At age 16, during World War I, he lied about his age to join the American Red Cross. He soon returned home, where he won a scholarship to the Kansas City Art Institute. There, he met a fellow animator, Ub Iwerks. The two soon set up their own company. In the early 20s, they made a series of animated shorts for the Newman theater chain, entitled "Newman's Laugh-O-Grams". Their company soon went bankrupt, however. The two then went to Hollywood in 1923. They started work on a new series, about a live-action little girl who journeys to a world of animated characters. Entitled the "Alice Comedies", they were distributed by Margaret Winkler. Walt was backed up financially only by Winkler and his brother Roy, who would remain his business partner for the rest of his life. Hundreds of "Alice Comedies" were produced between 1923 and 1927, before they lost popularity. Walt then started work on a series around a new animated character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. This series was successful, but in 1928, Walt discovered that Margaret Winkler and her husband, Charles Mintz, had stolen the rights to the character away from him. They'd also stolen all his animators, except for Ub Iwerks. While taking the train home, Walt started doddling on a piece of paper. The result of these doddles was a mouse named Mickey. With only Walt and Ub to animate, and Walt's wife Lilly and Roy's wife Edna to ink in the animation cells, three Mickey Mouse cartoons were quickly produced. The first two didn't sell, so Walt added synchronized sound to the last one, Steamboat Willie, and it was immediately picked up. It became the first cartoon to use synchronize sound. With Walt as the voice of Mickey, it premiered to great success. Many more cartoons followed. Walt was now in the big time, but he didn't stop creating new ideas. In 1929, he created the 'Silly Symphonies', a cartoon series that didn't have a continuous character. They were another success. One of them, Flowers and Trees, was the first cartoon to be produced in color and the first cartoon to win an Oscar; another, _Three Little Pigs, The (1933)_ , was so popular it was often billed above the feature films it accompanied. The Silly Symphonies stopped coming out in 1939, but Mickey and friends, (including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and plenty more), were still going strong and still very popular. In 1934, Walt started work on another new idea: a cartoon that ran the length of a feature film. Everyone in Hollywood was calling it "Disney's Folly", but Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was anything but, winning critical raves, the adoration of the public, and one big and seven little special Oscars for Walt. Now Walt listed animated features among his ever-growing list of accomplishments. While continuing to produce cartoon shorts, he also started producing more of the animated features. _Pinnochio (1940)_ , Dumbo, and Bambi were all successes; not even a flop like Fantasia and a studio animators' strike in 1941 could stop Disney now. In the mid- 40s, he began producing "packaged features", essentially a group of shorts put together to run feature length, but by 1950 he was back with animated features that stuck to one story, with Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. In 1950, he also started producing live-action films, with Treasure Island. These began taking on greater importance throughout the 50s and 60s, but Walt continued to produce aniamted features, including Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. In 1955, he even opened a theme park in southern California: Disneyland. It was a place where children and their parents could take rides, just explore, and meet the familiar animated characters, all in a clean, safe environment. It was another great success.

Walt also became one of the first producers of films to venture into telvision, with his series The Wonderful World of Disney which he began in 1954 to promote his theme park. He also produced The Mickey Mouse Club and Zorro. To top it all off, Walt came out with the lavish musical fantasy Mary Poppins, which mixed live-action with animation. It is considered by many to be his magnum opus. Even after that, Walt continued to forge onward, with plans to build a new theme park and an experimental prototype city in Florida. He never did finish those plans, however; in 1966, he contracted lung cancer. He died in December at age 65. But not even his death, it seemed, could stop him. Roy carried on plans to build the Florida theme park, and it premiered in 1971 under the name Walt Disney World. What's more, his company continues to flourish, still producing animated and live-action films and overseeing the still- growing empire started by one man: Walt Disney, who will never be forgotten.


One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961): $5,166/week
Swiss Family Robinson (1960): $3,000/week

