Walt Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1901 to Elias and Flora Call Disney. When Walt was four, the family moved to Marceline, Missouri, where Walt lived most of his childhood.As a child, Walt enjoyed drawing, and when he was seven years old, he would draw and sell sketches to his neighbors. His uncle was a train engineer, and living near the train station, Walt worked a summer job with the railroad, selling newspapers, popcorn, and sodas to travelers.In 1918, when the war broke, Walt attempted to enlist in the Army, because of his age; the Army denied his enlistment. He and a friend joined the Red Cross, and deployed to France, where Walt drove an ambulance for the Red Cross in support of allied troops. Walt decorated his ambulance with cartoons he drew.Upon returning from France in 1919, he chose to pursue a career in art and animation.Moving to Kansas City, he partnered with another cartoonist Ubbe Iwerks to form a company called, Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists. The business stagnated and the two went to work for the Kansas City Film Ad Company. While there, he found an interest in animation, and partnered with another employee, Fred Harman, to start his animation company.The two produced short cartoons, which they called Laugh-o-grams. They secured a deal with local theatre owner Frank Newman to air their cartoons, which soon became a huge success in the Kansas City area. Soon, Walt would be able to afford a studio and hire animators and staff to produce more cartoons. Unable to successfully manage his new company, laugh-o-grams became bankrupt and Walt decided to head to Hollywood, California to establish a studio there.He partnered with his brother Roy, and started a new studio in Roys garage. He sent his animated Alice Comedies to Margaret Winkler, a distributor in New York. She wrote back asking for more. From 1925 to 1927, the Alice Comedies enjoyed great success. Walt opened Disney Brothers Studio and hired some of his old talent from Kansas City.He soon became a recognized Hollywood figure. On July 13, 1925, Walt married one of his first employees, Lillian Bounds, whom he had hired to color and ink celluloid for his cartoons.In 1932, the first color cartoon Flowers and Trees won Walt the first of his studios Academy Awards. In 1937, he released The Old Mill, the first short subject to utilize the multi-plane camera technique. On December 21, 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, considered one of the greatest feats of the motion picture industry, premiered at the Carthay Theater in Los Angeles. The film cost nearly $1.5 million to produce an astounding figure of that era.Over the next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed other full-length animated classics such as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi.All the while, Walt had an idea in the back of his mind to someday open an amusement park for families. A place where adults and children could enjoy a pleasant and clean environment. In 1955, this dream came true, as Disneyland Park opened in 1955 in Anaheim California. Walt also became a television pioneer beginning television production in 1954, and was among the first to present full-color programming with his Wonderful World of Color in 1961.Walt had another dream, to create the perfect city; he called it EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Unfortunately, Walt would never live to see this dream fulfilled, as on December 15, 1966 at 9:30 a.m., ten days after his sixty-fifth birthday, Walt died of complications from lung cancer. He was cremated on December 17, 1966 and his ashes reside at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.His brother continued the Florida project, naming it Walt Disney World, which opened in October of 1971. Try to imagine a world without Walt Disney. A world without his magic, whimsy, and optimism. Walt Disney transformed the entertainment industry, into what we know today. He pioneered the fields of animation, and found new ways to teach, and educate.Walt's optimism came from his unique ability to see the entire picture. His views and visions, came from the fond memory of yesteryear, and persistence for the future. Walt loved history. As a result of this, he didn't give technology to us piece by piece, he connected it to his ongoing mission of making life more enjoyable, and fun. Walt was our bridge from the past to the future.During his 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development of the motion picture industry as a modern American art, Walter Elias Disney established himself and his innovations as a genuine part of Americana.A pioneer and innovator, and the possessor of one of the most fertile and unique imaginations the world has ever known. Walt Disney could take the dreams of America, and make them come true. He was a creator, a imaginative, and aesthetic person. Even thirty years after his death, we still continue to grasp his ideas, and his creations, remembering him for everything he's done for us.Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago Illinois, to his father, Elias Disney, an Irish-Canadian, and his mother, Flora Call Disney, who was of German-American descent. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.Later, after Walt's birth, the Disney family moved to Marceline, Missouri. Walt lived out most of his childhood here. Walt had a very early interest in drawing, and art. When he was seven years old, he sold small sketches, and drawings to nearby neighbors. Instead of doing his school work Walt doodled pictures of animals, and nature. His knack for creating enduring art forms took shape when he talked his sister, Ruth, into helping him paint the side of the family's house with tar.Close to the Disney family farm, there were Santa Fe Railroad tracks that crossed the countryside. Often Walt would put his ear against the tracks, to listen for approaching trains. Walt's uncle, Mike Martin, was a train engineer who worked the route between Fort Madison, Iowa, and Marceline. Walt later worked a summer job with the railroad, selling newspapers, popcorn, and sodas to travelers.During his life Walt would often try to recapture the freedom he felt when aboard those trains, by building his own miniature train set. Then building a 1/8-scale backyard railroad, the Carolwood Pacific or Lilly Bell.Besides his other interests, Walt attended McKinley High School in Chicago. There, Disney divided his attention between drawing and photography, and contributing to the school paper. At night he attended the Academy of Fine Arts, to better his drawing abilities.Walt discovered his first movie house on Marceline's Main Street. There he saw a dramatic black-and-white recreation of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.During these "carefree years" of country living young Walt began to love, and appreciate nature and wildlife, and family and community, which were a large part of agrarian living. Though his father could be quite stern, and often there was little money, Walt was encouraged by his mother, and older brother, Roy.Even after the Disney family moved to Kansas City, Walt continued to develop and flourish in his talent for artistic drawing. Besides drawing, Walt had picked up a knack for acting and performing. At school he began to entertain his friends by imitating his silent screen hero, Charlie Chaplin. At his teachers invitation, Walt would tell his classmates stories, while illustrating on the chalk board. Later on, against his fathers permission, Walt would sneak out of the house at night to perform comical skits at local theaters.During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was under age, only sixteen years old at the time. Instead, Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas to France, where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross officials. His ambulance was covered from stem to stern, not with stock camouflage, but with Disney cartoons.Once he returned from France, he wanted to pursue a career in commercial art, which soon lead to his experiments in animation. He began producing short animated films for local businesses, in Kansas City. By the time Walt had started to create The Alice Comedies, which was about a real girl and her adventures in an animated world, Walt ran out of money, and his company Laugh-O-Grams went bankrupted. Instead of giving up, Walt packed his suitcase and with his unfinished print of The Alice Comedies in hand, headed for Hollywood to start a new business. He was not yet twenty-two.The early flop of The Alice Comedies inoculated Walt against fear of failure; he had risked it all three or four times in his life. Walt's brother, Roy O. Disney, was already in California, with an immense amount of sympathy and encouragement, and $250. Pooling their resources, they borrowed an additional $500, and set up shop in their uncle's garage. Soon, they received an order from New York for the first Alice in Cartoonland(The Alice Comedies) featurette, and the brothers expanded their production operation to the rear of a Hollywood real estate office. It was Walt's enthusiasm and faith in himself, and others, that took him straight to the top of Hollywood society.Although, Walt wasn't the typical Hollywood mogul. Instead of socializing with the "who's who" of the Hollywood entertainment industry, he would stay home and have dinner with his wife, Lillian, and his daughters, Diane and Sharon. In fact, socializing was a bit boring to Walt Disney. Usually he would dominate a conversation, and hold listeners spellbound as he described his latest dreams or ventures. The people that where close to Walt were those who lived with him, and his ideas, or both.On July 13, 1925, Walt married one of his first employees, Lillian Bounds, in Lewiston, Idaho. Later on they would be blessed with two daughters, Diane and Sharon . Three years after Walt and Lilly wed, Walt created a new animated character, Mickey Mouse.His talents were first used in a silent cartoon entitled Plane Crazy. However, before the cartoon could be released, sound was introduced upon the motion picture industry. Thus, Mickey Mouse made his screen debut in Steamboat Willie, the world's first synchronized sound cartoon, which premiered at the Colony Theater in New York on November 18, 1928.

