Disney, Walt
Name |
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Birthname | Walter Elias Disney | ||||
born on | 5 December 1901 at 00:35 (= 12:35 AM ) | ||||
Place | Chicago, Illinois, 41n51, 87w39 | ||||
Timezone | CST h6w (is standard time) | ||||
Data source |
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Astrology data | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Biography
American cartoonist who created Mickey Mouse in 1928 and later made the first feature-length cartoon ever filmed, "Fantasia," 1940, a visual interpretation of orchestral music. He created and built the vast amusement park of Disneyland and founded Disney studios. Though the world cherished the myth of Disney as a kindly, happy storyteller, the truth is that he was "a tall, somber man who appeared to be under the lash of some private demon." With no particular sense of humor, he was, in fact, withdrawn, suspicious and controlling.
He was born the fourth son of five kids into a poverty that was emotional as well as fiscal with a father who spared his kids affection but not the rod. In modern terms, Walt would be called an abused child. His dad, Elias, wandered the land seeking work, and his kids all fled from him as soon as they were able.
Walt went to work at ten, delivering newspapers, and left home at 16 to join the Red Cross Ambulance Corps in WW I. He had learned early to escape his dad by going to art classes and while in the service, kept drawing.
Mustered out of the service, he set up shop as a commercial artist in Kansas City, Missouri. He discovered animation, a new field and took to it. Reduced to living in his studio and eating cold beans out of a can, Disney endured hard times getting established. It was not until he moved to Los Angeles and partnered with his shrewd and kindly older brother Roy, who took care of the business end, that he began to modestly prosper. His mouse, Mickey, became a symbol of the unconquerable chipper American spirit in the depths of the Depression.
Disney was the first to add a music and effects track to a cartoon and that, along with his animation, wowed his audiences. Artistically the '30s were his best years. He embraced Technicolor as readily as he had sound, and actually was, himself, a better gag man and story editor than an animator. He drove his team of young, enthusiastic artists to ever greater sophistication of technique and expression.
When Disney risked everything on his first feature, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the film was breathlessly embraced by the public. In his dark and brilliant "Pinocchio" and the hugely ambitious "Fantasia," he stretched technique to the limits. Predictably, he became the first Hollywood mogul to embrace TV. He turned out live-action comedies and nature documentaries.
Disneyland was another risk-all venture and Disney threw himself obsessively into the park's design, which embraced the best of urban planning, and into all the venues of imagination in creatures, places and fantasies.
Disney smoked three packs of Lucky Strikes a day for decades and liked to unwind with a glass or two of Cutty Sark Scotch. In times of stress, he washed his hands compulsively, as many as 30 times in an hour. Obsessed with trains, he built his one private one, an eighth scale train line on the grounds of his Holmby Hills estate. He collected many cuckoo clocks. He had a strong puritanical streak and broke off his friendship with Spencer Tracy when the actor began an affair with Katherine Hepburn. Many of his employees found him a difficult and demanding boss and resented his patronizing rules. He would fire anyone instantly who used profanity. Though deeply conservative politically, he took risks in business that were breathtaking. His original gamble on "Snow White" was called "Disney's Folly" at the time, but was repaid with enormous success. It made $8 million in its initial 1937 release and is considered a landmark in the history of film. When he started Disneyland, he borrowed heavily to make his dream a reality.
The opening on 17 July 1955 was a disaster, plagued by mechanical breakdowns, power failures and gate-crashers. "It was a madhouse," one observer noted, "People were counterfeiting invitations. We even found a guy who had a ladder up to the fence and was letting people in for five bucks a head." Recovering quickly, Disneyland went on to become a huge success and popular destination for tourists from all over the world.
Disney died of circulatory collapse following lung surgery on 15 December 1966 in Burbank, California and was cremated. He left an institution whose $22 billion in annual sales make it the world's largest media company. He had been awarded some 700 honorary degrees and awards, among them the French Legion of Honor, and his studio had received 29 Academy Awards. Mickey Mouse, for which he had supplied the original voice, had by then become perhaps the most recognizable and enduring character in the world.
For further study, the following dates are given for Disney releases:
1. Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs- 12/21/1937
2. Pinocchio- 2/02/1940
3. Fantasia- 11/13/1940
4. Dumbo- 10/23/1941
5. Bambi- 8/13/1942
6. Saludos Amigos- 2/06/1943
7. The Three Caballeros- 2/03/1945
8. Make Mine Music- 8/15/1946
9. Fun and Fancy Free- 9/27/1947
10. Melody Time- 7/27/1947
11. Adventures of Ichabod And Mr.Toad- 10/05/1949
12. Cinderella- 2/15/1950
13. Alice In Wonderland- 7/28/1951
14. Peter Pan- 2/05/1953
15. Lady and The Tramp- J6/22/1955
16. Sleeping Beauty- J1/29/1959
17. 101 Dalmatians- 1/25/1961
18. The Sword In The Stone- 12/25/1963
19. The Jungle Book- 10/18/1967
20. The Aristocats- 23/24/1970
21. Robin Hood- 11/08/1973
22. Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh- 3/11/1977
23. The Rescuers- 6/22/1977
24. The Fox and The Hound- 7/10/1981
25. The Black Cauldron- 7/24/1985
26. The Great Mouse Detective- 7/02/1986
27. Oliver and Company- 11/18/1988
28. The Little Mermaid- 11/17/1989
29. The Rescuers Down Under- 11/10/1990
30. Beauty and The Beast- 11/15/1991
31. Aladdin- 11/11/1992
32. The Lion King- 6/15/1994
33. Pocahontas- J6/23/1995
34. The Hunchback of Notre Dame- 7/21/1996
35. Hercules- 6/27/1997
36. Mulan- 6/19/1998
37. Tarzan- 6/18/1999
Relationships
- associate relationship with Entertainment: The Mickey Mouse Club (born 3 October 1955). Notes: Creator who voiced title character
- associate relationship with Kelly, Walt (born 25 August 1913)
- friend relationship with Carothers, AJ (born 22 October 1931)
- other kin relationship with Disney, Roy E. (born 10 January 1930). Notes: Uncle/ nephew
- (has as) student relationship with Toonder, Marten (born 2 May 1912). Notes: They never met, but Toonder became known as the Dutch Walt Disney.
