walt disney

Walt Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1901

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.

He partnered with his brother Roy, and started a new studio in Roy’s 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 Brother’s Studio and hired some of his old talent from Kansas City.

In 1932, the first color cartoon ‘Flowers and Trees’ won Walt the first of his studio’s Academy Awards.

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.

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 died on December 17, 1966 to ling cancer