Walt's drive to perfect the art of animation was endless. Technicolor was introduced to animation during the production of his Silly Symphonies Cartoon Features. Walt Disney held the patent for Technicolor for two years, allowing him to make the only color cartoons. In 1932, the production entitled Flowers and Trees won Walt the first of his studio's Academy Awards. In 1937, he released The Old Mill, the first short subject to utilize the multi-plane camera technique.On December 21, 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated musical feature, premiered at the Carthay Theater in Los Angeles. The film produced at the unheard cost of $1,499,000 during the depths of the Depression, the film is still considered one of the great feats and imperishable monuments of the motion picture industry. During the next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed other full-length animated classics such as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi.Walt rarely showed emotion, though he did have a temper that would blow over as it blew up. At home, he was affectionate and understanding. He gave love by being interested, involved, and always there for his family and friends. Walt's daughter, Diane Disney Miller, once said: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. Probably the most painful time of Walt's private life, was the accidental death of his mother in 1938. After the great success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt and Roy bought their parents, Elias and Flora Disney, a home close to the studios. Less than a month later Flora died of asphyxiation caused by a faulty furnace in the new home. The terrible guilt of this haunted Walt for the rest of his life.In 1940, construction was completed on the Burbank Studio, and Disney's staff swelled to more than 1,000 artists, animators, story men, and technicians. Although, because of World War II 94 percent of the Disney facilities were engaged in special government work, including the production of training and propaganda films for the armed services, as well as health films which are still shown through-out the world by the U.S. State Department. The remainder of his efforts were devoted to the production of comedy short subjects, deemed highly essential to civilian and military morale.Disney's 1945 feature, the musical The Three Caballeros, combined live action with the cartoon animation, a process he used successfully in such other features as Song of the South and the highly acclaimed Mary Poppins. In all, more than 100 features were produced by his studio.Walt's inquisitive mind and keen sense for education through entertainment resulted in the award-winning True-Life Adventure series. Through such films as The Living Desert, The Vanishing Prairie, The African Lion, and White Wilderness, Disney brought fascinating insights into the world of wild animals and taught the importance of conserving our nation's outdoor heritage.Walt Disney's dream of a clean, and organized amusement park, came true, as Disneyland Park opened in 1955. As a fabulous $17-million magic kingdom, soon had increased its investment tenfold, and by the beginning of its second quarter-century, had entertained more than 200 million people, including presidents, kings and queens, and royalty from all over the globe.isney, Walt (5 Dec. 1901-15 Dec. 1966), animator and motion picture producer, was born Walter Elias Disney in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Elias Disney, a building contractor, and Flora Call, a teacher. After a childhood near Marceline and in Kansas City, Missouri, Disney studied at the Chicago Institute of Art in the evening while attending McKinley High School during the day. In 1918 he enlisted in the American Ambulance Corps, serving in France and returning to employment as an artist at the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio, where he befriended artist Ub Iwerks. After learning the rudiments of animation at a subsequent job at the Kansas City Film Ad Service, Disney began to produce his own animated films. In 1922 he formed Laugh-O-Gram Films. He was soon joined by Iwerks and a staff, including Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, to produce theatrical and sponsored films. In 1923 Disney relocated to Los Angeles and incorporated the Disney Bros. Studio in partnership with his brother Roy. The signing of a contract with distributor Margaret Winkler to produce the "Alice Comedies," which combined live action and animation in emulation of the successful Fleischer "Out of the Inkwell" series, gave his product national distribution. Marriage in 1925 to Lillian Bounds of the studio's ink and paint department followed. The union would produce two daughters. Disney's distributor in 1927 arranged for the "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" series of cartoons to be distributed through Universal, which gave Disney films regular access to theaters and introduced the filmmaker to the benefits of product licensing through the merchandising of "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" chocolate bars. Disagreements with Charles Mintz (husband of Margaret Winkler) resulted in Mintz hiring away many of Disney's animators in order to force Disney to work directly for him, rather than as an independent contractor. Outraged, Disney broke with Mintz. While the artists now under contract with Mintz completed the last of Disney's Oswald films, Ub Iwerks worked in seclusion animating Plane Crazy, the first of a projected series starring Disney's new character, Mickey Mouse. Gallopin' Gaucho, the second of the series, was begun, but no distributor could be found. Looking for some way to differentiate his new Mickey Mouse cartoons from the silent Oswald series, Disney made an agreement with former Universal executive Pat Powers to animate cartoons using the Powers' Cinephone sound process. The result was Steamboat Willie (1928). Earlier sound animated films made by competitors Max Fleischer and Paul Terry enjoyed limited success, but the coupling of synchronized sound with the engaging new character made Steamboat Willie a sensation. At the suggestion of his musical director Carl Stalling, Disney inaugurated the "Silly Symphony" series with Skeleton Dance (1929). While the character-based "Mickey Mouse" films used music as an accompaniment to the action, the "Silly Symphonies" created stories through the use of music. Skeleton Dance was animated completely by Ub Iwerks. Since production costs were rising faster than returns, Disney pressured his distributor for more money and urged Iwerks to abandon the practice of animating straight through in favor of the more efficient technique of drawing key poses and letting lower-paid assistants sketch the in-between poses. In 1930 the disgruntled Iwerks accepted