Walter Elias Disney

Animator, producer & director, screenwriter gone business owner and founder of the Walt Disney Corporation, Walter Elias "Walt" Disney will forever have a place in our hearts. Entertainment Magnate, Motion Picture Pioneer, Film Producer, Animator, Theme Park Mogul, Voice Actor. Most remembered for creating 'Mickey Mouse,' 'Donald Duck,' and a host of other cartoon characters. He was awarded a total of 32 Oscars, more than any other person, for his achievements in films. His father was always seeking success in many occupations, but always finding failure, and the Disney family was always poor. Walt found that he could escape his father's harsh discipline by drawing, and, in 1917, when he was 16 years old, he lied about his age to join the American Red Cross Ambulance Corps. When he was mustered out at the end of World War I, he set up shop as a commercial artist in Kansas City, Missouri. There he was introduced to the profession of animation, in which he excelled. Moving to Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1923 to be with his more successful brother, Roy, he began drawing commercially, making a modest living by drawing for the "Alice" series of cartoons, about a live-action girl who travels to the world of animated cartoon animals. In 1927, his first really successful commercial cartoon, featuring 'Oswald the Rabbit,' became a success with Universal Pictures, but he lost the rights to the character when he was sued by his distributor. From then on, he insisted on owning the distribution rights to his creations. In 1928, Walt Disney created 'Mickey Mouse.' His third 'Mickey Mouse' film, "Steamboat Willie," was the first animated cartoon motion picture to use synchronized sound and became an overnight success. He was the voice of the character for the first ten years of the cartoon. In 1934, Disney pioneered the first full length cartoon movie, "Snow White," and again, critics were overcome by the sheer popular response of the public to the movie. From 1940 until his death, he was an FBI informant, reporting to Hoover and his crew on anyone in Hollywood he suspected of being a leftist. In 1950, he produced his first live-action film, "Treasure Island," and in 1955, he opened his first theme park, "Disneyland" in Anaheim, California. Prior to his death, he began work on his latest theme park in Orlando, Florida, "Walt Disney World." His brother, Roy, the business genius behind the scenes, continued to run the company, for decades after Walt's death. Shortly after his death, the Disney Company executive board was shown a short film that he made 99Asset just before his death, where he addressed each board member by name, telling him what he expected of him, and ending the film by saying "I'll be seeing you." Walt Disney was one of few Americans to be honored with a United States postage stamp issued less than two years after his death (the United States Postal Service prefers to issue stamps at least ten years after a person has died; an exception being made for United States presidents), when a 6 cent stamp was issued in September, 1968, in his honor.