All About Walt Disney

Born December 5 1901, Chicago Illinois, USA.

Died December 15 1966, Los Angeles California, USA.

Walt Disney's Father was Elias Disney, his Mother was Flora Call Disney and his Wife was Lillian Disney.

Walt Disney was an American film producer, a director, a screen writer, a voice actor, an animator and a philanthropist.

The Walt Disney Company today, the company he co-founded, has annual revenues of an estimated US $30 billion, but how did that all happen? Well read on to find out a little more all about Walt Disney.

Born in Chicago, at age 5, Walt Disney moved to a farm near Marceline, Missouri. Here Disney loved to draw and play with his younger sister Ruth, in the pond, with the animals, in the trees.

In 1910 Walt Disney moved to Kansas City and began attending the Benton Grammar School. He graduated June 8 1911. In 1917 he began freshman year at McKinley High School, Chicago, Illinois and also enrolled in a night course at Chicago Art Institute.

At the age of 16 Walt Disney dropped out of school to join the Army but as he was too young he instead joined the Red Cross with a birth certificate forged by his mother (to make him 17 and not 16). He drove an ambulance in France covered in Disney characters.

In 1922 Walt started "Laugh-O-Grams", selling short animated films to local companies in Kansas. The company ended but Walt still had the work he had begun on The Alice Comedies.

In Los Angeles Walt Disney set up "Disney Brother's Studio". He hired Lillian Bounds to ink and paint celluloid and she later became his wife. They married July 15 1925.

Mickey Mouse was created in 1928, his birthday be November 18, the release date of Steamboat Willie. He was originally named "Mortimer" but later christened "Mickey Mouse" by Lillian Disney. Mickey changed to color in 1935 and soon gained supporting characters like Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. In 1932 Disney received a special Academy Award for Mickey Mouse's creation.

Walt Disney worked on Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs from 1934 until 1937. This was the first animated feature animation in English and also Technicolor. The premier was December 21 1937 with a standing ovation. Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs became the most successful motion picture of 1938 and earned over $8 which today would be $98. Walt Disney then completed Pinocchio, Fantasia and Bambi.

Walt Disney started to draw plans for Disneyland, California, USA in the last 1940s. It opened July 17 1955 and is still open today. It is now called Disneyland Park and has been since 1998.

In 1964, Mary Poppins, Walt Disney's most successful film of the 60s was released.

Walt Disney World Resort, Florida began construction in 1967 and opened in 1971.

Walt Disney sadly died of lung cancer, after years of chain smoking, in 1966. His brother, Roy O. Disney carried on with the Florida project but died in 1971, just months after it opened.

Today, the Walt Disney Company owns, among other assets, two water parks, eleven theme parks, five vacation resorts, thirty nine hotels, eight motion picture studios, six record labels, eleven cable television networks, and one terrestrial television network.