'High noon' at the Magic Kingdom: 'do not forsake me, oh my darlin"--lessons from Gary and Grace.

• Author: Kaback, Hoffer
• Position: Quiddities

STORMING the Magic Kingdom: Wall Street, the Raiders, and the Battle for Disney, a 1987 book by John Taylor, tells the story of the moves and countermoves made in the 1984 struggle for control of the Walt Disney Co. Among the significant business personalities who played an important role were legendary takeover lawyer Joseph Flom, master public relations adviser Gershon Kekst, feared investor Saul Steinberg, and entertainment executive Michael Eisner, who was brought in from Paramount Pictures to lead Disney out of its then-doldrums.

Two other figures with major parts in that 1984 drama were Roy Disney, Walt's nephew, and Stanley Gold, his business adviser; they were instrumental in shaking up the Disney leader-ship pot. As the curtain fell, Eisner, together with the late Frank Wells, had undertaken the process of transforming the underperforming Disney business into a highly profitable empire.

Where do things stand today? Well, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, "It's deja vu all over again." Roy Disney and Stanley Gold once more are players in an attempt to oust Disney management.

A principal cause of unhappiness is that, though the value of Disney shares has increased dramatically since Eisner and Wells took over in 1984, growth in the last seven years or so has been stagnant.

One recalls the movie "High Noon." Before the action commences, Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) has courageously cleaned up the town of Hadleyville. The citizens are very grateful; he has greatly improved their quality of life. To the extent that Eisner circa 1984-1995 resembled this value-enhancing Marshal Kane, in the view of Messrs. Disney and Gold he no longer does. Instead, like Kane, Eisner is now himself being urged to leave town by the very citizen-stakeholders whose collective bacon he previously saved.

Now, of course, past achievement by an executive does not entitle him to remain at the helm of a public company if he no longer is doing the job properly. Hence, against the unattractiveness of a "What have you done for me lately?" attitude must be balanced the serious criticisms of Eisner's--and the Disney board's--performance that have repeatedly surfaced.

The complaints about Eisner include his continual micro-management; his causing many creative people to leave the company; his building Disney theme parks "on the cheap"; his failure to have set down a succession plan; the embarrassing litigation with former executive Jeffrey Katzenberg; and the even...