Walt Disney 1901-1966
A pioneer and innovator, and the possessor of one of the most fertile and unique imaginations the world has ever known. Walt Disney could take the dreams of America, and make them come true. He was a creator, a imaginative, and aesthetic person
Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago Illinois, to his father, Elias Disney, an Irish-Canadian, and his mother, Flora Call Disney, who was of German-American descent. Walt was 1 of 5 children.
Walt had a very early interest in drawing, and art. When he was 7 years old, he sold small sketches, and drawings to nearby neighbors. Instead of doing his schoolwork Walt doodled pictures. His knack for creating enduring art forms took shape when he talked his sister, Ruth, into helping him paint the side of the family's house with
tar.
Walt’s early jobs included working a summer job with the railroad, selling newspapers, popcorn, and sodas to travelers.
Walt attended McKinley High School in Chicago. There, Disney divided his attention between drawing and photography, and contributing to the school paper. At night he attended the Academy of Fine Arts, to better his drawing abilities.
During his "carefree years" of country living young Walt began to love, and appreciate nature and wildlife, and family and community, which were a large part of agrarian living. Though his father could be quite stern, and often there was little money, Walt was encouraged by his mother, and older brother, Roy.
Walt continued to develop and flourish in his talent for artistic drawing, Besides drawing, Walt had picked up a knack for acting and performing. At school he began to entertain his friends by imitating his silent screen hero, Charlie Chaplin. At his teacher’s invitation, Walt would tell his classmates stories, while illustrating on the chalkboard. Later on, against his father’s permission, Walt would sneak out of the house at night to perform comical skits at local theaters.
During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was under age, only 16 years old at the time. Instead, Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas to France, where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross officials. His ambulance was covered from stem to stern, not with stock
camouflage, but with Disney
cartoons.
The beginning of Walt Disney's world