Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was born December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, to Elias and Flora Disney. His family later lived in Marceline, Missouri, a town that informed the small-town imagery in much of his work. After moving to Kansas City, he worked as a commercial artist and met Ub Iwerks, a gifted animator who became his crucial early collaborator. In 1923, Disney and his brother Roy founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Hollywood; it was soon renamed the Walt Disney Studio.

Disney's first notable success came with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, created for Universal. After losing control of Oswald in a contract dispute, he and Iwerks developed Mickey Mouse. Steamboat Willie, released in 1928, synchronized its animation with sound and made Mickey a major screen character. Disney voiced Mickey in the early films. In 1929, the studio launched the Silly Symphonies series; Flowers and Trees won the Academy Award for best animated short subject in 1932.

Against industry skepticism, Disney produced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in 1937. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature film and an enormous commercial success. The studio followed it with Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942).

During World War II, the studio made training and propaganda films for the United States government. Postwar package features preceded Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), and Lady and the Tramp (1955), the latter being the first animated feature filmed in CinemaScope.

Disney expanded into live-action production with Treasure Island (1950), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), and Mary Poppins (1964). Mary Poppins received thirteen Academy Award nominations and won five, including Best Actress for Julie Andrews; Disney personally received the Best Picture nomination as its producer. His television ventures included Disneyland (beginning in 1954) and The Mickey Mouse Club (1955).

On July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, combining rides, themed lands, and Disney storytelling in a new kind of commercial amusement park. Disney later announced plans for an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or EPCOT, envisioned partly as a planned community rather than merely a park. He died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966, before Walt Disney World opened in Florida in 1971.

During his career, Disney won twenty-two competitive Academy Awards and received four honorary Oscars, more awards than any other individual. His company continued after his death, eventually opening EPCOT at Walt Disney World in 1982.