Powers's offer to set up a rival company, Celebrity Productions. Carl Stalling resigned shortly after. In contrast with the previous debacle with Mintz, Disney now owned the copyright to his characters, and the popularity of Mickey Mouse ensured a quick transition of distribution to Columbia. Prior to Iwerks's and Stallings's departures, Disney had been hiring experienced animators from New York that were to include Bert Gillett, David Hand, Dick Huemer, Ben Sharpsteen, and Grim Natwick. He also began training local talent such as Eric Larson, Wolfgang Reitherman, Les Clark, Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, Marc Davis, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, and John Lounsbery (later known as the "Nine Old Men"). A more significant move was to expand his economic base, hiring Herman "Kay" Kamen in the United States and William Banks Levy in the United Kingdom to act as merchandising agents. Licensing fees added substantially to studio revenue, as did the introduction of Iwerks's Mickey Mouse comic strips, continued after Iwerks's departure by Win Smith and then Floyd Gottfredson. Mickey Mouse Clubs, which promoted Disney films and products, reached a peak membership by 1932 larger than the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts combined. The decline in popularity of Mickey Mouse in the mid-1930s was compensated by the introduction of other characters such as Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy. With a stable financial base, Disney sought expensive refinements to animation technique, introducing the "pencil test" (in which the animator's original pencil drawings are photographed sequentially on motion picture film and projected in order to test the action) to check work in progress. Story development became an elaborate process, closely monitored by Disney himself. Through the establishment of links to the Chouinard School of Art and in-house training sessions led by Don Graham, the studio developed an unrivaled degree of expressive virtuosity. Disney was hailed by critics as creating an American art form exhibiting "that same delicate balance between fantasy and fact, poetry and comic reality, which is the nature of all folklore. In Disney's studio ... by a system as truly of the machine age as Henry Ford's plant at Dearborn, true art is produced" ("The Big Bad Wolf," Fortune, 5 Nov. 1934, p. 88). Disney's moral homilies set in rural or small-town surroundings, like The Three Little Pigs (1933), The Wise Little Hen (1934), and The Band Concert (1935), were seen as embodying peculiarly American values by contemporary critics. In contrast to the earlier "cartoony," gag-oriented, and often risqu films made by his New York competitors, Disney's films were patterned after Hollywood live-action films, with linear narratives, mimetic design, and, as Disney put it, "not an obvious moral, but a worth-while theme" (quoted in Douglas W. Churchill, "Disney's 'Philosophy,'" New York Times Magazine, 6 Mar. 1938, p. 9). A believer in technological progress, Disney was quick to embrace innovations, producing the first cartoon using the three-color Technicolor process (Flowers and Trees, 1932) and assigning camera department head William Garity to develop the multiplane camera, which allowed the use of three-dimensional effects beginning with The Old Mill (1937). Increasing costs of the films were met by more lucrative distribution contracts with United Artists and then Radio Keith-Orpheum. Disney's banker, Joseph Rosenberg, authorized loans from the Bank of America that underwrote the application of new skills and technology to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), which was the first animated feature film with sound and color. Income resulting from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ($4.2 million from the initial release in the United States and Canada alone) allowed Disney to build a state-of-the-art studio in Burbank, California, as he proceeded with the even more elaborate Pinocchio (1940); Fantasia (1940), which had the first stereophonic sound track; and Bambi (1942). The wartime loss of foreign markets and the declining critical reaction to his increasingly ambitious projects led to the company's first public stock offering in 1940 and to retrenchment during the war period with modest productions like The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and Dumbo (1941). To ensure the success of his films, Disney became an early user of George Gallup's audience research from the pre- to postproduction stages of his films' development. In the aftermath of a 1941 strike, talents such as Art Babbitt, Vladimir Tytla, David Hilberman, Zachary Schwartz, and John Hubley defected to other studios, while Virgil Partch and Walt Kelly left animation altogether. After the war, Disney appeared as a friendly witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities to name strike leaders as communists. During the strike, following a request by John Hay "Jock" Whitney, director of the Motion Picture Section of Nelson Rockefeller's Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, Disney went on a goodwill tour of South America to develop markets to replace those lost in Europe and Asia during wartime hostilities. This led to projects aimed at the Latin American markets, such as Saludos Amigos! (1943) and Three Caballeros (1945). Production of government propaganda and training films contributed to the war effort and kept the studio afloat financially. Disney self-financed Victory through Air Power (1943), based on the book by aviation advocate Alexander de Seversky. Winston Churchill arranged for Franklin Roosevelt to see the film at the Quebec Conference in 1943. Roosevelt's subsequent order that Victory through Air Power be shown to the Joint Chiefs of Staff may have influenced air strategy. The war's end saw a declining market for short films with greater competition from animation units at Warner Bros. and M-G-M. As animation became increasingly expensive in relation to live action, Disney scaled down production of unprofitable shorts. At Roy Disney's urging, the company increased live-action production in films like Make Mine Music (1946), Song of the South (1946), Melody Time (1948), and So Dear to My Heart (1949). The release of the all-animated feature Cinderella (1950) was followed by the studio's first entirely live-action feature, Treasure Island (1950), which began a string of live-action adventures, including The Sword and the Rose (1953) and Twenty-thousand Leagues under the Sea (1954). A documentary series of "True-Life Adventure" films began with Seal Island (1949). Other forms of product diversification included film projects for Firestone and General Motors. On Christmas Day 1950 NBC broadcast Disney's foray into television--a special