Walt Disney

Walt Disney

Walt Disney (full name: Walter Elias “Walt” Disney) was born on 5th December, 1901 in Chicago, USA. He started his career as cartoonist, animator, screenwriter, voice actor and went on to become American business magnate, producer, director and philanthropist. Along with his brother he co-founded “The Walt Disney Company”, one of the major motion picture production companies in the world. It had annual revenue of approximately US$45 billion in the 2013 financial year.

During his lifetime, he received four honorary Academy Awards and won 22 Academy Awards from a total of 59 nominations. Disney also won seven Emmy Awards.

Childhood

Disney was born to Chicago's Hermosa community area to Irish-Canadian father Elias Disney and German-English mother Flora Call Disney. In 1906, his family moved to Marceline in Missouri where Disney developed his love for drawing.

Education

In 1909, Walt attended the new Park School of Marceline. Before that he had no formal schooling. Family remained here four years before moving to Kansas City in 1911. Here Walt Disney attended the Benton Grammar School.

In 1917 the family moved back to Chicago city where Disney enrolled to McKinley High School and took night courses at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He started contributing to school newspaper as cartoonist with his art work on World War I. With a hope to join the army, Disney dropped out of high school at the age of sixteen, but was rejected for being underage.

Career

In 1919, Walt Disney moved back to Kansas City to begin his artistic career. He created advertisements for newspapers, magazines, and movie theaters at Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio. In 1920, Walt and Ubbe Iwerks (his friend from Pesmen) started their own company called "Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists". Disney left it and went to Kansas City Film Ad Company where he found his interest in animation and motion pictures and formed Laugh-O-Gram Studio. Both these companies shut down because of no financial support.

In 1923, Walt Disney along with his brother Roy O. Disney set up a cartoon studio in Hollywood and gave a start to “Disney Brothers’ Studio” (currently known as “The Walt Disney Company”). From here they started the journey that changed the world of cartoons and animations. Alice’s Wonderland was their first creation that became hit in a short period. Our favorite Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and much more were created here only. “Snow white and the seven Dwarfs” was their first full length cartoon feature film. To mark their success story, Walt Disney gave the world “Disneyland” which was inaugurated on 17th July 1955.

At the End

At the end of his career he was actively involved in conceptualizing and building of various theme parks. Disney died on 15th December, 1966 pertaining to lung cancer he developed because of his chain smoking habit he developed in adulthood.