Walt Disney

Walt Disney was born December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, to Elias and Flora Disney. His family moved to Marceline, Missouri, where he later recalled drawing animals and trains. In 1911, the Disneys relocated to Kansas City. As a teenager in Chicago, he attended McKinley High School, contributing cartoons to the school paper, while taking classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. After serving as a Red Cross ambulance driver in France following World War I, Disney returned to Kansas City and worked in commercial art and animation. With Ub Iwerks, he formed Laugh-O-Gram Films, which went bankrupt in 1923. Disney then moved to Hollywood and, with his brother Roy, established the Disney Brothers Studio. Their Oswald the Lucky Rabbit films succeeded for Universal, but Disney lost control of the character after a contract dispute. On November 18, 1928, Steamboat Willie premiered in New York. Featuring Mickey Mouse and synchronized sound, it made Disney’s new character a major screen star. Disney supplied Mickey’s voice until 1947. The studio followed with Silly Symphonies and produced Flowers and Trees in 1932, the first commercially released three-strip Technicolor cartoon. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs opened in 1937. The feature, adapted from a Grimm tale, was the first full-length cel-animated feature film and became a worldwide commercial success. Its earnings helped finance Burbank studios, although subsequent features Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi faced wartime disruption and uneven returns. During World War II, Disney’s studio made training and propaganda films for the United States government. In 1950, Cinderella renewed the company’s feature-animation success. Disney also expanded into live-action film and television: Disneyland, the ABC program, debuted in 1954, while The Mickey Mouse Club began in 1955. Disney opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955. He conceived it as a clean, controlled park where families could experience themed lands including Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland, and Fantasyland. The park’s success transformed the company and the amusement-park business. His later projects included the nature documentaries True-Life Adventures, Mary Poppins, released in 1964, and plans for a Florida resort originally called Disney World. Disney died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966, in Burbank, California, before Walt Disney World opened in 1971. He received 22 competitive Academy Awards and four honorary Oscars, more than any other individual. His name remains attached to a global entertainment company built from animation, filmmaking, television, and themed entertainment.