on the making of Alice in Wonderland (1951) called One Hour in Wonderland, which Roy Disney credited with adding millions to the box office for the film, stating his belief that "television can be a most powerful selling aid for us, as well as a source of revenue. It will probably be on this premise that we enter television when we do" ("Interim Letter to Shareholders," 31 Mar. 1951). Disney's entry into television synchronized his activities with those of his business allies. Disney's company acquired a 34 percent interest in Disneyland, Inc., which was to develop an amusement park in Anaheim, California. Plans for the park were commissioned in 1952, and it opened in 1955. The other principal stockholders (later bought out) were American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc.; Western Printing and Lithographing Company; and Walt Disney himself. ABC's financing of Disneyland was contingent upon the Disney production of a weekly "Disneyland" series for the network, which marked an unprecedented commitment by a major Hollywood movie studio to television production. It became ABC's first hit series. Western Printing had held exclusive rights to reproduce Walt Disney's characters for juvenile books, coloring books, and comics since 1932. Disneyland, Walt Disney Productions, the "Disneyland" show on television, and publications based on the films, shows, and theme park would all promote one another. Interlocking business relationships among these leisure industries created interlocking systems of promotion. The Disneyland park and television series became the linchpin of these systems. Disney developed similar relationships among his ventures and those of the U.S. government and major corporations. Monsanto, Atlantic Richfield, TWA, Douglas Aircraft, American Motors, Pepsi-Cola, and other companies became sponsors of rides or exhibits at Disneyland. As part of the "Atoms for Peace" program, the U.S. Navy and General Dynamics participated in the construction of an "atomic submarine" ride at Disneyland, as well as in the production of the "Disneyland" telefilm Our Friend the Atom (1957), which promoted the use of atomic energy. Government scientists such as Willy Ley and Wernher von Braun cooperated in telefilms publicizing government rocketry programs, such as Man in Space (1956) and Mars and Beyond (1957), as well as with the design of the "Trip to the Moon" ride at Disneyland. For the State Department during the Cold War, Disneyland became a convenient simulacrum of America. One official observed that there really was no reason for showing foreign dignitaries anything but Disneyland--everything was right there. Disney was also a consultant to the American Exhibition in Moscow and the Brussels World's Fair, where the American pavilion featured Disney's 360-degree film in its Circarama theater. For the New York World's Fair, Disney technicians designed the Ford, General Electric, and Pepsi-Cola/UNICEF "It's a Small World" exhibits, as well as developing the mechanized "Audio-Animatronics" system of presidential effigies used in the Hall of Presidents. Disney was also active in the field of education, being instrumental in the establishment in 1961 of the California Institute of the Arts, to which he was to leave almost half his estate. Disney's other ventures for ABC included "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955-1959) and "Zorro" (1957-1959). These and such "Disneyland" broadcasts as the Davy Crockett series led to a bonanza from the licensing of such products as Mickey Mouse Club hats, Zorro swords and capes, and Davy Crockett coonskin caps. Through careful market positioning of his product amid those of major film corporations, Disney focused on family entertainment. Live-action films took historical and often patriotic subjects in Johnny Tremain (1957), Old Yeller (1957), Tonka (1958), The Swiss Family Robinson (1960), and Polyanna (1960). The Shaggy Dog (1959) began a series of low-budget comedies such as The Absent Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963) that became mainstays of the company's production. Popular fantasies like Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) and Babes in Toyland (1961) led to the blockbuster Mary Poppins (1964). Animation continued in Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), and The Jungle Book (1967). In 1961 Disney changed his broadcasting alliance from ABC to NBC with "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" and the less successful "Disneyland after Dark" series. With more than one-third of corporate income coming from the leisure park, Disney began development of the Mineral King resort. Stalled by ecological concerns, Disney initiated a new theme park near Orlando, Florida, in 1964. The project was awarded municipality rights by the Florida legislature, giving it unprecedented powers for a corporation. This Disney World park was to be built in conjunction with the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). In Disney's words, EPCOT was to be "a controlled community, a showcase for American industry and research, schools, cultural and educational opportunities" (quoted in Holliss and Sibley, p. 87). While Roy Disney was to supervise the completion of Walt Disney World, which opened in 1971, final realization of the EPCOT project after Walt Disney's death in Burbank, California, of acute circulatory collapse following lung cancer bore little resemblance to the original vision. Years after his death, Walt Disney retains a centrality in American culture granted to few twentieth-century figures, "because of the manner in which his work in film and television is connected to other projects in urban planning, ecological politics, product merchandising, United States domestic and global policy formation, technological innovation, and constructions of national character" (Eric Smoodin, ed., "Introduction: How to Read Walt Disney," Disney Discourse: Producing the Magic Kingdom [1994], pp. 4-5). Assessments are deeply divided. Earlier evaluations of Disney hailed him as a patriot, folk artist, and popularizer of culture. More recently, Disney has been regarded as a paradigm of American imperialism and intolerance, as well as a debaser of culture. Publications on Disney, ranging from company-sponsored hagiographies to fanciful exposs, are numerous enough to be categorized as an industry of their own. Disney remains the central figure in the history of animation. Through technological innovations and alliances with governments and corporations, he transformed a minor studio in a marginal form of communication into a multinational leisure industry giant. Despite his critics, his vision of a modern, corporate utopia as an extension of traditional American values has possibly gained greater currency in the years after his death.

