Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois. He was the fourth of five children born to Elias and Flora Disney. Walt’s family moved to Marceline, Missouri, when he was four years old.
It was in Marceline that Walt developed his love for drawing and storytelling.
Walt’s family moved back to Chicago when he was seven years old.
Walt attended McKinley High School, where he took art classes and contributed to the school newspaper. He also worked part-time as a newspaper cartoonist.
After high school, Walt attended the Kansas City Art Institute. However, he dropped out after a year to pursue a career in animation. Walt worked for several different animation studios in Kansas City before moving to Hollywood in 1923 where he and his brother Roy Disney founded the Disney Brothers Studio.
The brothers saw some success but their popularity exploded in 1928 when he created Mickey Mouse. He went on to become one of the greatest innovators in animation that America ever has known.
A list of classics produced by Walt Disney are as follows:
- Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
- Pinocchio (1940)
- Fantasia (1940)
- Dumbo (1941)
- Bambi (1942)
- Saludos Amigos (1943)
- The Three Caballeros (1945)
- Make Mine Music (1946)
- Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
- Melody Time (1948)
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
- Cinderella (1950)
- Alice in Wonderland (1951)
- Peter Pan (1953)
- Lady and the Tramp (1955)
- Sleeping Beauty (1959)
- One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
- The Sword and the Stone (1963)
- The Jungle Book (1967)
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
Walt Disney passed away in 1966 of Lung Cancer. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh contained many of his shorts that were produced before his passing. The Jungle Book was released after his passing but it had already been produced.
These classics do not even contain the many live-action films he produced and the shorts he produced through the years. He was a prolific producer and storyteller who had a keen ability to take a popular fairy tale and animate it.
When he passed in the mid-60s it shocked the world as his films had already grown to become popular in other countries.
Family Overview
The Disney Family moved around a bit through the generations.
They were originally from Ireland and then migrated to the United States. Walt Disney’s grandfather passed away in Kansas, but his father moved to Canada and then back to the United States before the birth of Walt.
Walt Disney and his siblings would remain connected and Walt and his brother Roy shared their success with their family.
Contrary to that period when famous actors and producers in Hollywood married multiple times, Walt and his wife met and married and remained married.
They had two children one being biological and the other adopted.
His two daughters would marry and give him grandchildren before he passed away.
Family Tree Chart
Parents:
Elias Charles Disney (1859 – 1941) – He was born in Canada and moved to Kansas in the late 1870s. He moved around throughout his life. He helped build the World Fair in Chicago and would die in Los Angeles, California.
Flora Call (1868 – 1938) – Born in Ohio, married in Florida, lived in Chicago and died in Los Angeles, California. She lived a busy life and raised 5 children. Walter would build an empire and his brothers would help run it.
Spouse:
Lillian Marie Bounds (1899 – 1997) – She and Walt had a wonderful marriage. They met when she was making 15 dollars a week. As Walt’s business grew she would be his sounding board for all his ideas, but she preferred the background. After his death, she would remarry and outlive that husband as well. In her final years, some stories emerged that cast Walt as a racist. She spoke out in a rare interview and said: “We shared a wonderful, exciting life, and we loved every minute of it. He was a wonderful husband to me and a wonderful and joyful father and grandfather. I am distressed to learn of a new book about Walt that invents incidents that never happened”
Children:
Diane Marie Disney (1933 – 2013) – The oldest daughter of Walt and Lillian. Diane co-founded the Walt Disney Family Museum alongside her family. She was president of the Board of Directors of the Walt Disney Family Foundation. The museum, which opened in 2009, was established to promote and inspire creativity and innovation and celebrate and study the life of Walt Disney. She married and had many children.
Sharon Mae Disney (1936 – 1993) – She was the adopted daughter of Walt and Lillian who also became an actress. She married in 1959, but her husband died suddenly after the birth of their child. She remarried and had a set of twins, but they divorced shortly after. She died in 1993 from breast cancer.
Siblings:
Herbert Arthur Disney (1888 – 1961) – He was the older brother to Walt Disney. He served in World War 1 and returned to the United States where would marry and have a child. He and his wife first moved to Oregon, but over time he moved to Los Angeles to be with his family. He worked in the United States Post Office in Los Angeles for many years. He died 5 years before Walt and 10 years before Roy.
Raymond Arnold Disney (1890 – 1989) – He was a World War 1 veteran and the oldest sibling to survive. He ran a successful insurance company in Los Angeles for many years and often advised Walt and Roy on these matters. He was an admirer of Abraham Lincoln and helped Walt with an exhibit that has been expanded but still exists in Anaheim today. He outlived all of his immediate family and died at the age of 99.
Roy Oliver Disney (1893 – 1971) – Walt moved to Los Angeles to live with his successful brother Roy. When Walt found success Roy became a partner and co-founder, of Walt Disney Productions, now known as The Walt Disney Company. Roy was married to Edna Francis from April 1925 until his death. Their son, Roy Edward Disney, was born on January 10, 1930. Roy Disney finally retired in early December 1971 and died from a seizure on December 20.
Ruth Flora Disney (1903 – 1995) – She worked as a stenographer and married. She and her husband had one son. She is the least known Disney but was the last of the siblings to pass away. She died in Oregon at an elderly age.