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Mini Biography

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 (1928), 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 (1932), was the first cartoon to be produced in color and the first cartoon to win an Oscar; another, Three Little Pigs (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 (1937) 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 (1941), and Bambi (1942) were all successes; not even a flop like Fantasia (1940) 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 (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). In 1950, he also started producing live-action films, with Treasure Island (1950). These began taking on greater importance throughout the 50s and 60s, but Walt continued to produce animated features, including Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), and one Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). 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 television, with his series "Disneyland" (1954) which he began in 1954 to promote his theme park. He also produced "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955) and "Zorro" (1957). To top it all off, Walt came out with the lavish musical fantasy Mary Poppins (1964), 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.

Spouse

Trivia

Spouse, Lillian, died. [16 December 1997]

Born at 12:30am-CST

Death caused by circulatory failure due to complications from lung cancer

Disney's Death spawned two rumors that have become urban legends. The first is that he had his body cryogenically frozen. The second held that he was buried somewhere on the grounds of Disneyland. Both rumors have been found to be untrue. Actually, he was cremated and his ashes are now interred at Forest Lawn Cemetary in Los Angeles, California.

Active anti-communist

Father-in-law of Ron Miller (married to his daughter Diane Disney)

As a teenager, Walt Disney was a member of the Order of DeMolay, a youth organization affiliated with Free Masons.

Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA. Facing the Freedom Mausoleum, to your left hand side are two small private gardens. His is the one farthest back. Plaque is on the wall behind the trees (to your left standing at the gate).

Holds the record of winning the most Academy Awards (32).

Identified as the founder of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority in film clips shown in the queue area of Rocket Rods (formerly, the CircleVision 360 Theater) at Disneyland

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.

Father of Diane Disney (Born December 18, 1933).

Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2000 for the multiplane camera.

Worked as a paperboy as a youth.

Briefly worked for Walter Lantz as an animator.

In the animated short Mickey's Rival (1936), a character named Mortimer Mouse was modeled after him.

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).

His Death was not publicly announced until after his funeral, which was attended only by close family members.

Reportedly, his famous trademark signature was designed for him by one of his animators.

Was a frequent target of satire by animator Jay Ward.

Reports surfaced that shortly after his Death, Disney Company executive board members were shown a short film that Disney had made before his death, where he addressed the board members by Name, telling each of them what was expected of them. The film ended with Disney saying, "I'll be seeing you."

Mickey Mouse's birthday is November 18, 1928, the Date when Steamboat Willie (1928) was released.

Donald Duck's birthday is June 9, 1934, the Date when The Wise Little Hen (1934) was released.

The Name "Donald Duck" is frequently written in on voting ballots in Scandanavian countries as a protest vote.

Inducted into the Hall of famous Missourians, 1993.

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.

Tribute in the Memory of Film section at the Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent, Belgium. [2001]

The Disney family came from Kilkenny, Ireland. The D'Isney family settled in Co. Kilkenny to escape religious persecution and later travelled to America.

Daughter Sharon Disney was adopted.

Grandfather of Christopher Disney Miller, Joanna Miller, Tamara Scheer, Jennifer Miller-Goff, Walter Elias Disney Miller, Ronald Miller, Victoria Brown.

Nephew of Robert Disney.

Brother of Herbert Disney, Raymond Disney, Roy O. Disney and Ruth Disney.

Son of Elias Disney and Flora Disney.

Was dyslexic.

After adapting Ludwig van Beethoven's 6th Symphony for the soundtrack of Fantasia (1940), he exclaimed, "My God, this Beethoven will go a long way!"

Pictured on a 6

Walt Disney World® Resort

... from Bob Iger of Walt Disney