Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago. Walt lived most of his childhood in Marceline, Missouri and showed an interest in drawing and art early in his life.
He was rejected by the army in 1918, because he was underage and instead he joined the Red Cross in France. He returned one year later and wanted to pursue a career in commercial art. After a troubled start, he went to Hollywood at age 21 and slowly, but surely made it to the top of the cartoon world.
On July 13, 1925, Walt married Lillian Bounds and three years later, Mickey Mouse was born. They would also be blessed with two daughters, Diane and Sharon. Walt’s mother died of asphyxiation caused by a faulty furnace in her home in 1938. The guilt of this accident haunted Disney for the rest of his life, because he had given her the gas heater that caused the accident.
Walt et al lived in a nice house in Holmby Hills, very close to where Barbara Streisand lived. Here's the Disney Mailbox.
Lots of movies and Disneyparks later, Walt was diagnosed with lung cancer, caused by many years of smoking. He preferred to smoke unfiltered Lucky Strikes, but later switched to Gitanes, French cigarettes. (Lungbusters.) Walter’s cough always warned his employees that he was near.
He was in bad health for a few months, before he finally entered St. Joseph Hospital in Burbank, CA on November 2, 1966, complaining of pain in his neck and back. An X-ray revealed a tumor (The actual quote is, and here it comes again, his left lung was riddled with tumors the size of walnuts. Mmm.) on his left lung and surgery was advised. Walt, however checked out to finish some studio business and re-entered the hospital on November 6. Surgery was performed the next day and his left lung was found to be cancerous and was removed.
Disney was released from hospital after two weeks. After spending Thanksgiving Day with his family, he collapsed at his home in Palm Springs on November 30 and was driven back to St. Joseph’s Hospital. He would lose consciousness regularly in the days to come. He spent his 65th birthday in the hospital with his wife and children at his bedside.
His wife Lillian spent some time with him on December 14 and he was visited by his brother Roy in the evening, who left the room crying. Roy ordered the lights at the Disney Studio across the street, to stay on at all times, which Walt was in the hospital. Walt would ask the nurses to prop him up so he could see the studios. He died a few hours later, at 9:30 AM on Thursday, December 15, 1966.
Interesting bit I choose to believe - added April 26, 07 - Kurt Russell has confirmed a long-standing industry legend... that the last thing Walt Disney did before he died was write the words, "Kurt Russell".
The cause of Disney’s death was announced as acute circulatory collapse and was listed as cardiac arrest on his death certificate. The cancer in his lungs was probably considered to be of secondary importance.
Disney’s funeral was held at the Little Church of the Flowers at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, CA at 5:00 PM on December 16. No announcements of his funeral were made after it had taken place and only close relatives were in attendance. Walt didn’t like funerals and rarely attended one. During his life, he made it clear that he wished not to have a funeral. His daughter Diane once quoted her father as saying:
"When I’m dead I don’t want a funeral. I want people to remember me alive."
He was cremated instead and his ashes were interred in a vault at Forest Lawn. J. Edgar Hoover said, he was deeply saddened by Disney’s death. Samuel Goldwyn lost a great friend. and President Johnson sent his condolences to Disney’s wife. A rumor was spread soon after Disney’s death, that he was cryogenically frozen, but his family always denied this.
Thanks buddy. Added by me:
Its been widely denied that Walt was cryogenically frozen, and is being preserved under this statue in Disneyland.��
31 Years later – to the day – Lillian Disney died. Apparently Lillian persuaded Walt to name his mouse character Mickey instead of Mortimer.
Findadeath.com friend EJ Fleming sends us this:� The Disney family hired Thelma Pearl Howard as a housekeeper and nanny type for their kids in the early 1950's.� She lived with them for years, died in 1994 at 79.� Beginning in the 1950's Disney gave her holiday and birthday gifts of Disney stock, and told her never to sell it.� she never knew how much she had, how many shares, how much they were worth, etc.� They were just pieces of paper to her.� When she died, she had been living in a small apartment in L.A. on a Disney pension with her mentally handicapped son.� Her executors found her Disney stock was worth over $10,000,000!� She didn't even know how many shares she had.� Left half in trust for her son, whose in a group home, and the other half in a charitable trust.�
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![Song "Nursery Rhyme [Take 4]" from album "Konitz"](http://www.weblo.com/music/images/albums/full/Konitz_49013378c05f6.jpg "Song \"Nursery Rhyme [Take 4]\" from album \"Konitz\"")
