Walt Disney's Eldest Daughter Diane Disney Miller Did Her Best to Keep Her Father's Legacy Alive before Her Death at 79

Diane Disney Miller made sure that people will remember her legendary father, Walt Disney, more as a human being than a brand.

Prior to her death, Diane co-founded a museum dedicated to the memory of her father and emphasizing his humanity, as reported by The New York Times.

Through her effort, the Walt Disney Family Foundation contributed additional funding to keep Gehry in control of the project.

Diane – who will be remembered, among others, for defending Frank Gehry's abstract design for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles – passed away in November 2013 at the age of 79 due to injuries sustained in a fall.

She was survived by her husband, her seven children, thirteen grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter.

KEEPING HER FATHER'S LEGACY ALIVE

Diane kept her iconic father's legacy alive through Disney Hall and the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.

Her husband, Ronald W. Miller, used to be the chief executive of Walt Disney Productions. When he was removed from that post in 1984, Diane also mostly kept herself out of the Disney business empire.

At the time of her death, Diane was president of the board of the Walt Disney Family Foundation, which seeks to ensure that her father, and not just his company, is remembered.

She made headlines in the early 2000s for standing up for architect Frank Gehry during the problem-ridden construction of the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Through her effort, the Walt Disney Family Foundation contributed additional funding to keep Gehry in control of the project.

"We promised Los Angeles a Frank Gehry building," Diane had said. "I would feel ashamed and embarrassed to shortchange the city."

DISNEY'S WIDOW DIED BEFORE HALL'S COMPLETION

The hall opened in 2003 at the cost of about $274 million, 15 years after Diane's mother, Lillian, announced the plan to construct the concert hall.

As she passed away in 1997, Lillian never got to hear a concert in the hall she envisioned. The Walt Disney Company is one of the biggest mass media and entertainment conglomerate around the world.

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