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Disney

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Walt Disney

Other Name: Walter Elias Disney

Birth: December 5, 1901, Chicago, Illinois

Death: December 15, 1966

Category: Entertainment

Discipline: Cartoonist, amusement park creator

Assessment: Walt Disney is remembered for his educational and entertaining cartoons. He was the creator of over 100 full feature length cartoons. He also is remembered for creating the magical worlds of Disney Land and Disney World.

Language: English

Education: Mckinley High school, and night classes at the Academy of Fine Art in Chicago.

Achievements:

Walt Disney created the first synchronized sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, which also featured the later famous Mickey Mouse. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfswas the first full length animated feature, which he was later given a special Academy Award for (one large award and seven small ones); along with over 100 other animated feature films. The Old Mill was the first short which used the multi-plane camera technique, and Fantasia was the first movie to use multi-track sound. He also created the world famous theme park: Disney World; which has put smiles on millions of peoples faces.

Major Work: Mickey Mouse

Parents: Father: Elias Disney, Mother: Flora Call Disney

Siblings: Three brothers and one sister

Spouse: Lillian Bounds

Children: Diane and Sharon

Details:

Walt was born in Chicago, Illinois and later moved to Marceline, Missouri. As a child he was constantly drawing, and often sold his drawings to neighbors for extra money. Near his farm in Marceline there was a railroad where Walt often sold sketches, popcorn and soda to the train passengers. The Disney family soon moved back to Chicago where Walt attended McKinley High School.

During high school he studied both drawing and photography, and took night classes at the Academy of Fine arts. The Disney family moved to Kansas City, Kansas, where Walt continued to study drawing and photography. Walt wanted to join the military and secretly enlisted, soon after it was discovered he was only 16 and he was rejected After being rejected by the military Walt enlisted with Red Cross and was send to France to assist Red Cross officials. The ambulance he drove was covered in cartoon drawings he made while in the field.

When he returned to Kansas he started his first animation company called Laugh-O-Grams. His company shortly went bankrupt and Walt decided to move to Hollywood to jumpstart his career. His brother Roy already lived in Hollywood and joined Walt to put together their first studio in their uncle’s garage, and soon after they got an order from buyers in New York for the Disney’s first cartoon, “Alice in Cartoon land (the Alice Comedies).” After success with the Alice Comedies Walt and his brother moved their studio to the back of a Hollywood real estate office; which allowed them to expand and begin to be a part of the ‘Hollywood scene.’ Lillian Bounds was one of the Disney’s first employees, and later became Walt’s wife. They had two kids together, and Walt was said to have been a very committed husband and father.

Three years after marrying Lillian, in 1925, Walt made what is now his most famous Disney character, Mickey Mouse. Mickey’s debut film was Steamboat Williewhich was the first cartoon to use synchronized sound. Color was added to the world of animation, which the Disney’s began using in their films; Walt held the patent for Technicolor, which made the Disney’s the only producers of color cartoons for years. Soon the Disney brothers made Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full length animated movie. The film made over 1,499,000 dollars, which was unheard of in the middle of the depression. Later Walt was presented with a special Academy Award for the film, which was one large award trophy, and seven tiny replicas. After the success of Snow White the Disney brothers were able to build a new studio in Burbank, and expand their staff to over 1000 people.

One of the most tragic events of Walt’s life happened abruptly after the Burbank studio was built: Walt and Roy’s parents moved out to California into a new house the brothers had bought them, their mother, Flora, died a month later of asphyxiation due to a malfunctioning furnace. The guilt of this accident plagued Walt for the rest of his life. The Disney brothers continued to produce cartoons, and now began to produce educational cartoons for children.

The True-life adventure series made by the Disney’s were famous for their educational insight into conservation. Walt Disney’s largest dream was finally accomplished in 1955; the theme park Disney Land opened and was an attraction to people from all over the world.

The second Disney theme park opened in 1989; the land was 43 square miles big, and included the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), and the Disney-MGM Grand park, all together creating Disney World. These parks fulfilled Walt’s desire to make people happy, and the parks continue to do that to this day. Walt also pursued a career in television, he had two hit shows: The Wonderful World of Color, 1961, which was the first full color television program, and The Mickey Mouse Club, which was a popular show for years. The success of Walt Disney is a legacy which is still known today, his cartoon shorts, movies, television shows, and theme parks are experienced by millions and will continue to set the president for entertainment for years to come.  RK

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/infomark.do?&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GVRL&docId=CX3404500141&source=gale&userGroupName=ucsantacruz&version=1.0

http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/infomark.do?&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GVRL&docId=CX3402900081&source=gale&userGroupName=ucsantacruz&version=1.0

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