With 26 Oscars, Walt Disney holds the record for the most Academy Awards won by a single individual. His life can be summed up by his own words: “The hardest thing for an artist is to satisfy himself.” The professional achievements of this remarkable animator, actor, and film producer are highlighted by 59 nominations. His entrepreneurial success, which includes the creation of Disneyland, has amassed him billions. However, the son of a carpenter and a teacher saw the purpose of his work not in wealth but in creation. For him, the driving force behind his endeavors was the realization of dreams.
Income or Satisfaction
Walt Disney’s life story began in December 1901 in Chicago. His ancestry included Irish, English, and German roots. Walter Elias was born the fourth of five children during tough times for America, and from a young age, he moved around the country with his parents in search of a better life. At five, the observant boy lived on a farm in Missouri, and by nine, he was in Kansas City. His first drawing was not on paper with a pencil but on the wall of a building using tar and a stick. A neighbor once paid him his first pocket money—25 cents—for a lifelike depiction of a horse. According to Disney’s recollections, that early success inspired him to become an artist, as not many pursuits in life bring both income and creative satisfaction.
Walt Disney at age 14
Starting at 14, he worked as a newspaper and flyer delivery boy, promoting his father’s trade and home business (at that time, Elias Disney was selling homemade fruit preserves). Walt learned to contribute to the family’s income. The four sons would head out into the dark streets of the city at night, carrying heavy bags filled with printed materials, so Walt often arrived at school as if he were coming off a night shift. It’s no surprise that Walt Disney’s success story didn’t begin in school; he wasn’t exactly a star student, often showing up tired. However, fatigue didn’t dampen his boundless imagination. Once, he came to class dressed as President Abraham Lincoln—wearing his father’s coat and stovepipe hat, complete with sideburns and a fake beard. He looked so much like the original that the teachers even allowed him to entertain the other students.
Talent Meets Commerce
Walt’s passion for drawing convinced his father to pay for his teenage art classes at the Kansas City Art Institute. However, he had to interrupt his studies at 16 to serve in World War I, where he drove an ambulance for the Red Cross in France. Walt Disney’s vehicle was easily recognizable among others, adorned with his own humorous caricatures painted on the cab and body. Interestingly, that year, he served alongside Ray Kroc, the future founder of the McDonald’s business empire. Walt Disney was just as enterprising as Kroc from a young age; biographers have noted that during his army days, he sold hand-painted helmets to American soldiers, passing them off as German trophies. His biography also includes tales of “decorating” soldiers’ uniforms with painted medals for a few francs.
Walt Disney next to a car he painted
At 19, Walt Disney landed a job as an artist. While creating his first creative products at a film advertising studio, he became fascinated with the possibilities of animated films. Later, he opened his own studio, Laugh-O-Gram, in Kansas City, where he combined live actors with animated images. Although his first attempt at blending live action with animation was unsuccessful and the company went bankrupt, this step led to a promising partnership with fellow animator Ub Iwerks, who developed the iconic character of Mickey Mouse.
Ub didn’t abandon Walt after a two-month strike when nearly all the studio’s artists left. Walt Disney candidly recalled this early episode in his working relationships: “At first, I was a slave driver, paying my workers crumbs, and eventually, the team revolted against me.” This anecdote speaks volumes about who Walt Disney was; he learned from his mistakes and became the first in the world to establish a reward system for animators, compensating artists for the tricks they devised for characters.
Conquering Hollywood
After moving to Los Angeles in 1923, Walt Disney became disillusioned with acting (there was little demand for him in that role) and, together with his older brother Roy, set up their own animation studio in a relative’s garage. This precursor, named Disney Cartoon Studio, eventually grew into Walt Disney Productions, the foundation of the largest multimedia empire in entertainment history, The Walt Disney Company.
