Retlaw Enterprises

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"Retlaw" redirects here. For the hamlet in Alberta, see Retlaw, Alberta. For the design and architectural group, see Walt Disney Imagineering.

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"Walt Disney Inc." redirects here. It is not to be confused with The Walt Disney Company.
Retlaw Enterprises
Private corporation
Industry Media, Real Estate
Founded 1953[1]
Founder Walt Disney
Defunct 2005
Headquarters North Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA[1], USA
Services Broadcast
Total assets ~$150 million (1990)[1]
Owner Lillian Disney (30%)
Diane Disney Miller (40%)
Sharon Disney Lund (30%)[1]
Subsidiaries Retlaw Broadcasting Corp.

Retlaw Enterprises, originally Walt Disney Inc. then WED Enterprises (WED), was a privately held company owned by the heirs of entertainment mogul Walt Disney. Disney formed the company to control the rights to his name and to manage two Disneyland attractions that he personally owned. The name, Retlaw, is Walter spelled backwards.[1]

History

Walt Disney Inc. (WDI) was formed by Walt Disney in 1953 with the Disneyland designing engineering division. He also assigned the rights to his name and likeness to the company as well as ownership of two Disneyland attractions, the Disneyland Railroad and the Disneyland Monorail. Roy O. Disney objected to Walt's creation of the company as he considered it a diversion of a larger portion of the Walt Disney Productions income to Walt's family. WDI charged a licensing fee to the Disney company for 5% to 10% of the income from all of Disney's merchandising deals.[1] In light of objections from Roy as well as those of potential stockholders, WDI was renamed WED Enterprises based on Walt's initials.[2]

Walt also licensed Zorro TV rights from Mitchell in February 1953.[3] WED Enterprises developed some scripts for the proposed Zorro TV series and shopped the series to the CBS and NBC TV networks. Both networks requested to see a pilot show. However, with the construction of Disneyland ongoing, the Zorro show was put on hold,[4][5] and the rights were sold later that year to Walt Disney Productions.[6]

In July 1953, Clement Melancon, a small shareholder of Walt Disney Productions stock, took Walt Disney and WED Enterprises, to court over the WED deal, believing that Walt had been improperly funneling profits from Walt Disney Productions.[7] The case was settled in January 1955.[8]

Retlaw

The theme park design and architectural group became so integral to the Disney studio's operations that the studio bought it on February 5, 1965 along with the WED Enterprises name. Thus the Corporation needed a new name, Retlaw Enterprises.[9][10][11][12]

In 1968, Retlaw started to diversify by acquiring its first TV station with its Fresno station purchase.[1]

Finally, in 1982, the Disney family sold the naming rights and rail-based attractions to the Disney film studio for 818,461 shares of Disney stock then worth $42.6 million, none of which went to Retlaw. The remaining divisions of Retlaw, after the majority of the company was sold to Walt's larger public company, were several television stations and real estate holdings that continue to be owned by the Disney family. Per Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Retlaw received $75 million in net income from the monorail and railroad from 1955 to late 1981. Also, Roy E. Disney objected to the overvalued purchase price of the naming rights and voted against the purchase as a Disney board director.[1]

By 1990, Retlaw holdings included 6 CBS affiliated TV stations, a small jet charter service, 580 Palmdale farmland acres and 220 acres of vacant land in Riverside County and 330 avocado grove acres in Riverside County and Escondido. The charter service operated out of Van Nuys Airport. The family shares received in 1982 would be in 1990 2% of the Disney stock and worth an estimated $300 million while Forbes estimates their stock to be worth $600 million, down from 1989's $850 million.[1]

WFXG was purchased in May 1998.[13] In 1999 Retlaw sold its remaining 11 television stations to Fisher Communications, including all of the related assets to those properties for $215 million in cash.[14]

In 2005, the remaining divisions of Retlaw officially became part of the Walt Disney Family Foundation, a non-profit organization led by Diane Disney Miller.[15]

Assets

  • Walt Disney naming rights until sold in 1982 to Disney Productions.[1]
  • Disneyland Attractions: Retlaw paid rent for the attractions' rights-of-way and employed the attraction administrators. Walt Disney, through Retlaw Enterprises, also owned the Viewliner as well as the horse-drawn streetcars on Main Street.[16] Sold to Disney Productions in 1982.[1]
  • Walt Disney Productions films: Retlaw purchased 10% interest in 26 Disney 1960's live-action movies, including Mary Poppins, through Walt Disney's management contract with Walt Disney Productions, allowing him to invest up to 15% in new projects. By 1990, these movies generated an annual income of $600,000+ for Retlaw.[1]
  • design and architectural division (WED Imagineering), which designed Disneyland and its rides and attractions. This division along with the WED name was sold to Disney Productions in 1965.[1]
  • Retlaw Broadcasting Corp., a subsidiary that held its TV stations.

Retlaw Broadcasting Corp.

City of license / Market Station Channel Years Owned[1][14]
Fresno - Visalia KJEO 47 1968-1999
Monterey - Salinas, California KMST 46 -1999
Augusta, GA WFXG 54 (51) May 1998[13]-1999
Idaho Falls - Pocatello KIDK 3 1988-1999
Lewiston - Spokane - Coeur d'Alene -
Clarkston - Pullman - Moscow		 KLEW-TV 3 -1999
Yakima - Walla Walla - Pasco -
Richland - Kennewick		 KIMA-TV 29 -1999
Yakima - Walla Walla - Pasco -
Richland - Kennewick		 KIMA-TV 29 -1999

The six stations owned in 1990 were purchased for $37 million and were estimated then to be worth $100 million.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Zorro Unmasked - The Official History, by Sandra Curtis, 1998. Page 118.
  4. ↑ Zorro Unmasked - The Official History, by Sandra Curtis, 1998. Page 119.
  5. ↑ Building a Company - Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire, by Bob Thomas, 1998. Page 181.
  6. ↑ Zorro Unmasked - The Official History, by Sandra Curtis, 1998. Page 120.
  7. ↑ Walt Disney - Hollywood's Dark Prince, by Marc Eliot, 1993. Page 216.
  8. ↑ Walt Disney - Hollywood's Dark Prince, by Marc Eliot, 1993. Page 220.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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