Walter Elias disney
Learn more about the man behind the magic! From 1901 to 1966 this man created magic
Walter Elias Disney
December 5, 1901- December 15, 1966
Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Hermosa, Illinois to Elias and Flora Call Disney. Disney, being one of five kids, four boys, and one girl, spent most of his childhood in Marceline, Missouri until he moved to Kansas City. Disney at a young age adapted a love for amusement parks. At the time of his childhood, Kansas City was home to an amusement park named Electric Park. This park was covered in lights and signs and Disney attended this park various times with his family. However, it was when he first walked by the park that he truly saw the magic it had. The lights and firework displays fascinated him and this is where his true passion of amusement parks began.
Walt’s father owned a newspaper company, which Walt worked for. In addition to that, Walt sold some of his artwork locally with the help of his grandfather. From the beginning Walt had a very strong work ethic. His family installed this work ethic in him, especially his father. Walt did attend a local high school in his town, in addition to taking drawing and photography classes at the Chicago Art Institute. However, at sixteen years old Walt chose to drop out of high school. Walt’s closest brother, Roy decided to join the army after Walt dropped out of high school. Walt, being seventeen at the time, was unable to join the army, however, Walt and his mother forged his signature so Walt could become an ambulance driver for the American army. Walt’s ambulances were very well known for having drawings on them done by Walt. However, Walt’s wish of staying close with Roy was diminished once he arrived in France, and after just one year Walt returned back home.
Walt returned to Kansas City and quickly got a job at the Pesmen- Rubin Art Studio where he eventually met cartoonist Ubee Iwwerks. After this Disney began working at the Kansas City Film Ad Company doing a lot of work with cameras. Fred Harman, an employee at the Kansas City Film Ad Company, decided to partner with Walt and they ended up creating their own company, Laugh- O- Grams. However, after just a short period of time the company went bankrupt and Walt and Roy decided to move to California. This is where they began the Disney Brothers’ Studio. It was just two years later in 1925 when Walt hired Lillian Bounds to ink and paint celluloid. After just a few months Walt and Lillian married on July 25, 1925.
Walt, Roy and Iwwerks started to produce Alice Comedies but needed a distributor. Fortunately, Margaret Winkler in New York decided to be the distributor of the animation short clips. The series ended in 1927 and had lost most of its popularity at that point. Luckily at the time, Universal Pictures were looking for a new all animated short series. Disney’s studio was to produce it and after this came Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. However, after requesting for a higher fee, Disney lost the rights to Oswald and did not gain them back until 2006. Fortunately this is how Mickey Mouse came to be in 1928. Mickey was originally supposed to be named Mortimer, however, it was Lillian Disney who came up with the name Mickey. This was just the start to Disney’s success. After this Disney began to feature Mickey Mouse in short animated films. Then on December 21, 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs came out. After this came Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Treasure Island (1950), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), 101 Dalmatians (1961). Disney to date has produced over ninety films and has about ten in the making.
After producing various movies Disney decided to open a theme park, and this is where the utopian experience began. Shortly after buying land in central Florida to start the construction of Disney World Walt died on December 15, 1996 at 65 due to lung cancer. However, it was Roy Disney who finished up Walt’s dream of Disney World in 1971.
Sources Cited:
Hamilton, Rich. "Walt Disney’s Success Story»MagicStrategy.com." MagicStrategycom RSS. Rich Hamilton Productions, 15 Sept. 2003. Web. 31 Jan. 2015.
Anabel. "Marceline to Magic Tour." Disney World, Lake Buena Vista. 12 Mar. 2015. Speech.
Hamilton, Rich. Disney Magic: Business Strategy You Can Use at Work and at Home. Phoenix, AZ: SellBetter Tools, 2003. Print.
Walt’s father owned a newspaper company, which Walt worked for. In addition to that, Walt sold some of his artwork locally with the help of his grandfather. From the beginning Walt had a very strong work ethic. His family installed this work ethic in him, especially his father. Walt did attend a local high school in his town, in addition to taking drawing and photography classes at the Chicago Art Institute. However, at sixteen years old Walt chose to drop out of high school. Walt’s closest brother, Roy decided to join the army after Walt dropped out of high school. Walt, being seventeen at the time, was unable to join the army, however, Walt and his mother forged his signature so Walt could become an ambulance driver for the American army. Walt’s ambulances were very well known for having drawings on them done by Walt. However, Walt’s wish of staying close with Roy was diminished once he arrived in France, and after just one year Walt returned back home.
Walt returned to Kansas City and quickly got a job at the Pesmen- Rubin Art Studio where he eventually met cartoonist Ubee Iwwerks. After this Disney began working at the Kansas City Film Ad Company doing a lot of work with cameras. Fred Harman, an employee at the Kansas City Film Ad Company, decided to partner with Walt and they ended up creating their own company, Laugh- O- Grams. However, after just a short period of time the company went bankrupt and Walt and Roy decided to move to California. This is where they began the Disney Brothers’ Studio. It was just two years later in 1925 when Walt hired Lillian Bounds to ink and paint celluloid. After just a few months Walt and Lillian married on July 25, 1925.
Walt, Roy and Iwwerks started to produce Alice Comedies but needed a distributor. Fortunately, Margaret Winkler in New York decided to be the distributor of the animation short clips. The series ended in 1927 and had lost most of its popularity at that point. Luckily at the time, Universal Pictures were looking for a new all animated short series. Disney’s studio was to produce it and after this came Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. However, after requesting for a higher fee, Disney lost the rights to Oswald and did not gain them back until 2006. Fortunately this is how Mickey Mouse came to be in 1928. Mickey was originally supposed to be named Mortimer, however, it was Lillian Disney who came up with the name Mickey. This was just the start to Disney’s success. After this Disney began to feature Mickey Mouse in short animated films. Then on December 21, 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs came out. After this came Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Treasure Island (1950), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), 101 Dalmatians (1961). Disney to date has produced over ninety films and has about ten in the making.
After producing various movies Disney decided to open a theme park, and this is where the utopian experience began. Shortly after buying land in central Florida to start the construction of Disney World Walt died on December 15, 1996 at 65 due to lung cancer. However, it was Roy Disney who finished up Walt’s dream of Disney World in 1971.
Sources Cited:
Hamilton, Rich. "Walt Disney’s Success Story»MagicStrategy.com." MagicStrategycom RSS. Rich Hamilton Productions, 15 Sept. 2003. Web. 31 Jan. 2015.
Anabel. "Marceline to Magic Tour." Disney World, Lake Buena Vista. 12 Mar. 2015. Speech.
Hamilton, Rich. Disney Magic: Business Strategy You Can Use at Work and at Home. Phoenix, AZ: SellBetter Tools, 2003. Print.