Walt Disney Source #1 • Occupation: Entrepreneur • Born: December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois • Died: December 15, 1966 in Burbank, California • Best known for: Disney animated movies and theme parks • Nickname: Uncle Walt Walt Disney Source: NASA Biography: Where did Walt Disney grow up? Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1901. When he was four years old his parents, Elias and Flora, moved the family to a farm in Marceline, Missouri. Walt enjoyed living on the farm with his three older brothers (Herbert, Raymond, and Roy) and his younger sister (Ruth). It was in Marceline that Walt first developed a love for drawing and art. After four years in Marceline, the Disneys moved to Kansas City. Walt continued to draw and took art classes on the weekends. He even traded his drawings to the local barber for free haircuts. One summer Walt got a job working on a train. He walked back and forth on the train selling snacks and newspapers. Walt enjoyed his job on the train and would be fascinated by trains for the rest of his life. Early Life About the time Walt was entering high school, his family moved to the big city of Chicago. Walt took classes at the Chicago Art Institute and drew for the school newspaper. When he was sixteen, Walt decided he wanted to help fight in World War I. Since he was still too young to join the army, he dropped out of school and joined the Red Cross. He spent the next year driving ambulances for the Red Cross in France. Walt Disney in 1935 Source: Press Agency Meurisse Work as an Artist Disney returned from the war ready to begin his career as an artist. He worked at an art studio and then later at an advertising company. It was during this time that he met artist Ubbe Iwerks and learned about animation. Early Animation Walt wanted to make his own animation cartoons. He started his own company called Laugh- O-Gram. He hired some of his friends including Ubbe Iwerks. They created short animated cartoons. Although the cartoons were popular, the business didn't make enough money and Walt had to declare bankruptcy. One failure was not going stop Disney, however. In 1923, he moved to Hollywood, California and opened a new business with his brother Roy called Disney Brothers' Studio. He again hired Ubbe Iwerks and number of other animators. They developed the popular character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The business was a success. However, Universal Studios gained control of the Oswald trademark and took all of Disney's animators except for Iwerks. Once again, Walt had to start over. This time he created a new character named Mickey Mouse. He created the first animated film to have sound. It was called Steamboat Willie and starred Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Walt performed the voices for Steamboat Willie himself. The film was a great success. Disney continued to work, creating new characters such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. He had further success with the releases of the cartoon Silly Symphonies and the first color animated film, Flowers and Trees. Snow White In 1932, Disney decided he wanted to make a full-length animated film called Snow White. People thought he was crazy for trying to make a cartoon that long. They called the film "Disney's folly." However, Disney was sure the film would be a success. It took five years to complete the film which was finally released in 1937. The film was a huge box office success becoming the top film of 1938. More Movies and Television Disney used the money from Snow White to build a movie studio and to produce more animated movies including Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. During World War II, Disney's movie production slowed down as he worked on training and propaganda films for the U.S. government. After the war, Disney began to produce live action films in addition to animated films. His first big live action film was Treasure Island. In the 1950's, the new technology of television was taking off. Disney wanted to be a part of television as well. Early Disney television shows included Disney's Wonderful World of Color, the Davy Crockett series, and the Mickey Mouse Club. Disneyland Always coming up with new ideas, Disney had the idea to create a theme park with rides and entertainment based on his movies. Disneyland opened in 1955. It cost $17 million to build. The park was a huge success and is still one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world. Disney would later have the idea to build an even larger park in Florida called Walt Disney World. He worked on the plans, but died before the park opened in 1971. Death and Legacy Disney died on December 15, 1966 from lung cancer. His legacy lives on to this day. His movies and theme parks are still enjoyed by millions of people each year. His company continues to produce wonderful movies and entertainment every year. Interesting Facts about Walt Disney • Tom Hanks played the role of Walt Disney in the 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks. • The original name for Mickey Mouse was Mortimer, but his wife didn't like the name and suggested Mickey. • He won 22 Academy Awards and received 59 nominations. • His last written words were "Kurt Russell." No one, not even Kurt Russell, knows why he wrote this. • He was married to Lillian Bounds in 1925. They had a daughter, Diane, in 1933 and later adopted another daughter, Sharon. • The robot from Wall-E was named after Walter Elias Disney. • The sorcerer from Fantasia is named "Yen Sid", or "Disney" spelled backwards. Walt Disney Source #2 Born: December 5, 1901 Chicago, Illinois Died: December 15, 1966 Los Angeles, California American animator, filmmaker, and businessman An American filmmaker and businessman, Walt Disney created a new kind of popular culture with feature-length animated cartoons and live-action "family" films. Early life Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901, the fourth of five children born to Elias and Flora Call Disney. His father, a strict and religious man who often physically abused his children, was working as a building contractor when Walter was born. Soon afterward, his father took over a farm in Marceline, Missouri, where he moved the family. Walter was very happy on the farm and developed his love of animals while living there. After the farm failed, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Walter helped his father deliver newspapers. He also worked selling candy and newspapers on the train that traveled between Kansas City and Chicago, Illinois. He began drawing and took some art lessons during this time. Disney dropped out of high school at seventeen to serve in World War I (1914–18; a war between German-led Central powers and the Allies—England, the United States, and other nations). After a short stretch as an ambulance driver, he returned to Kansas City in 1919 to work as a commercial illustrator and later made crude animated cartoons (a series of drawings with slight changes in each that resemble movement when filmed in order). By 1922 he had set up his own shop as a partner with Ub Iwerks, whose drawing ability and technical skill were major factors in Disney's eventual success. Off to Hollywood Initial failure with Ub Iwerks sent Disney to Hollywood, California, in 1923. In partnership with his older brother, Roy, he began producing Oswald the Rabbit cartoons for Universal Studios. After a contract dispute led to the end of this work, Disney and his brother decided to come up with their own character. Their first success came in Steamboat Willie, which was the first all-sound cartoon. It also featured Disney as the voice of a character first called "Mortimer Mouse." Disney's wife, Lillian (whom he had married in 1925) suggested that Mickey sounded better, and Disney agreed. Disney reinvested all of his profits toward improving his pictures. He insisted on technical perfection, and his gifts as a story editor quickly pushed his firm ahead. $ " Walt Disney." Courtesy of the Library of Congress" ." The invention of such cartoon characters as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie, and Goofy, combined with the clever use of music, sound, and folk material (as in The Three Little Pigs ), made the Disney shorts of the 1930s successful all over the world. This success led to the establishment of the hugely profitable, Disney-controlled sidelines in advertising, publishing, and merchandising." Branching out Disney rapidly expanded his studio operations to include a training school where a whole new generation of artists developed and made possible the production of the first feature-length cartoon, Snow White (1937). Other costly animated features followed, including Pinocchio, Bambi, and the famous musical experiment Fantasia. With Seal Island (1948), wildlife films became an additional source of income. In 1950 Treasure Island led to what became the studio's major product, live-action films, which basically cornered the traditional "family" market. Disney's biggest hit, Mary Poppins, was one of his many films that used occasional animation to project wholesome, exciting stories containing sentiment and music." In 1954 Disney successfully invaded television, and by the time of his death the Disney studio had produced 21 full-length animated films, 493 short subjects, 47 live- action films, 7 True-Life Adventure features, 330 hours of Mickey Mouse Club television programs, 78 half-hour Zorro television adventures, and 280 other television shows." Construction of theme parks On July 18, 1957, Disney opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California, the most successful amusement park in history, with 6.7 million people visiting it by 1966.