Walter Elias Disney was a man of great vision. He has won more Academy Awards than anyone else and became one of the most famous animators in history.
Here are some facts you may have never known about one of the most famous figures in the world!
Disney was born in Chicago on December 5, 1901.
Disney was very shy, and he also loved trains.
That makes sense though, considering the grand scope of the Disney world. He must have spent a lot of time envisioning his dreams coming true. Luckily for him, many of his dreams did.
He played the role of Peter Pan in a school play.
He dropped out of high school at the age of 16.
Disney wanted to join the army, but was denied because he was underage. Instead he became an ambulance driver with the Red Cross in France.
Disney was the voice actor for Mickey Mouse from its creation in 1928 until 1947.
He was friends with Uncle Sam, so he helped produce WWII propaganda films and training videos for the U.S. military.
Disney also made custom cartoons for the troops to boost morale.
He won 26 Academy Awards, 3 Golden Globe Awards and 1 Emmy.
Wall-E was named after Disney (Walter Elias).
I bet you won't know these next facts!
He loved the song "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins.
Disney had two daughters, Sharon and Diane.
Disney had plans to build a ski-resort before his death, but the Walt Disney Company moved forward with Disney World instead.
The Walt Disney logo is not Disney's real signature.
Disney despised being called Mr. Disney, so he made workers at Disneyland put their first names on their name tags.
Employees also referred to Disney by the code name "man is in the forest." This meant animators couldn't slack off because the boss is coming back in the studio.
The American animation pioneer died of lung cancer in 1966.
Disney smoked cigarettes for a very long time.
Disney was NOT frozen, he was cremated and his ashes were spread in California.
After his death, 25% of Disney's estate went to CalArts, which helped the private university build its campus.
Which facts surprised you?