There may be no entertainment industry figure more influential than Disneys eponymousfounder. In his 65 years, Walt Disney succeeded in moving animation from a black-and-white novelty to a highly respected genre that would produce Oscar-worrthy feature films. More than a few of his creations including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy are instantly recognizable global icons. And the small animation house he founded on October 16, 1923 is now valued at more than $42 billion.Yet, despite his fame, Disney remains a relatively unknown figure. His story is overshadowed by his achievements, and, sometimes, by outright myth. In honor of The Walt Disney Companys 90th anniversary, here are ten things you probably didnt know about the man behind Mickey Mouse.1. He dropped out of high school to join the armyDuring the first World War, a 16-year-old Walt Disney left school and attempted to enlist in the army. He was rejected for being underage, but managed to find employment with the Red Cross as an ambulance driver. The organization sent Disney to France for a year, but by the time he arrived, the armistice agreement had already been signed.2. Mickey Mouses original name was MortimerMickey Mouse is virtually synonymous with Disneys company, but if the animators wife hadnt intervened, he might have been represented by Mortimer Mouse instead. In the mouses first few shorts, he was referred to as Mortimer Mouse, but Lillian Disney managed to convince her husband that Mickey would be a more marketable name. Mortimer later became Mickeys Brooklyn-accented rival (below), vying for Minnie Mouses affection.3. He was the original voice behind Mickey MouseWhile mostly known for his skills as an animator, director and producer (not to mention his business acumen), Disney also tried his hand at voice acting. From Mickeys inception in 1928, all the way to 1947, the mouses voice was provided by Disney before being turned over to English voice actor Jimmy MacDonald. Disney loved the character so much that he returned to the studio in 1955 to voice Mickey Mouse shorts for his companys television show The Mickey Mouse Club.4. He was determined to produce a feature-length animated movie, even when everyone thought the idea was crazyWhen word got out that Disney planned to turn Snow White into a feature film, industry insiders were convinced his efforts would fail, calling the project Disneys Folly. His detractors were almost correct. Disney did in fact run out of funding during Snow Whites production, and was forced to show loan officers a rough cut of the movie before he could secure additional financing. Luckily for both Disney and his creditors,Snow Whiteturned out to be a smashing success. The film earned over $8 million during its initial release about $130 million today.5. He could be the US governments best friendNot only did a young Disney attempt to help America on the field of battle, but he also helped several federal agencies throughout his career with animation. He created training films for the US military, propaganda films urging Americans to pay their taxes, and multiple anti-Hitler shorts meant to boost US morale at home. Disney also helped the State Department improve relations with South America by making a 1941 goodwill tour (featuring a specially made movie entitled Saludos Amigos), and lateraided NASA by developing documentaries about the space program.6. He contributed to anti-communist hysteriaAfter the second World War, many in the U.S. were gripped by an overwhelming fear of communist infiltration. Disney believed in the Red Menace, and in concert with other leading industry executives, formed the anti-communistMotion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (MPA). In addition to serving as the MPAs vice president, he testified in front of the House Un-American Activities Committeeagainst several labor organizers, who he accused of motivating his animators to strike. Disney also accused the Screen Actors Guild of being a communist front, and claimed their 1941 strike was a socialist plot.7. He came close to building a major ski resortAfter opening Disney Land in 1955, Walt set his sights on a ski resort in Mineral King Valley, near CaliforniasSequoia National Park.The plan was to build a vacation spot featuringsix ski areas, all centered around a Swiss-style base village,with a total daily capacity of 20,000 skiers. The project came relatively close to development, with Disney winning approval from the Forest Service and forging a roads deal with the Governor of California. However, after Disneys death in 1966, the company felt it could only handle one major project at a time. Wisely, they chose to complete Disney World instead.8. He receivedmore Academy Awards and nominations than any other person in historyBetween 1932 and 1969, Disney won 22 Academy Awards and was nominated 59 times. Included amongst this trove of Oscars are three awards created specifically for him one for creating Mickey Mouse, another recognizing his contribution of music in the field of animation, and a specially made prize honoringSnow White and the Seven Dwarvesthat featured a traditional statuette, and seven miniature versions alongside of it.9. His last words remain a mysteryThat is to say, no one knows what they were supposed to mean. Shortly before succumbing to lung cancer, Disney scribbled the words Kurt Russell on a piece of paper. According to Russell, best known for his performance in The Thing and Escape from New York, the reasons are mystery to him as well. At the time of Disneys death, Russell was a child actor working for the studio and had yet to achieve widespread fame.10. After his death, he was NOT cryogenically frozenOne fact that everyonethinksthey know about Walt Disney is that his body has been preserved through cryogenics. However, as Snopes long ago revealed, there is no truth to this urban legend. All available documentation states that Disney was cremated after death and the first-ever cryogenic freezings took place a month after Disney passed on.You are a struggling entrepreneur and sometimes it feels like you are pushing a 3 ton boulder up a steep hill. Costs keep mounting and you are considering giving up. Well before you do, check out these 10 setbacks that Walt Disney had, some were financial nightmares that put him millions of dollars in the red: Walt formed his first animation company in Kansas City in 1921. He made a deal with a distribution company in New York, in which he would ship them his cartoons and get paid six months down the road. He was forced to dissolve his company and at one point could not pay his rent and was surviving by eating dog food. Walt created a mildly successful cartoon character in 1926 called Oswald the Rabbit. When he tried to negotiate with his distributor, Universal Studios, for better rates for each cartoon, he was informed that Universal had obtained ownership of the Oswald character and they had hired Disney's artists out from under him. When Walt tried to get MGM studios to distribute Mickey Mouse in 1927 he was told that the idea would never work-- a giant mouse on the screen would terrify women. The Three Little Pigs was rejected by distributors in 1933 because it only had four characters, it was felt at that time that cartoons should have as many figures on the screen as possible. It later became very successful and played at one theater so long that the poster outside featured the pigs with long white beards. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was sneak previewed to college students in 1937 who left halfway during the film causing Disney great despair. It turned out the students had to leave early because of dorm curfew. Pinocchio in 1940 became extra expensive because Walt shut down the production to make the puppet more sympathetic than the lying juvenile delinquent as presented in the original Carlo Collodi story. He also resurrected a minor character, an unnamed cricket who tried to tell Pinocchio the difference between right and wrong until the puppet killed him with the mallet. Excited by the development of Jiminy Cricket plus the revamped, misguided rather than rotten Pinocchio, Walt poured extra money into the film's special effects and it ended up losing a million dollars in it's first release. For the premiere of Pinocchio Walt hired 11 midgets, dressed them up like the little puppet and put them on top of Radio City Music Hall in New York with a full day's supply of food and wine. The idea was they would wave hello to the little children entering into the theater. By the middle of the hot afternoon, there were 11 drunken naked midgets running around the top of the marquee, screaming obscenities at the crowd below. The most embarrassed people were the police who had to climb up ladders and take the little fellows off in pillowcases. Walt never lived to see Fantasia become a success. 1940 audiences were put off by it's lack of a story. Also the final scene, The Night On Bald Mountain sequence with the devil damning the souls of the dead, was considered unfit for children. In 1942, Walt was in attendance for the premiere of Bambi. In the dramatic scene where Bambi's mother died, Bambi was shown wandering through the meadow shouting," Mother! Where are you, Mother?" A teenage girl seated in the balcony shouted out, " Here I am Bambi!" The audience broke into laughter except for the black-faced Walt who concluded correctly that war-time was not the best time to release a film about the love-life of a deer. The sentimental Pollyanna in 1960 made Walt cry at the studio screening but failed at the box office. Walt concluded that the title was off-putting for young boys. Walt was human, he suffered through many fits of anger and depression through his many trials. Yet he learned from each setback, and continued to take even bigger risks which combined with the wisdom that experiencing failure can provide, led to fabulous financial rewards

Of Failure and Success: The Journey of Walt Disney

