Walter Elias "Walt" Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor and film
producer. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer he
received 22 Academy Awards from 59 nominations and has won more individual Oscars than anyone else. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special
Achievement Awards and one Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
Born in Chicago in 1901, Disney developed an early interest in drawing. He took art classes as a boy and got a job as a commercial
illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to Hollywood in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio (later The Walt Disney Company) with
his brother Roy. With Ub Iwerks, Walt developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; 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, seen in features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
(1937), Fantasia, Pinocchio (both 1940), Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942), 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), the second of which received
five Academy Awards.
In the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry, and in 1955 he opened Disneyland. 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 and
the 1960 Winter Olympics. In 1965 he began development of another theme park, Disney World (now Walt Disney World), the heart of which was to be
a new type of city, the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT). Disney was a heavy smoker throughout his life, and died of lung
cancer in December 1966 before the park or city was completed.
Disney was a shy, self-deprecating and insecure man in private but adopted a warm and outgoing public persona. However he had high
standards and high expectations of those with whom he worked. Although there have been accusations that he was racist or anti-Semitic, 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.
