NEW YORK, January 19. /TASS/. American director Roger Allers, best known for co-directing the 1994 animated classic "The Lion King," has died at the age of 76.

"I am deeply saddened by the news that our friend Roger Allers has passed on to his next journey," his friend, film producer Dave Bossert wrote on Facebook (banned in Russia; owned by the Meta corporation, designated as extremist in Russia).

Roger Alllers was a director, a screenwriter and an animator. He made his directorial debut with "The Lion King," and participated in screenwriting for Disney’s "The Little Mermaid" (1989) and "Aladdin" (1992).