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Walt Disney Facts
| Sign | Sagittarius |
| Born |
Dec 5, 1901 Chicago, IL |
| Died |
Dec 15, 1966 Los Angeles, CA |
| Age | Died at 65 |
| Total Facts | 83 |
According to former Disney animators, the whispered code that Walt Disney was nearby was "Man is in the forest," a sly reference to the film Bambi (1942).
Active anti-communist.
After adapting Ludwig van Beethoven's 6th Symphony for the soundtrack of Fantasia (1940), he exclaimed, "Gee! This'll make Beethoven!".
Although he has been called politically conservative, actually voted mainly for Democrats until the 1940 presidential election. This was a main reason why he was asked by HUAC to testify, and was always particularly anti-communist, because his worst nightmare was being called one.
Although he wore a mustache all his life, he forbade his employees to wear them, not wanting to compromise on the "clean-cut image" that the Disney company had.
Among his favorite desserts were lemon meringue pie and chocolate ice cream soda.
As a teenager, Walt Disney was a member of the Order of DeMolay, a youth organization affiliated with Free Masons.
Became friends with Charles Chaplin during their respective days at United Arists in the 1930s; Disney credited Chaplin for helping him correctly pace his feature films.
Became interested in personalizing animals' characters after carelessly killing a small owl as a young boy. He felt deeply remorseful and guilty and vowed never again to kill a living creature.
Before his 35th birthday, his brother Roy encouraged employees to throw the boss a surprise party. Two of the animators thought it would be hilarious to make a short movie of Mickey and Minnie Mouse "consummating their relationship." When Disney saw the animation at the party, he feigned laughter and playfully asked who made the film. As soon as the two animators came forward, he fired them on the spot and left.
Born at 12:30am-CST.
Brother of Herbert Disney, Raymond Disney, Roy O. Disney and Ruth Disney.
Brother-in-law of Hazel Sewell.
Built a life-size train set surrounding his house in Holmby Hills, CA.
Chose Anaheim, California for the location of Disneyland after demographics experts convinced him it would become a major population center within 10 years. They were right.
Daughter Sharon Disney was adopted.
Death caused by circulatory failure due to complications from lung cancer.
Disney had been in bad health for a few months, before he finally entered St. Joseph Hospital in Burbank, California, on 2 November 1966, complaining of pain in his neck and back. An X-ray revealed a tumor on his left lung and surgery was advised. Disney, however, checked out to finish some studio business and re-entered the hospital on 6 November. Surgery was performed the next day and his left lung was found to be entirely cancerous and was removed.
Disney is credited as Retlaw Yensid for Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966)'s original story. The pseudonym is Walter Disney reversed. The Disney family's company was named Retlaw Enterprises, Disney's first full name reversed.
Disney was long rumored to be anti-Semitic during his lifetime, and such rumors have persisted after his death. Disney's 2006 biographer Neal Gabler, the first writer to gain unrestricted access to the Disney archives, concluded that available evidence does not support such accusations. "That's one of the questions everybody asks me," Gabler said in a CBS interview. "My answer to that is, not in the conventional sense that we think of someone as being an anti-Semite. But he got the reputation because, in the 1940s, he got himself allied with a group called the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, which was an anti-Communist and anti-Semitic organization. And though Walt himself, in my estimation, was not anti-Semitic, nevertheless, he willingly allied himself with people who were anti-Semitic, and that reputation stuck. He was never really able to expunge it throughout his life." Disney ultimately distanced himself from the Motion Picture Alliance in the 1950s. The Walt Disney Family Museum acknowledges that Disney did have "difficult relationships" with some Jewish men, and that ethnic stereotypes common to films of the 1930s were included in some early cartoons, such as Three Little Pigs; but points out that he employed Jews throughout his career, and was named "Man Of The Year" in 1955 by the B
Disney's death spawned two rumors that became urban legends. The first is that he had his body cryogenically frozen. The second held that he was buried somewhere on the grounds of Disneyland. Both rumors are completely untrue. Disney was cremated and his ashes interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
Disney's record-breaking streaks of consecutive Oscar wins include: 1934-1940 (7) and 1951-1956 (6).
Donald Duck's birthday is June 9, 1934, the date when The Wise Little Hen (1934) was released.
