Dave Hollis, a motivational author and former head of global distribution at the Disney film studio, has passed away. He was 47. Hollis passed away quietly Saturday night at his home outside of Austin, according to a family representative. Although no specific cause of death was given, his family revealed that he had just been hospitalized for cardiac issues.
An affable executive, Hollis oversaw theatrical distribution at Disney from 2011 to 2018 during a studio-record winning streak. He was crucial to the revival of the Star Wars series, the Avengers films, the animated feature Frozen, and the critically acclaimed superhero movie Black Panther by Ryan Coogler (2018).
Disney saw unheard-of box office growth under Hollis’ leadership, becoming the first studio to surpass $7 billion in worldwide ticket sales in a single year in 2016.
When Hollis announced in 2018 that he was quitting Disney to move his family to Texas to run his then-wife Rachel Hollis’ company, which produces podcasts, conferences, and TV series, many people were taken aback. Author, speaker with a message of inspiration, and social influencer Rachel Hollis.
In 2020, he wrote a self-help book titled Get Out of Your Own Way, in which he discussed how, toward the conclusion of his time at Disney, he had been depressed, at odds with his wife, and abusing alcohol. He said to The Hollywood Reporter at the time, “Owning the truth of my experience feels incredibly liberating.
In the year that followed, he published a second self-help book titled Built Through Courage: Face Your Fears to Live the Life You Were Meant For, which detailed his challenging, public divorce and coming to terms with himself.
He most recently had a podcast called Rise Together and published the children’s book Here’s to Your Dreams. He and his partner Heidi Powell were active members of the Get Fit online community for fitness and change.
Jackson, Sawyer, and Ford are Hollis’ boys, while Noah is his daughter.
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