- (has as) worker relationship with Adelquist, Hal (born 11 July 1914)
- (has as) worker relationship with Clark, Les (born 17 November 1907)
- (has as) worker relationship with Gottfredson, Floyd (born 5 May 1905)
- (has as) worker relationship with Irvine, Richard (born 5 April 1910)
- (has as) worker relationship with Kinney, Jack (born 29 March 1909)
- (has as) worker relationship with Larson, Eric (born 3 September 1905)
- (has as) worker relationship with Nordli, Ernie (born 15 June 1912)
- (has as) worker relationship with Whitaker, Wetzel (born 30 September 1908)
- compare to chart of Entertainment: Disneyland (born 18 July 1955)
- compare to chart of Entertainment: Mickey Mouse (born 15 May 1928)
- role played of/by Hanks, Tom (born 9 July 1956). Notes: 2013 film "Saving Mr. Banks"
Events
- Work : New Job 16 October 1923 in Los Angeles (Disney Brothers Cartoon Company first contract)
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- Work : Begin Major Project 1928 (Created Mickey Mouse)
- Work : Prize 10 March 1938 in Los Angeles ("Snow White and Seven Dwarfs" wins special Academy Award)
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- Work : Published/ Exhibited/ Released 13 November 1940 in Manhattan (Fantasia)
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- Work : Published/ Exhibited/ Released 17 July 1955 in Santa Ana (Disneyland opens)
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- Death by Disease 15 December 1966 at 09:35 AM in Burbank (Los Angeles County) (Lung surgery, age 65)
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Source Notes
Marion March quotes Disney studio
(Biography: Marc Eliot "Hollywood's Dark Prince" proposes a rather fanciful theory that he had a mysterious beginning, born on January 8, 1891 to a Spanish washerwoman.) Lyndoe in American Astrology May 1967 implies that the time came from him. (CL gives 7:30 AM CST from AFA March 1967, stating that the data came from his daughter in Saturday Evening Post 1956. LMR found the Post issue but the page was torn out. Cook County Vital Statistics Office was unable to find a copy of the birth certificate in fall 2006. PT received a form back saying that "it was not mandatory in the State of Illinois for records to be filed until January 1, 1916...."
Categories
- Diagnoses : Psychological : Abuse - other addictions (Heavy smoker)
- Diagnoses : Psychological : Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder (Hand-washing under stress)
- Family : Childhood : Abuse - Physical/ Verbal (Dad a tyrant)
- Family : Childhood : Memories Bad
- Family : Childhood : Order of birth (Fourth of five)
- Family : Childhood : Sibling circumstances (Worked with brother Roy)
- Lifestyle : Financial : Gain - Financial success in field
- Lifestyle : Financial : Rags to riches
- Lifestyle : Financial : Wealthy
- Lifestyle : Social Life : Hobbies, games (Loved trains)
- Vocation : Art : Cartoonist
- Vocation : Business : Entrepreneur
- Vocation : Entertain/Business : Director
- Notable : Extraordinary Talents : For Creativity
- Notable : Extraordinary Talents : For Imagination
- Notable : Awards : Oscar
- Notable : Famous : Historic figure (Cartoons, Disneyland)
- Notable : Famous : Founder/ originator (Founded Disneyland, first great entertainment park)
- Notable : Famous : Top 5% of Profession
- Notable : Book Collection : Culture Collection
- 1901 births
- Birthday 5 December
- Birthplace Chicago, IL (US)
- Sun 12 Sagittarius
- Moon 9 Libra
- Asc 25 Virgo
- 1966 deaths
- Diagnoses : Psychological : Abuse - other addictions
- Diagnoses : Psychological : Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder
- Family : Childhood : Abuse - Physical/ Verbal
- Family : Childhood : Memories Bad
- Family : Childhood : Order of birth
- Family : Childhood : Sibling circumstances
- Lifestyle : Financial : Gain - Financial success in field
- Lifestyle : Financial : Rags to riches
- Lifestyle : Financial : Wealthy
- Lifestyle : Social Life : Hobbies, games
- Vocation : Art : Cartoonist
- Vocation : Business : Entrepreneur
- Vocation : Entertain/Business : Director
- Notable : Extraordinary Talents : For Creativity
- Notable : Extraordinary Talents : For Imagination
- Notable : Awards : Oscar
- Notable : Famous : Historic figure
- Notable : Famous : Founder/ originator
- Notable : Famous : Top 5% of Profession
- Notable : Book Collection : Culture Collection