- Personally disliked Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953) because of the lack of "heart" and "warmth" in their main characters. Was very sad about the unfavorable reception of Fantasia (1940) as he was proud of the film. Ironically, the first re-issue of Fantasia (1940) after his death was the first time it turned a profit.
- Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, an Army draft notice, addressed to Mr. Donald Duck, was delivered to the Disney studios.
- Reports surfaced that shortly after his death, Disney Company executive board members were shown a short film that Disney had made before his death, where he addressed the board members by name, telling each of them what was expected of them. The film ended with Disney saying, "I'll be seeing you."
- Has a record of 59 Oscar-nominations.
- 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.
- Tom Hanks is a distant relative of Walt Disney. Hanks portrayed Walt Disney in the 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks (2013).
- 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.
- Mickey Mouse's birthday is November 18, 1928, the date when Steamboat Willie (1928) was released.
- 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.
- 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.
- The last animated movie he ever put his personal touch on was The Jungle Book (1967).
- 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.
- The name Donald Duck is frequently written in on voting ballots in Scandinavian countries as a protest vote.
- Was awarded an honorary Oscar "For the creation of Mickey Mouse" by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences at the fifth Awards ceremony held on November 10, 1932, at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. It was only the second honorary Oscar yet awarded by the Academy. The recipient of the first honorary Oscar, Charles Chaplin, was supposed to present the award to Disney, but he stayed home that night.
- 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).
- Became friends with Charles Chaplin during their respective days at United Artists in the 1930s; Disney credited Chaplin for helping him correctly pace his feature films.
- His favorite films he produced were Bambi (1942) and Dumbo (1941). He also held Fantasia (1940) and Mary Poppins (1964) in very high regard.
- Even though Walt himself never knew it, Merlin in The Sword in the Stone (1963) was modeled after him. Story writer Bill Peet saw them both as ill-tempered, mischievous, and completely brilliant.
- 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.
- Was first nominated for an Oscar (as producer) in 1932, the year he also got the honorary award for creating Mickey Mouse. From that year until 1965 (the year before his death), Disney received one or more Academy Award nominations every year except 1933 and 1941.
- Reportedly, his famous trademark signature was designed for him by one of his animators.
- 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.
- Fourteen of the seventeen animated films produced during Disney's lifetime, were drawn from European legends and fables.
- He refused to allow Alfred Hitchcock to film at Disneyland in the early 1960s, because Hitchcock had made "that disgusting movie Psycho (1960).".
- He got his idea and inspiration for Disneyland, when he visited the "Tivoli"-park in Denmark.
- Voice of 'Mickey Mouse' from 1928-1947.
- Walt Disney was fired from his first job as an animator for the Kansas City Star (Ernest Hemingway also worked there a year before him) because he "lacked imagination". This story is often cited as a reason to persevere.
- The day that he opened Disneyland in Anaheim, a plumber's strike broke out and water pressure was restricted to avoid plumbing problems. Disney had to choose between either water fountains or toilets, there wasn't enough water for both. He chose toilets, causing one reporter to half-jokingly quip, "Walt's trying to force us to buy Coca-Cola.".
- 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. The breakdown of his competitive Oscar wins are 12 for Best Cartoon / Animated Short (a record for one category), six for Two-Reel / Live Action Short, two for Documentary Short and two for Documentary Feature.
- Despite the fact that he hosted his television show for more than 12 years and was one of the most recognizable figures in the world, Disney appeared on-camera in only one of his films, The Reluctant Dragon (1941).
- 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.
- Built a life-size train set surrounding his house in Holmby Hills, CA.
- Walt's ancestors were named d'Isigny, and came from Isigny-sur-Mer in Normandy, France. In 1066, two soldiers, Hughes d'Isigny and his son Robert, fought with William the Conqueror during the conquest of England. After the conquest, Hughes d'Isigny and his son decided to stay in England. Their name was, over the generations, transformed into "Disney". In the XVII century, a branch of the Disney family emigrated to Ireland. In 1834, Arundel Elias Disney and his brother Robert emigrated from Kilkenny County, Ireland, to Northern America with their families. They left Liverpool and arrived to New York on October 3rd. Once in America, the two brothers parted. Robert established himself in a farm in the Midwest, whereas Arundel decided to reach Goderich Township, Ontario.
- Was a major contributor to the success of the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, primarily via his creative use of audio-animatronics (lifelike, internally animated figures). Among other things, he designed the Carousel of Progress for the General Electric exhibit, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln for the State of Illinois exhibit, and, most enduringly, It's a Small World for Pepsi Cola. One of the most popular attractions at the Fair, featuring animated figures of children from all over the world, the latter has since successfully established itself as a perennial crowd-pleaser at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. All three exhibits were transformed into attractions at Disneyland. Only the Carousel of Progress is not still open. It was closed to be turned into America Sings in Tomorrowland.
- 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).
- Walt was fond of animals but had reservations about cats because, as he put it, "You can't tell them what to do".
- His favorite song was "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins (1964). When he was depressed Walt would call Richard M. Sherman to his office and have him play the song. According to Sherman, the song held special meaning for Disney; he considered it to be a perfect summation of the spirit of his company, and why he created Walt Disney Pictures in the first place.
- Very opposed to Hollywood's monopolistic film production market in the 1930s. He became one of the founding members of the Society for Independent Motion Picture Producers.
- Greatly disliked being called ''Mr Disney'' and would insist on being referred to by his first name by employees. Occasionally when he was referred to as ''Mr Disney'', he'd say something along the lines of "Please, call me Walt. The only Mr. at the Disney Studios is our lawyer, Mr. Lessing.".
- 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.
- 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.
- Wanted to name Mickey Mouse "Mortimer Mouse" when he drew him. He showed the picture to his wife and his wife did not like the idea and told him to name him "Mickey Mouse". Some historians believe that Mickey's name was inspired from a toy mouse by Performo Toy Company named "Micky" (spelled without an "e"), which was extremely popular and had already been selling at the time when Disney was developing his Mickey Mouse.
- Disney's record-breaking streaks of consecutive Oscar wins include: 1934-1940 (7) and 1951-1956 (6).
- Daughter Sharon Disney was adopted.
- 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. In the early 1940s he made exceptions for two favored staff members, Ub Iwerks and animator Bill Tytla.
- Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2000 for the multiplane camera.
- Active anti-communist.
- 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.
- 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).
- As a teenager, Walt Disney was a member of the Order of DeMolay, a youth organization affiliated with Free Masons.
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