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Who Was Walt Disney
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Key Figures
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness and death.
Walt Disney
Walt Disney (1901-1966) pioneered the American animation industry and founded Disney Studios. He was an animator, film producer, and entrepreneur who received numerous Academy Awards and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Born in Chicago in 1901, he was the youngest of four sons and also had a younger sister. He was a mediocre student at school but was very talented in drawing and acting, and he loved to find ways to entertain people.
Walt began his career in entertainment by making animated cartoons. Then, he grew his business by adding new technologies to his creations, such as sound and color. Later, he created the first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, which was a great commercial success and revolutionized the industry.
Walt was as much an entrepreneur as an animator: He created Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland, a theme park based on Disney characters. His legacy remains internationally relevant today.
Roy Disney
Roy was Walt’s brother. Although he was eight years older, the two shared a very close bond. He was Walt’s business partner, and the two created the Disney Brothers Studio in the 1920s. Walt’s strength was in art direction, while Roy was in charge of the finances of running their company.
Roy was the one to help settle the worker’s strike in 1941 because Walt wanted nothing to do with it. Roy was also in charge of finding the funds to finance Snow White and later Disneyland. He and Walt often organized backyard barbecues with their families. After Walt’s passing, Roy made sure that Disney World in Orlando was running smoothly before retiring.
Ub Iwerks
Ub was a talented artist and animator from Kansas and a close friend of Walt’s. Ub and Walt met in Kansas City, and the two worked together at the Kansas City Slide Company.
Ub and Walt tried twice to start their own company, but they failed to find enough clients. Walt recognized Ub’s talent, so when he founded his studio in California, he invited Ub to move there to work for him. It was Ub, much more than Walt, who was behind the drawing of Mickey Mouse. However, due to Walt wanting to take all the credit for making Mickey, Ub ultimately left Disney Studios to work elsewhere.
Lillian Bounds
Lillian joined Disney Studios as an artist and was in charge of inking and colorizing drawings. She was among the few employees whom Walt trusted with his idea of Mickey Mouse ever since a distributor swindled him and bought away the rights to Walt’s previous character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Walt also fell in love with Lillian. After the two married, Lillian quit her job to become a stay-at-home mother. The two had one biological daughter and an adopted daughter together. Lillian is sometimes credited with suggesting the name “Mickey.”
Elias and Flora Disney
Elias and Flora were Walt’s parents. Elias was a construction worker and entrepreneur from whom Walt likely inherited his entrepreneurial spirit and his short temper. Flora was a teacher but quit her job to take care of her children. She was gentle and patient, and the young Walt got along better with her than with his father.
Flora passed away due to a gas leak in her house in California. Walt was the one who bought the house for them, and he was so grieved that he refused to talk of her death. Elias recovered from the poisoning but passed away a few years later due to his old age.
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