Wife Lillian Disney passed away. [16 December 1997] Death caused by circulatory failure due to complications from lung cancer. Active anti-communist. As a teenager, Walt Disney was a member of the Order of DeMolay, a youth organization affiliated with Free Masons. Holds the record of winning the most Academy Awards with 22 wins in competitive categories. Additionally, he won three honorary Oscars and an Irving Thalberg Memorial Award. Became interested in personalizing animals' characters after carelessly killing a small owl as a young boy. He felt deeply remorseful and guilty and vowed never again to kill a living creature. Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2000 for the multiplane camera. Briefly worked for Walter Lantz as an animator. Chose Anaheim, California for the location of Disneyland after demographics experts convinced him it would become a major population center within 10 years. They were right. Was a frequent target of satire by animator Jay Ward. Mickey Mouse's birthday is November 18, 1928, the date when Steamboat Willie (1928) was released. The name Donald Duck is frequently written in on voting ballots in Scandanavian countries as a protest vote. Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, an Army draft notice, addressed to Mr. Donald Duck, was delivered to the Disney studios. The Disney family came from Kilkenny, Ireland. The D'Isney family settled in County Kilkenny to escape religious persecution and later traveled to America. Grandfather of Christopher Disney Miller, Joanna Miller, Tamara Scheer, Jennifer Miller-Goff, Walter Elias Disney Miller, Ronald Miller, Victoria Brown. Brother of Herbert Disney, Raymond Disney, Roy O. Disney and Ruth Disney. Was dyslexic. Pictured on a 6¢ US commemorative postage stamp issued in his honor, 11 September 1968. His grandfather lived in Ontario, Canada. From there he moved to the United States. It is Hollywood legend that, lying on his deathbed at St. Jospeh's Hospital in Burbank (across the street from the Disney Studios) his last words were about how shabby the studio's water tower looked. Visible from a nearby freeway, towering above the backlot, it is adorned with the image of his most beloved creation, Mickey Mouse. In adherance with what they believed were their founder's last wishes, studio executives have made sure the water tower was regularly repainted since he died in 1966. In his autobiography, one-time Disney storyboard artist Bill Peet essentially described Walt Disney as a chain-smoking "work-a-holic" who was prone to strong mood swings. He got his idea and inspiration for Disneyland, when he visited the "Tivoli"-park in Denmark. Received the DeMolay Legion of Honor in 1931. His father, Elias Disney, was a professional carpenter by trade who, among other things, worked on the construction of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the prototype for all World's Fairs to follow. When Walt and his brother Roy O. Disney were boys, their father would tell them of the many wonders of the Fair, such as the first ferris wheel, thus inspiring the dreams that would make them both successful as adults. He also founded the motion picture distribution company Buena Vista Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of his empire. His empire now includes Hollywood Pictures Company and its specialty films unit; Caravan Pictures; Touchstone Pictures; Miramax Films Corporation and its specialty films unit, Dimension Films; American Broadcasting Company (ABC), ABC Family Channel, and ESPN. Brother-in-law of Hazel Sewell. Profiled in in J.A. Aberdeen's "Hollywood Renegades: The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers.". In 1964, Disney was one of several Americans chosen by President Lyndon Johnson to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. The award ceremony was held at the White House on 14 September 1964. The urban myth that Disney wore a "Vote for Goldwater" button during the ceremony to endorse Johnson's opponent in the upcoming election, Republican Barry Goldwater, is completely false and has been debunked many times. Wanted to name Mickey Mouse "Mortimer Mouse" when he drew him. He showed the picture to his wife and his wife did not like the idea and told him to name him "Mickey Mouse". Some historians believe that Mickey's name was inspired from a toy mouse by Performo Toy Company named "Micky" (spelled without an "e"), which was extremely popular and had already been selling at the time when Disney was developing his Mickey Mouse. Supported Ronald Reagan's run for governor of California in 1966. Disney had been in bad health for a few months, before he finally entered St. Joseph Hospital in Burbank, California, on 2 November 1966, complaining of pain in his neck and back. An X-ray revealed a tumor on his left lung and surgery was advised. Disney, however, checked out to finish some studio business and re-entered the hospital on 6 November. Surgery was performed the next day and his left lung was found to be entirely cancerous and was removed. Served in a Red Cross unit with Ray Kroc, future founder of the McDonald's fast food chain. Theme parks Disneyland and Disneyworld are respectively located in Orange County (Anaheim, California) and Orange County (Orlando, Florida). Has a record of 59 Oscar-nominations. Good friend of Art Linkletter. Personally disliked Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953) because of the lack of "heart" and "warmth" in their main characters. Was very sad about the unfavorable reception of Fantasia (1940) as he was proud of the film. Ironically, the first re-issue of Fantasia (1940) after his death was the first time it turned a profit. Survived the 1918 flu. Before his 35th birthday, his brother Roy encouraged employees to throw the boss a surprise party. Two of the animators thought it would be hilarious to make a short movie of Mickey and Minnie Mouse "consummating their relationship." When Disney saw the animation at the party, he feigned laughter and playfully asked who made the film. As soon as the two animators came forward, he fired them on the spot and left. Served as a "friendly witness" before the House Committee for Unamerican Activities (HUAC) in 1947. Very opposed to Hollywood's monopolistic film production market in the 1930s. He became one of the founding members of the Society for Independent Motion Picture Producers.