Roger Allers, the visionary filmmaker who co-directed Disney’s 1994 masterpiece The Lion King, has died at the age of 76, per tmz.com.
According to the outlet, the news was confirmed by film producer and long-time colleague Dave Bossert, who paid tribute to Allers on social media. Bossert revealed he had been in contact with the director as recently as last week while Allers was travelling in Egypt.
“I am deeply saddened by the news that our friend Roger Allers has passed on,” Bossert wrote. “We were just trading emails this past week… which makes this loss feel all the more unreal.”
Allers was a titan of the “Disney Renaissance.” Before stepping into the director’s chair alongside Rob Minkoff for The Lion King, he was a pivotal figure in the studio’s story department. His fingerprints are across the most beloved hits of the era, including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Oliver & Company.
Despite the record-breaking success of his work, colleagues remember Allers for his humility. Bossert noted that fame “never went to his head,” adding that he treated everyone with “genuine kindness and respect, regardless of title or position.”
Allers’ career spanned decades, beginning with work on Sesame Street and The Electric Company. He later received a Tony Award nomination for the book of The Lion King on Broadway and directed the 2014 animated adaptation of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet.
He is survived by his two children, Leah and Aidan.
