LOS ANGELES — Roger Allers, a veteran Disney filmmaker who co-directed the original “The Lion King,” died Saturday. He was 76.

The Academy Award-nominated director’s decades-spanning work at Disney also included turns as a writer, storyboard artist and animator for beloved films such as “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.”

Allers’ death was announced by his colleague Dave Bossert, a former Disney animator.

“Roger was an extraordinarily gifted artist and filmmaker, a true pillar of the Disney Animation renaissance,” Bossert wrote Sunday on Facebook.

Bossert described his longtime collaborator as “one of the kindest people you could hope to know and work alongside.”

“Roger had a joyful, luminous spirit, and the world is dimmer without him,” Bossert wrote. “Rest in peace, my friend. Until we meet again on the other side.”

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger also paid tribute to the director, whom he called “a creative visionary whose many contributions to Disney will live on for generations to come.”

“(Allers) understood the power of great storytelling — how unforgettable characters, emotion, and music can come together to create something timeless,” Iger said Sunday in a statement on Instagram.

“His work helped define an era of animation that continues to inspire audiences around the world, and we are deeply grateful for everything he gave to Disney,” the executive wrote.

Allers’ tenure at Disney began more than 40 years ago, when he worked on the storyboard team for the sci-fi thriller “Tron” (1982).