Ever feel like things aren't working out? Do you feel your life is a failure? Do you wish you experienced more success?When you think of success, it's easy to think of Walt Disney. Surely he was successful. He created more than 81 feature films and hundreds of shorts. He earned more than 950 honors, including 48 Academy Awards. He founded the California Institute of the Arts. And he built DisneylandBut those honors came from difficult challengeseven failures. And, yet, from hard times came important lessons and events, which would serve him later. Walt's life was filled with such events. Painful, difficult moments. But out of them he grew and in many ways succeeded. For comparative purposes, I've identified several such moments in Walt's life.1. Walt's brothers were so frustrated about their relationship with their dad that they all one by one ran away from home early in their lives. First it was Herb and Ray over a dispute about money they had earned. Later it would be Roy, who at 19 felt treated like a little boy by his father's domineering attitude. Eager to move on himself, Walt himself would lie about his age so he could be an ambulance driver during World War I.Still, despite the dysfunctionality he and his family experienced, Walt Disney became the leader and the voice of family entertainment. Of Disneyland, he would comment how badly he wanted a place where children and parents could enjoy time together. Millions of families come together because of the entertainment Walt Disney and his legacy has produced. And he, along with his brother, did their best to honor and support their parents until the day they died. Importantly, he was a good son.2. At age 22, Walt experienced bankruptcy after the failure of a cartoon series in Kansas City. He headed to Los Angeles with $40 in cash, and an imitation-leather suitcase containing only a shirt, two undershorts, two pairs of socks and some drawing materials. Feeling that others did animation better, his goal was to be an actor out in Hollywood. It never occurred.The upside was that he and his brother Roy realized there was no animation business headquartered in California. They set up stakes and the rest is history. In time they became the most successful team of brothers in Hollywood.3. On the heels of a successful run with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt learned not only that he did not hold ownership of the character, but that most of the artists who worked for him had committed themselves to working for the distributor instead. Essentially, Walt's entire organization was taken from him, with the exception of his artist Ub Iwerks.Still, on a train ride back from that fateful meeting in New York, Walt created a new character in Mickey Mouse, who would serve as symbol of the entire company. Iwerks himself would serve to help design Mickey, and he supported Walt in pioneering many innovative achievements, including the xerographic process adapted for cel animation and work for WED enterprises. Most importantly, he was considered Walt's oldest friend.4. In the early 1930s, Walt suffered what he called, "a heck of a breakdown." He was anxious about the ability for cartoon shorts to really deliver serious profit. Beyond being irritable at his employees, that breakdown included sleepless hours in bed at night. There were story sessions where he was completely unfocused and unable to contribute. He would even plunge into crying spells at a moment's notice. At the urging of others, he and his wife took a second honeymoon by going on a long-anticipated voyage down the Mississippi River. But when they arrived at the St. Louis waterfront, they found out that the Great Depression had wiped out the passenger trade. They had to go elsewhere to vacation.Ironic then, when Walt celebrated his and Lillian's anniversary days before Disneyland opened in 1955, they did so by taking their invited friends on the first trip down the Rivers of America on the newly built Mark Twain Steamboat. I wonder if that steamboat would have been dreamed of, much less built, if Walt hadn't wanted so badly to ride down the river on one.And of course, returning from that second honeymoon, Walt was refreshed and ready to start on something really ambitious: The development of a full-length animated feature we would know as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It would be triumphant success.5. From the windfall of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt and Roy built a home so their aging parents could be close to them in California. Only poor construction and subsequent attempts at repairing it by studio workmen ended in their mother dying one morning from carbon monoxide poisoning. Walt and Roy were devastated by her death.Nothing could fix or replace the loss of their mother in such a tragic manner. However, while there may be little if any connection, it is interesting to note that one of Walt's last visions in life was to build a community where many of the challenges of urban life would be resolved. That extended from concepts like monorails to Utilidors. But for the man who hosted the "House of the Future" at Disneyland, it also reexamined how homes would be safer and better constructed.6. Walt and Lillian raised two daughters in the wake of what was known as "The Crime of the Century". This was in reference to the abduction and murder of Charles Lindbergh's 20-month old son in 1932. With Walt being not only a celebrity but a prominent individual in terms of family entertainment, they became concerned about having their own children be seen in the public eye. Even window screens on the Los Feliz house they owned were reinforced.Mindful of protecting and cherishing their daughters, Walt and Lilly spent many nights at home. They refrained from being Hollywood socialites. Walt and his wife deeply cherished their daughters and they, in return, deeply loved their father. Walt himself would accompany his children on daddy-daughter trips, many of which led him to early thoughts about building an amusement park enterprise.7. Just prior to World War II, Walt experienced an acrimonious strike by his animators. The experience severed him from artists he had thought to be close to for years. To settle the strike, his brother sent him away to South America on a good will tour for the U.S.From this good will tour came the films Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. More importantly, Walt learned the importance of teamwork. He said: "Whatever we accomplish is due to the combined effort. The organization must be with you or you don't get it done." Years after he died, his artists would recall with great emotion the relationship and experience they had working with Walt.8. On the morning following December 7, 1941, the United States Army took over the Walt Disney Studios as a repair shop for tanks and artillery. Walt's artists went to war. Worldwide markets were closed to film distribution. And even Walt himself had to have a government ID to get on his own property. Working on government projects, bookkeepers would question all expenditures.Working on one project for the treasury department, Walt created a film starring Donald Duck called, The New Spirit. The film did much to inspire Americans to pay their taxes, something not commonly done back then. Those monies served to help win the war.9. The company had more than $4 million in debts, and business was still very slow in the aftermath of World War II. The company was distributing films in Europe, but they had difficulty getting monies to come back to the Studios in the United States. Described by Roy O. Disney as "the lost years," after a heated exchange one night, he told Walt: "Look, you're letting this place drive you to the nuthouse. That's one place I'm not going with you!" Still, Walt struggled to deal with the stress he was facing.With monies held in Europe, they began producing some of their first feature films across the seas. This supported Walt as he learned to diversify his studio beyond doing animation. He also took up a new hobby to deal with his stress: trains. And that interest in trains fed his interest in building a park with a train running around it.10. Walt could not find the money to build Disneyland. The only way he could see was in doing television. But the major Hollywood studios put pressure on each other not to support television production as it would ruin the movie business.Walt took courage and went with television anyway. From it, we have classics like The Mickey Mouse Club, Davy Crockett, and The Wonderful World of Color. Moreover, Walt gained the financing to open Disneyland.11. On July 17, 1955, Walt Disney dedicated Disneyland before a television audience of millions. Meanwhile, forged tickets were bringing thousands of people into the park without his knowledge. The newly poured asphalt melted the heels of women, and a plumber's strike kept drinking fountains from being installed in time. Critics blasted it as "Black Sunday."Walt resisted allowing the park to become poorly cared for. He held the park to high standards of customer service as well as paying attention to detail. The result was that Disneyland became a phenomenal success, spawning other parks, and creating a critical component of the Walt Disney Company.So beyond all that disappointment and learning came fantastic success. Walt would say, "Get a good idea, and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it's done, and done right." In picking himself up and in learning from his mistakes and moved on. He said: "To some people, I am kind of a Merlin who takes lots of crazy chances, but rarely makes mistakes. I've made some bad ones, but, fortunately, the successes have come along fast enough to cover up the mistakes. When you go to bat as many times as I do. you're bound to get a good average."So what's the lesson for you:1. Do you see struggle as the road to opportunity?2. Do you learn from your failures?3. Do you seek to get up to bat as often as possible?In the end, our own success is defined not by opportunity, but in our persistence in defeat. Here's to vision, persistence, courage, and simply hard effort. Even in these more difficult times.These are the ingredients of any Merlin. Surely they are the ones held by Walt Disney.