Disney Cartoon Studio business card featuring a self-portrait of Disney, 1921
By 1927, Walt Disney was primarily a creative worker, and only after the war did he delve into film production. He entered Hollywood history as an animator, actor, director (having directed 111 films), screenwriter, and producer (with a portfolio of 576 films). The creator of the first sound and musical cartoons also produced the groundbreaking animated film “Steamboat Willie,” in which he personally voiced Mickey Mouse, the star of the silent film “Plane Crazy” from 1928. In Walt Disney’s musical animated film “Fantasia,” stereo sound made its debut on the big screen. Walt’s innovations also included the early use of three-color (multilayer) cameras in the filming process.
Walt Disney’s honorary Oscar for creating Mickey Mouse, 1932
Starting with the first trick film based on Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” the director created a series of 56 films titled “Alice in Cartoonland.” Among his celebrated works are the animated films “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and “The Three Little Pigs” (the most popular character from these 1930s films was Donald Duck). Walt Disney’s collection includes animated masterpieces like “Pinocchio,” “Dumbo,” “Bambi,” “Cinderella,” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The production of the first full-length animated film (“Snow White”) with an unprecedented budget of $1.5 million during the “Great Depression” generated $8 million in revenue and earned eight Oscars. At the awards ceremony, the creators were presented with one large golden statuette and seven smaller ones—one for each of the dwarfs in the film. Other classics of animated cinema include the masterful works “Peter Pan,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “101 Dalmatians.” Disney films resonate across all continents, promoting timeless values where good triumphs over evil.
Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 trailer for Snow White
The Meaning of Life
The owner of the Knight’s Order held such a high reputation in the world that the public even refused to support rumors about his last weakness: Hollywood gossiped about Walt Disney’s infatuation with Mexican actress Dolores del Río. In contrast, the artist’s family always spoke of him as a wonderful family man.
Walt married his secretary, Lillian Bounds, in 1925. It is known that in the early days of the studio, the owners had to limit expenses for employees, and Walt Disney had a habit of underpaying Lillian, covering production costs with his savings. “My husband said he married me to avoid paying a large debt,” Mrs. Disney once quipped. Despite colleagues sometimes calling Walt a “woman-hater,” everyone acknowledged his respect for Lillian. He always sought her advice (she even suggested the name “Mickey” for the mouse) and adored his daughters—biological Diane and adopted Sharon. According to the girls, it was during their outings that their father conceived the idea of creating Disneyland.
Walt Disney with his family, 1951
Transforming the 17-family property he purchased in 1953 on the outskirts of Los Angeles into a “fairyland” became Walt Disney’s “pink dream.” The idea was to gather the heroes of Disney’s animated films and wonders of technology in a grand amusement park. Disneyland was meant to immerse visitors in a world of thrilling illusions. “A place for happiness” opened in 1955. The first Disneyland was built in Anaheim, California. Although the grand opening faced some hiccups, the unique amusement park later made the founder’s descendants billionaires. The current value of the company’s assets exceeds $203.6 billion. However, according to Walt Disney, “counting profits is boring; it’s more important to engage in creativity that brings joy.”
“Don’t Be Afraid of Big Goals”
Having spent $17 million on building Disneyland, the dreamer recouped his investment with a tenfold return during his lifetime. Over the first 25 years, more than 200 million people visited the “land of fairy tales.” However, the “magician’s” goal was not profit. “I could never convince investors why they should put money into Disneyland,” Walt Disney said. “For bankers, someone’s dream can never be a reliable guarantee.”
Walt Disney passed away on December 15, 1966, at the age of 66; a long history of smoking led to lung cancer (since then, his business empire has permanently refused any cigarette advertising). The tireless dreamer left unfinished the animated film “Destino,” which he was working on in collaboration with Salvador Dalí.
The reputation of the incorrigible dreamer fueled the legend that this extraordinary man was frozen in a cryogenic chamber: supposedly, in the future, scientific progress would allow for the revival of his frozen body and the cure of his terminal illness. Belief in the impossible was part of Walt Disney’s personality, so such a turn of events seemed entirely in character. In reality, around that time (a month or two later), another volunteer was frozen for scientific purposes. According to official reports, after cremation, the remains of the renowned animator were buried in the family vault at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Walt Disney’s advice to his descendants was published among his famous quotes: “Don’t be afraid of difficult goals, for doing the impossible is the greatest fun.”
Photo from open sources