Miller's death was confirmed by The Walt Disney Co. The cause death was complications from a fall, said Andi Wang, spokeswoman for the Walt Disney Family Museum.
"As the beloved daughter of Walt Disney and one of his inspirations for creating Disneyland, she holds a special place in the history of The Walt Disney Co. and in the hearts of fans everywhere,"
Said
Robert A. Iger, the company's president and CEO, said in a statement. Disneyland now home to the new
Thor attraction and dozen of other Marvel movie and comic book characters.
Miller, the eldest daughter of Walt and Lillian Disney, was born Dec. 18, 1933. Miller's younger sister, Sharon Mae Disney, died due to complications of breast cancer in 1993 and is survived by her husband, Ronald, seven children and her 13 grandchildren.
On December 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion and on July 2, 2013 the distribution rights to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger from Paramount. Disney will likely become the sole distributor of Marvel's movies in the future, adding to it's other properties Pixar and of course its own films. And most recently on Thursday, May 9, 2013 Disney and Marvel announced their first conjoined animated movie effort, Big Hero 6, will be released in theaters of Nov. 7, 2014.
Diane's passing should come as sad news for Disney, Marvel, and animation fans alike. Disney's animation and movies have been a staple of childhood for decades, and the last living member of founder Walt Disney's immediate family marks the ending of an area. Disney has been a juggernaut in the world of movie, animation, and the fantasy genre since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs hit theaters in 1937. While most of Disney releases have focused mainly around musical features, and more recently Pixar's digitally animated contributions, it's acquisitions of both Marvel and later on George Lucas' Star Wars franchise marks a new path for the future of Disney movies.
Now that the Disney Company is the biggest entertainment corporation all over the world, and has been for sometime, purchasing Marvel has been the arguably the best thing to happen to the company and it's over 5,000 characters. While Marvel Studios has been successful with it's first independent production, Iron Man, having Disney as it's backer for creation, production, and distribution will only excel Marvel's achievements in the comic book movie genre; as demonstrated by the box office success of their first release together as a company
Marvel's The Avengers proved in summer of 2012.While the passing of Diane marks the end of the original Disney family generation, the path Disney's involvement with Marvel has created a wonderful future for both companies. While friends, family, and fans; both young and old alike, are morning the the passing of Walt Disney's last remaining child I believe us devotees to comic book should pay our respects as well because of the amazing stories the company has provided us growing up and the new path us viewers will take with the stories we will soon see.