Inspirations to walt DisneyAs Walt Disney sat at a bench, at an amusement park, watching his daughters play, he noticed how ragged and filthy the small amusement park was. He also observed people's reactions to different rides, and noticed how children's parents had nothing to do. They would be anxious to go home, while their children were still having fun, and playing.This is where Walt was conjuring, and planning a new type of amusement park; one that would be clean, and would have attractions for parents and children together. This was Walt Disney's idea, which eventually turned to be Disneyland.Walt once said:"What this country really needs is an amusement park that families can take their children to. They've gotten so honky tonk with a lot of questionable characters running around, and they're not to safe. They're not well kept. I want to have a place that's as clean as anything could ever be, and all the people in it [his park] are first-class citizens, and treated like guests." Years before Disneyland was constructed, Walt was thinking, generating, and creating everything in his mind. He traveled the United States, and visited buildings of Americas most prolific inventors and creators, such as Thomas Edison's Workshop, the Wright Brothers Bicycle shop, and the home of the Dictionary magnate Noah Webster. While visiting these places, he was formulating and dreaming of a "Mickey Mouse Park" with a western village, Main Street, and more, these ideas would eventually form Disneyland.Walt at DisneylandOn the opening day of Disneyland, Walt stood in his apartment, above the fire station on Main Street, and looked out the window to see the crowds pour through the gates. Sharon Baird, a mouseketeer, said this:I was standing next to him at the window, watching the guests come through the gates. When I looked up at him, he had his hands behind his back, a grin from ear to ear, and I could see a lump in his throat and a tear streaming down his cheek. He had realized his dream. Right after Disneyland opened, Walt said: "We're gonna kick ourselves for not buying everything within a radius of ten miles around here." He could visualize the growth around Disneyland.Walt would often visit Disneyland a few times a week. Although, many times he would visit late at night, when no one was there. Often times he would spend the night in his apartment in the fire station, on Main Street. When he came before the park opened, he would make sure the park was clean, and talk with the cast members.Walt always wanted to know everything that was going on in the park. He knew about everything. He knew where water pipes were, how tall buildings were, he knew how the park ticked.One time Walt visited the park, and noticed things were a little sloppy. He found the maintenance engineer of the park, and told him "I want this place painted". The engineer agreed, and said "We'll do it over the weekend." "No, I want it finished a painted by morning," ordered Walt. Dozens of painting crews painted through the night, and finished before the park opened.Even though Walt Disney wasn't able to see how his park prospered and grew into the 21st Century, his legacy still lives on with us. Throughout Disneyland and throughout the entire world, he will always be there.Health issues anddeathLeave a reply Although, Walt Disney seemed to be a pretty healthy guy, he did have a few health problems throughout his life that became a hindrance to his career. The biggest problem that Disney had was caused by a polo accident. Disneys doctor advised him to start exercising more in order to relieve some of his stress. Walt tried many different things such as, golf, boxing and wrestling, but all of these caused him to be more stressed out. Nothing was working until he began riding horses; however, this was not enough for Walt Disney. He needed something a little more. Always a multitasker, Walt decided to combine is love of horseback riding with his desire to integrate with Hollywood society by taking up the then popular sport of polo. At the time, Walt quipped the to him polo seemed to be just golf on a horse (Sampson). He practiced a lot and he even took lessons from a professional. Walt was never athletic and very uncoordinated so this was extremely difficult for him. He went as far as building a polo cage at his studio so he and his employees could practice during breaks. In addition he built a similar cage in his own back yard. These cages consisted of fake wooded horses, wooded balls and goals. He would sit on the wooden horse and practice hitting the balls into the goal. Walt had purchased a total of twelve horses for the sole purpose of playing polo. He had even won a few different trophies. Things seemed to be going really well for Walt until the accident occurred. During a polo match, Walt was hit by a polo ball and knocked out of his saddle. Consequently, he shattered four vertebrae, which lead to excruciating pain. After this accident, he sold his horses and never played another game of polo for as long as he lived. Walt chose to go to a chiropractor rather than a doctor for his injuries, but the chiropractor could not heal his back. If he would have gone to the doctor and been put in a cast it would have healed. This decision and accident had lifelong consequences. Calcium deposits began to build up near his neck, which eventually let to arthritis and pain for the rest of his life. When the back pain flared up, Walt was often unpleasant in his interaction with his staff (Sampson). Walt had officially lost his outlet to relieve stress, but more importantly he lost something that he loved and a part of him was missing.In addition to the polo accident, Walt was diagnosed with cancer towards the end of his life. In November of 1966, he went to the doctor complaining of neck and back pain. They did an X-ray and found tumors on his left lung. He was always a heavy smoker, which explains why he developed lung cancer. The doctors said that it would be best to do surgery so Walt agreed; however, he went back to the studio to ensure that certain things were taken care of. The surgery confirmed that the tumor was cancerous and as a result his entire left lung was removed. Two weeks later, Walt was released from the hospital. He spent Thanksgiving with his family and when he arrived back home he collapsed and was brought back to the hospital. He died on December 15 1966 at 9:30 in the morning. The cause of his death was a heart attack.

