list_text=          In 1949, when Armand Bigle was asked by Company co-founder Roy O. Disney to accept a commission sales job, opening new territories for Disney in Europe for 30-percent of the gross, he had to think about it because after all, it offered no salary.
          Son of Roy O. Disney and vice chairman of The Walt Disney Company, Roy E. Disney recalled, "At the time, we had no significant merchandising business in Europe. Once Armand accepted the position, however, the deal soon had to be re-negotiated because he grew the business rather wildly."
          "Armand was always full of outrageous marketing ideas," he added "When 'Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier' was released, he had my wife, Patty, and his wife, Betty, walking up and down the famed Champs Elysees wearing coonskin caps - he wanted to create a new fashion rage in Paris."
          Indeed, Armand is known as Disney's Godfather of Europe. Having generated the creation of Disney toys and publications in more than a dozen countries, he helped bring the Disney name to households throughout the continent, while laying the foundation of what would become a multibillion-dollar enterprise.
          Born in Paris on November 13, 1917, Armand graduated with a law degree from the University of Paris in 1938. During World War II, he worked as a correspondent for Opera Mundi, a news agency serving Western European press, covering activities in Belgium and Holland.  
          In 1946, he happened to interview a then, comparatively little-known American producer named Walt Disney for a feature article. During their meeting, said Armand, Walt turned the tables and began to interview him. Subsequently, he later received several letters from The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank until the following year when Company co-founder Roy O. Disney traveled to meet him in Brussels, where he was living at the time. 
          Soon after, he founded his own company Screpta Brussels, and served as representative for Walt Disney Productions in Benelux and Switzerland. During this time, he launched "Mickey Magazine," which proved a success, selling over 60,000 issues a week in Belgium.  
          Based on the magazine's success, Armand was then asked by Roy to relocate to Paris to serve as the Company's premier European special sales representative. In that position, he was charged with the awesome task of opening new territories by recruiting licensees to develop Disney merchandise and publications in such countries as Russia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Greece, Israel, Indonesia, Benelux and the Middle East.  
          Armand said, "It was a challenge to open these countries; many were still recuperating from the war."
          After serving Disney for more than 40 years, Armand Bigle retired in 1988. He continues to serve on the board of directors for Walt Disney Company France, S.A.&