Walt Disney: a Short Biography

Walt Disney: A Short Biography Walt Disney was a man with a vision. I have chosen Walt Disney because of his contribution to the history of the United States of America. He is a legend, and a hero to some. The Disney name has come to represent creation, optimism, and creation. Walt completely changed the film industry and a television pioneer, and he helped the country create a much greater appreciation for family morals and values. Walt Disney was born in Chicago Illinois to his parents Elias and Flora Disney on December 5th 1901.

Walt was one of five children. Right after Walt was born the family moved to Missouri to the town of Marceline. Walt lived most of his childhood in this town. At a very young age had an interest in art, he would spend hours drawing and sketching, and would even try to make a little money by selling his artwork to neighbors. When he reached 15 he started to pursue his art career by attending McKinley High school in Chicago where he studied photography and art.

Times were always a little tough for the Disney family.

Walt’s father was a very stern man, and since there was often little money made matters even worse at times. Although times were always a little tough Walt’s mother always encouraged Walt and his brother Roy to pursue their talents as artists. At the age of 16 Walt tried to enlist in the military, he was rejected because he was underage, but that did not stop Walt.

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Walt then joined the Red Cross and was then sent overseas to France. Walt spent a year in France chauffeuring around Red Cross officials helping the war effort and also driving an ambulance.

The ambulance that Walt drove was covered from front to back in cartoons that Walt had drew and sketched. After returning to the United States from France, Walt began to pursue a career in commercial art. He started a small company by the name of “Laugh-O-Grams” which failed. He then traveled to Hollywood with 20 dollars and a suitcase full of clothes to try to start again. Once in Hollywood he had a break with his “Alice Comedies”, and soon became a recognized figure in Hollywood, soon after Walt married a woman by the name of Lillian Bounds in 1925.

Lillian was one of Walt’s first employees and soon after they had two daughters by the names of Diane and Sharon. In 1932 Walt created a production called “Flowers and Trees” which was the first ever color cartoon and won Walt’s studio its first academy award. He released another color cartoon in 1937 called “The Old Mill” which was the first short cartoon to utilize the “multi-plane camera technique”. Later that year Walt released “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” which was the first ever full length musical animated movie.

The movie was a huge success and earned a staggering $1, 499, 000 dollars in the middle of the depression. Today snow white is still considered one of the greatest movies of all time because of how it has lasted throughout the years. During the next five years Walt Disney Studios released other classics such as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi. With the success of Walt Disney Studios, Walt had another dream, and that dream was to create a clean, family friendly and organized amusement park.

His dream soon became true when Disneyland opened its doors in the summer of 1955. Walt also became a television pioneer with television production starting in 1954 and was the one of the first to offer color programming with the “Wonderful World of Color” which aired in 1961. Walt Disney was a true American pioneer and success. A man that would not accept failure as an option, embraced the American tradition brought the future to us with his films. His legacy lives on till this day and will most likely continue on into the future.