Walt Disney
He may not have had it as easy as you thought
His Beginning
Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois into a generally successful family who had a entrepreneurial type attitude. They would go from place to place making money in various ways, and at age 9 Walt would be put to work on his father Elias' delivery route he recently purchased. After his father stopped paying him Walt went on to make his own money by selling newspapers and soda. Because of his liking in animation he started drawing caricatures for people at the barber shop in exchange for haircuts. In fact, Disney only had an eight grade education and no art lessons. Eventually he would receive lessons and afterward he would apply for the army but would be rejected like many other things. He then got a job in the American Ambulance Corps. and moved to France to do some work.
“When I was nine, my brother Roy and I were already businessmen. We had a newspaper route…delivering papers in a residence (sic) area every morning and evening of the year, rain, shine, or snow. We got up at 4:30 a.m., worked until the school bell rang and did the same thing again from four o’clock in the afternoon until supper time. Often I dozed at my desk, and my report card told the story.” - Walt Disney reflecting on his childhood work.
His Career
Disney's liking for animation grew, and once he got back to America he founded Iwerks-Disney with Ub Iwerks. Iwerks is important considering he will create a lot of Disney's popular characters. One thing led to another and Disney started animating movies, his first named Newman Laugh-O-Grams. His films made no money and he went bankrupt, resulting him in going to Hollywood with $40 in his pocket for his last resort.
Ub Iwerks and his Sketches
His Career Continued
Once in Hollywood he founded Disney Bros. Studios with his brother Roy. He joined with Ub Iwerks again and animated 3 films, now with Iwerk's creation of Mickey Mouse. Disney Bros. failed at finding a distributor for the first 2 but for his 3rd Steamboat Willie which had sound got one. This gained Disney Bros. a lot of popularity and Mickey Mouse became the world's favorite cartoon. Because of this, Disney won is very first academy award. So, he went on to animating Snow White which some said would be the downfall of Disney. Even his family discouraged him, but nonetheless he continued. Once the film was finished and was released, it did the complete opposite of what people said as it was awarded 7 Oscars and it made over $100 million in today's dollars. Disney moved his studio to Burbank, California and he animated famous movies like Bambi, Dumbo, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Aladdin and much more.
Walt Disney Animation Studios' Steamboat Willie
His Legacy
Through persistence and hard-work, Walt Disney became one of the most successful person to live ever. With all his profits, Walt Disney would develop Disneyland in California with all of his characters. He wanted to make a place where everyone could be happy, hence the quote "The Happiest Place on Earth". Walt Disney's legacy has prospered, and will continue to as Disney Worlds have been built all around the world, and they continue to make movies that many will enjoy. BTW Walt Disney was never frozen. :)
You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.
Works Cited
"Walt Disney." The Family Museum. 31 July 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
"31 Surprising Facts About Walt Disney." Inc.com. 29 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
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