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People
(January 2005)
Walter
Elias Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of Disneyland
and Walt Disney World, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on
December 5, 1901. As the son of Elias Disney and Flora Call
Disney, Walt was the 4th born of five children, four boys
and a girl. Walt loved to draw, and he even sold sketches
to his neighbors at the age of seven. As a teenager, Walt
attended high school dividing his time between drawing and
photography. At night, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts.
During the fall of 1918 (World War I), Disney attempted
to enlist for military service. Rejected because of being
under-aged, Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas,
where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring
Red Cross officials. His ambulance was covered from stem
to stem, not with stock camouflage, but with drawings and
cartoons.
Source:http://users2.ev1.net/~disneyelvis/Disney/WDW/WalterEDisney.htm
Walt
returned to Kansas City after the War, where he began working
as an advertising cartoonist. Eventually, Walt joined his
brother, Roy, in Los Angeles where they opened a business
together making animated films. They called it Disney Brothers
Studio. It was later renamed Walt Disney Studio. It was
here that Walt met his future wife, Lillian Bounds, who
was one of his first employees at the studio. They married
on July 13, 1925. They were blessed with two daughters:
Diane and Sharon. Walt wanted to call his new creation "Mortimer
Mouse"; however, his wife suggested "Mickey".
And so it was that on November 18, 1928, "Mickey Mouse"
was born. He first appeared on this date in "Steamboat
Willie", the world's first sound cartoon. Soon Walt
added some new friends for Mickey; his girlfriend, Minnie
Mouse, and his dog, Pluto. On December 21, 1937, Disney
became even more of a success when Walt released Disney's
first full-length animated movie, Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs. It broke all box-office records.
Disneyland
was launched in 1955 as a fabulous Magic Kingdom in Southern
California. By its third decade, more than 250 million people
were entertained, including presidents, kings and queens,
and royalty from all over the globe. Around 1958, Walt decided
that he would like to build another Disneyland in Florida.
Between 1964-1965, Walt purchased 27,000 acres in Florida.
He carried on with his business as long as he could, but
on December 15, 1966, Walter Elias Disney passed away caused
by lung cancer. After Walt's death, Roy took charge of the
Disney Company and the Florida project. He renamed Disney
World to Walt Disney World. He said it would include Walt's
name so that everyone would always remember that it was
Walt's dream. And so it was that Walt Disney World opened
on October 1, 1971. Roy O. Disney, joined his younger brother
in death on December 20, 1971. In 1983 a Disneyland park
was opened outside Tokyo, and Euro Disneyland was opened
east of Paris in 1992.
During
a 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development
of the motion picture medium as a modern American art, Walter
Elias Disney, established himself and his product as a genuine
part of Americana. Walt Disney's personal awards included
honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern
California and UCLA; the Presidential Medal of Freedom;
France's Legion of Honor and Officer d'Academie decorations;
Thailand's Order of the Crown; Brazil's Order of the Southern
Cross; Mexico's Order of the Aztec Eagle; and the Showman
of the World Award from the National Association of Theatre
Owners. It was obvious that Walt Disney loved his family.
He showed his love by being interested, involved, and always
there for his family and friends. He once said, "A
man should never neglect his family for business."
And his oldest daughter, Diane was quoted as saying, "Daddy
never missed a father's function no matter how I discounted
it. I'd say, 'Oh, Daddy, you don't need to come. It's just
some stupid thing.' But he'd always be there, on time."
Walt
Disney is a legend and a folk hero of the 20th century.
His worldwide popularity was based upon the ideas which
his name represents: imagination, optimism and self-made
success in the American tradition. Walt Disney did more
to touch the hearts, minds, and emotions of millions of
Americans than any other man in the past century. Through
his work, he brought joy, happiness and a universal means
of communication to the people of every nation. Certainly,
our world shall know but one Walt Disney. For more information,
please visit the following websites:
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