About Walt DisneyDuring a 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development of the motion picture medium as a modern American art, Walter Elias Disney, a modern Aesop, established himself and his product as a genuine part of AmericanaDavid Low, the late British political cartoonist, called Disney the most significant figure in graphic arts since Leonardo. A pioneer and innovator, and the possessor of one of the most fertile imaginations the world has ever known, Walt Disney, along with members of his staff, received more than 950 honors and citations from throughout the world, including 48 Academy Awards and 7 Emmys in his lifetime.Walt Disneys personal awards included honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern California, and UCLA; the Presidential Medal of Freedom; Frances Legion of Honor and Officer dAcademie decorations; Thailands Order of the Crown; Brazils Order of the Southern Cross; Mexicos Order of the Aztec Eagle; and the Showman of the World Award from the National Association of Theatre Owners.The creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of Disneyland and Walt Disney World was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. His father, Elias Disney, was an Irish-Canadian. His mother, Flora Call Disney, was of German-American descent. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.Raised on a farm near Marceline, Missouri, Walt early became interested in drawing, selling his first sketches to neighbors when he was only seven years old. At McKinley High School in Chicago, Disney divided his attention between drawing and photography, contributing both to the school paper. At night he attended the Academy of Fine Arts.During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was only 16 years of age, 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 stern, not with stock camouflage, but with drawings and cartoons.After the war, Walt returned to Kansas City, where he began his career as an advertising cartoonist. Here, in 1920, he created and marketed his first original animated cartoons, and later perfected a new method for combining live-action and animation.In August of 1923, Walt Disney left Kansas City for Hollywood with nothing but a few drawing materials, $40 in his pocket and a completed animated and live-action film. Walts brother Roy O. Disney was already in California, with an immense amount of sympathy and encouragement, and $250. Pooling their resources, they borrowed an additional $500 and constructed a camera stand in their uncles garage. Soon, they received an order from New York for the first Alice Comedy short, and the brothers began their production operation in the rear of a Hollywood real estate office two blocks away.On July 13, 1925, Walt married one of his first employees, Lillian Bounds, in Lewiston, Idaho. They were blessed with two daughters Diane, married to Ron Miller, former president and chief executive officer of Walt Disney Productions; and Sharon Disney Lund, formerly a member of Disneys Board of Directors. The Millers have seven children and Mrs. Lund had three. Mrs. Lund passed away in 1993.Mickey Mouse was created in 1928, and his talents were first used in a silent cartoon entitled Plane Crazy. However, before the cartoon could be released, sound burst upon the motion picture screen. Thus Mickey made his screen debut in Steamboat Willie, the worlds first fully synchronized sound cartoon, which premiered at the Colony Theatre in New York on November 18, 1928.Walts drive to perfect the art of animation was endless. Technicolor was introduced to animation during the production of his Silly Symphonies. In 1932, the film entitled Flowers and Trees won Walt the first of his 32 personal Academy Awards. In 1937, he released The Old Mill, the first short subject to utilize the multiplane camera technique.On December 21 of that same year, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated musical feature, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. Produced at the unheard of cost of $1,499,000 during the depths of the Great Depression, the film is still accounted as one of the great feats and imperishable monuments of the motion picture industry. During the next five years, Walt completed such other full-length animated classics as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi.In 1940, construction was completed on Disneys Burbank studio, and the staff swelled to more than 1,000 artists, animators, story men and technicians. During World War II, 94 percent of the Disney facilities were engaged in special government work including the production of training and propaganda films for the armed services, as well as health films which are still shown throughout the world by the U.S. State Department. The remainder of his efforts were devoted to the production of comedy short subjects, deemed highly essential to civilian and military morale.Disneys 1945 feature, the musical The Three Caballeros, combined live action with the cartoon medium, a process he used successfully in such other features as Song of the South and the highly acclaimed Mary Poppins. In all, 81 features were released by the studio during his lifetime.Walts inquisitive mind and keen sense for education through entertainment resulted in the award-winning True-Life Adventure series. Through such films as The Living Desert, The Vanishing Prairie, The African Lion and White Wilderness, Disney brought fascinating insights into the world of wild animals and taught the importance of conserving our nations outdoor heritage.Disneyland, launched in 1955 as a fabulous $17 million Magic Kingdom, soon increased its investment tenfold and entertained, by its fourth decade, more than 400 million people, including presidents, kings and queens and royalty from all over the globe.A pioneer in the field of television programming, Disney began production in 1954, and was among the first to present full-color programming with his Wonderful World of Color in 1961. The Mickey Mouse Club and Zorro were popular favorites in the 1950s.ut that was only the beginning. In 1965, Walt Disney turned his attention toward the problem of improving the quality of urban life in America. He personally directed the design on an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or EPCOT, planned as a living showcase for the creativity of American industry.Said Disney, I dont believe there is a challenge anywhere in the world that is more important to people everywhere than finding the solution to the problems of our cities. But where do we begin? Well, were convinced we must start with the public need. And the need is not just for curing the old ills of old cities. We think the need is for starting from scratch on virgin land and building a community that will become a prototype for the future.Thus, Disney directed the purchase of 43 square miles of virgin land twice the size of Manhattan Island in the center of the state of Florida. Here, he master planned a whole new Disney world of entertainment to include a new amusement theme park, motel-hotel resort vacation center and his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. After more than seven years of master planning and preparation, including 52 months of actual construction, Walt Disney World opened to the public as scheduled on October 1, 1971. Epcot Center opened on October 1, 1982.Prior to his death on December 15, 1966, Walt Disney took a deep interest in the establishment of California Institute of the Arts, a college level, professional school of all the creative and performing arts. Of Cal Arts, Walt once said, Its the principal thing I hope to leave when I move on to greener pastures. If I can help provide a place to develop the talent of the future, I think I will have accomplished something.California Institute of the Arts was founded in 1961 with the amalgamation of two schools, the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and Chouinard Art Institute. The campus is located in the city of Valencia, 32 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Walt Disney conceived the new school as a place where all the performing and creative arts would be taught under one roof in a community of the arts as a completely new approach to professional arts training.Walt Disney is a legend, 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.