Father of Diane Disney (born December 18, 1933).
Father-in-law of Ron Miller (married to his daughter Diane Disney).
Fourteen of the seventeen animated films produced during Disney's lifetime, were drawn from European legends and fables.
Good friend of Art Linkletter.
Grandfather of Christopher Disney Miller, Joanna Miller, Tamara Scheer, Jennifer Miller-Goff, Walter Elias Disney Miller, Ronald Miller, Victoria Brown.
Has a record of 59 Oscar-nominations.
He also founded the motion picture distribution company Buena Vista Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of his empire. His empire now includes Hollywood Pictures Company and its specialty films unit; Caravan Pictures; Touchstone Pictures; Miramax Films Corporation and its specialty films unit, Dimension Films; American Broadcasting Company (ABC), ABC Family Channel, and ESPN.
He got his idea and inspiration for Disneyland, when he visited the "Tivoli"-park in Denmark.
He often called composer Richard M. Sherman into his office to play the piano for him. His favorite song was Feed the Birds from Mary Poppins (1964).
He refused to allow Alfred Hitchcock to film at Disneyland in the early 1960s, because Hitchcock had made "that disgusting movie Psycho (1960).".
He was a chain smoker. He avoided smoking when he was in public view, especially where he might be seen by children. His smokers' cough often heralded his arrival in a particular wing of the studio, allowing off-task employees time to get on task.
He was one of the founding members of the right-wing Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals in February 1944, along with Robert Taylor, Adolphe Menjou, Sam Wood, Norman Taurog, Gary Cooper, Clarence Brown and Clark Gable.
His father, Elias Disney, was a professional carpenter by trade who, among other things, worked on the construction of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the prototype for all World's Fairs to follow. When Walt and his brother Roy O. Disney were boys, their father would tell them of the many wonders of the Fair, such as the first ferris wheel, thus inspiring the dreams that would make them both successful as adults.
His favorite films he produced were Bambi (1942) and Dumbo (1941). He also held Fantasia (1940) and Mary Poppins (1964) in very high regard.
His grandfather lived in Ontario, Canada. From there he moved to the United States.
Holds the record of winning the most Academy Awards with 22 wins in competitive categories. Additionally, he won three honorary Oscars and an Irving Thalberg Memorial Award.
Identified as the founder of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority in film clips shown in the queue area of Rocket Rods (formerly, the CircleVision 360 Theater) at Disneyland.
In 1964, Disney was one of several Americans chosen by President Lyndon Johnson to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. The award ceremony was held at the White House on 14 September 1964. The urban myth that Disney wore a "Vote for Goldwater" button during the ceremony to endorse Johnson's opponent in the upcoming election, Republican Barry Goldwater, is completely false and has been debunked many times.
In 1981, Walt Disney Productions (now The Walt Disney Company) purchased the rights to the Disney name from Retlaw Enterprises, the Disney family's company. Retlaw is Walter spelled backwards.
In his autobiography, one-time Disney storyboard artist Bill Peet essentially described Walt Disney as a chain-smoking "work-a-holic" who was prone to strong mood swings.
In the animated short Mickey's Rival (1936), a character named Mortimer Mouse was modeled after him.
Inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in 1993.
Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2000 for the multiplane camera.
Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA. Facing the Freedom Mausoleum, to your left hand side are two small private gardens. His is the one farthest back. Plaque is on the wall behind the trees (to your left standing at the gate).
It is Hollywood legend that, lying on his deathbed at St. Jospeh's Hospital in Burbank (across the street from the Disney Studios) his last words were about how shabby the studio's water tower looked. Visible from a nearby freeway, towering above the backlot, it is adorned with the image of his most beloved creation, Mickey Mouse. In adherance with what they believed were their founder's last wishes, studio executives have made sure the water tower was regularly repainted since he died in 1966.
Met Ray Kroc while both were training to drive ambulances for the Red Cross during World War I; the War ended before they could be sent overseas. Years later, Kroc, now CEO of McDonald's, approached Disney about opening a McDonald's at Disneyland, which Disney was in the process of building. But the deal fell through when Kroc refused Disney's demand to increase the price of McDonald's French fries from 10 to 15 cents.
Mickey Mouse's birthday is November 18, 1928, the date when Steamboat Willie (1928) was released.