In 1971, Card Walker was elected president of Walt Disney Productions. Under his direction and personal supervision, the Company grew to include such landmarks as EPCOT Center, Tokyo Disneyland, and The Disney Channel.
Born January 9, 1916, in Rexburg, Idaho, Card and his family moved to Los Angeles in 1924, where he eventually attended UCLA. Upon graduation in 1938, he joined Disney, working in the Studio mailroom where many of the company’s 675 employees had started. Before long, Card took steps up the corporate ladder, beginning in the Camera Department. Later he served as unit manager on short subjects in the Production Department.
Card’s career at Disney was interrupted in 1941 when he enlisted with the U.S. Navy to serve as a flight deck officer during World War II. After four years, he returned to the Studio to work in the Story Department, testing audience reactions to potential new film properties, such as Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella, using a new polling system called A.R.I. (Audience Research Institute). […]
