Walt Disney
Walt Disney
05.12.1901 - 15.12.1966 (65 years) (Hermosa, Chicago, Illinois, USA)
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor, and film producer. He was a pioneer of the American animation industry who introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual film producer, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Disney was born in Chicago and grew up in Missouri. He developed an early interest in drawing, starting work as a commercial illustrator at age 18. He moved to California in 1923 and set up the Disney Brothers Studio with his brother Roy. His first major success was the character Mickey Mouse, which he developed in 1928 with Ub Iwerks; he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years. As the studio grew, Disney became more adventurous, introducing synchronized sound, full-color three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons, and technical developments in cameras. The results can be seen in features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942), which all furthered the development of animated film. New animated and live-action films followed after World War II, including the critically successful Cinderella (1950) and Mary Poppins (1964), which received five Academy Awards. In the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry, opening Disneyland in 1955. To fund the project, he diversified into television programs such as Walt Disney's Disneyland and The Mickey Mouse Club; he was also involved in planning the 1959 Moscow Fair, the 1960 Winter Olympics, and the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 1965, Disney began development of Walt Disney World, the heart of which was to be a new type of city called the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT). He was a heavy smoker throughout his life, and died of lung cancer in 1966 before either the park or the EPCOT project was completed. Disney was a shy, self-deprecating, and insecure man in private, but he adopted a warm and outgoing public persona. He had high standards and high expectations of those with whom he worked. There have been accusations that he was racist or anti-Semitic, although they have been contradicted by many who knew him. His reputation changed in the years after his death from a purveyor of homely patriotic values to a representative of American imperialism. He nevertheless remains an important figure in the history of animation and in the cultural history of the United States, where he is considered a national cultural icon. His film work continues to be shown and adapted; his studio maintains high standards in its production of popular entertainment, and the Disney amusement parks have grown in size and number to attract visitors in several countries.