926 – October 20, 2012) was the former president of the Irvine Company, and served as chief planner during the 1960s and 1970s. He was also chairman of Walt Disney Productions from 1983 to 1984, and served on the Disney board from 1972 until March 2004.

Early life and education

Raymond L. Watson was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington on October 4, 1926, to Olive Lorentzon, a Norwegian schoolteacher, and Leslie Watson, a Scots-Irish carpenter. They lived in Greenwood, a low-lying Seattle suburb. While celebrating his sister Doris's third birthday, his mother suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and fell into a coma, dying three months later aged 33. Her death and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

created a "period of instability" within the Watson family as they became dependent on relatives while his father looked for work, eventually getting a job constructing state park buildings in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. After moving to Oakland in 1934, Watson was raised by his grandmother, spending his summers at the state beaches and parks where his father worked as a carpenter. After a short stint in the U.S. Army Air Corps Cadet Training Program toward the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he enrolled at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, receiving his B.A. in 1951 and a master's degree in 1953, both in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

Business career

Watson was hired in 1960 as chief planner of the Irvine Company. During his time at the Irvine Company, Watson oversaw development of the City of Irvine; the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

; Newport Center; and Fashion Island as well as numerous residential villages throughout Orange County. In a 1996 essay in the

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...

, Watson wrote of his development and planning work in Irvine: “Irvine the community, the town, the city, is what you, the citizens of Irvine, have built. You've built an outstanding education system within the walls of the school buildings. You've created and run an outstanding recreation program that used the open space, parks and lakes (William) Pereira visualized and we built. You bring life and therefore community to the shopping and entertainment centers we've built. The Irvine villages we conceived are now your communities, home to your homes."

Awards and honors

A pedestrian bridge was named in Watson’s honor in 2005 (Watson Bridge). An inscription at the site credits Watson as a “Modern Renaissance Man.” This bridge is owned by the City of Irvine, and connects the

to the Irvine Company's University Center. In 2006, Raymond Watson was awarded The Medal by the University of California, Irvine. Watson is a former trustee of the University of California, Irvine Foundation and a former member of The Paul Merage School of Business Dean's Advisory Board. Watson was chair of the Daniel G. Aldrich Society and in 1997, was honored with the Center for Real Estate Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also elected a Fellow of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

in 1971; served as University of California Regent’s Professor in the Graduate School of Management at UCI; received the California Council’s 1986 Award for Excellence in Architects in Industry, and was elected to the California Building Industry’s Hall of Fame in 1988.

Personal life

Watson and his wife, Elsa, lived in the same

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

home for 48 years, in the East Bluff development that he helped plan. They were lifetime members of the University of California, Irvine Chancellor's Club.

References

External links

Archival collections

Guide to Raymond L. Watson Papers.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.

Other

Raymond L. Watson Archive PapersUniversity of California, Berkeley Oral BiographyUCIspace @ the Libraries digital collection: Raymond L. Watson born digital files and digitized slides, 1992-2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Raymond 1926 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople University of California, Irvine people American management consultants Chairmen of The Walt Disney Company Directors of The Walt Disney Company