There are not very many people in the world that don't recognize the name
"Walt Disney" and throughout the 20th century, this name went from being unknown
to one of the most popular as well as powerful brands around the globe. There
have been many different myths and urban legends that have circulated throughout
the media over the years when it comes to the actual man behind the brand. The
story of Walt Disney's life, inspirations and accomplishments is much more
impressive than many of the movies as well as cartoon series that were created
by his company. Even though there are many different facts about his story that
many people know, there are other interesting facts that most people don't.
15) His Last Name
Was Not Originally Disney
Flora and Elias Disney, Walt's parents
The last name of Walt Disney's family was actually "d'Isigny" and his
ancestors originated in Isigny sur Mer, which was a commune that was located
in the Calvados department within the Basse Normandie area of France. The
Disney's were descendants of Normans that decided to settle in Normandy
along with many other people during the 11th century; his original last name
was pronounced "Deez-Nay" but was later changed to "Disney". The d'Isigny
name was originally anglicized into "Disney" in 1066 by Walt's great
grandfather, Arundel.
Walt's father originally moved to the United States of America in 1878 in
search of gold in California but eventually ended up settling down in the early
1880s. He got married in 1888 and moved his new family to Chicago, Illinois in
1890. Then in 1901 Walter "Walt" Disney was born and they moved again to a
farm in Marceline, Missouri shortly thereafter.
14) His Favorite
Hobby was Building Trains
One of the things that Walt Disney loved to do in his spare time was build model
trains; this personal passion started when he was just a child growing up on his
family farm. He was captivated by the Santa Fe Railroad tracks that were laid
across the countryside close to his family's land and he use to enjoy putting
his ear against the railroad tracks so that he could hear the trains
approaching.
Walt's uncle was a train engineer that helped him get a job with the railroad
during the summers; he would make his money selling different items to the
travelers, such as: newspapers, soda and popcorn. He primarily enjoyed
being able to see those beautiful trains every day and as an adult, Walt Disney
built a complete 1/8-scale steam railroad in his own backyard called Lilly
Belle. Years later, his work was moved to the Main Street Station in Disneyland
and is still there to this day.
Old Santa Fe Railroad ad
Miniature model of Walt's first railroad, Lilly Belle
By Janke, via
Wikimedia Commons
13) The Last Thing
That He Wrote Was the Name of an Actor
Walt Disney died from lung cancer in 1966 and what he wrote on a sheet of paper
shortly before he died became the subject of an unsolved mystery. Reports
confirm that he scribbled down the name of actor Kurt Russell on a sheet of
paper but he never explained why he wrote that specific name, which were the
last words that he ever wrote. Even though this was originally thought of as
being just a rumor, it was confirmed as being true by the actor during a late
night talk show interview in 2007. The paper that was used to write his name can
still be found on Disney's office desk along with many other notes and reports
that Walt Disney personally wrote throughout his career.
Kurt Russell as a child
12) He Never
Graduated from High School
Walt Disney went to McKinley High School as a teenager but decided that he no
longer wanted to attend school at the age of 16. He had dreams of joining the
Army and doing things that could help people instead of wasting away inside a
classroom. He realized just how wrong he was as he grew older, so he started to
encourage as many children as he could to appreciate the value of education and
stay in school in order to have a better chance at fulfilling their dreams in
the future. Walt never did receive a high school diploma but he was able to
receive quite a few honorary degrees throughout his career from prestigious
universities such as UCLA, Harvard and Yale.
11) His Apartment
and Part-Time Office is Still Located in Disneyland
Walt Disney invested in a small efficient one bedroom apartment that was used as
his primary work space directly on Main Street in Disneyland. Even though he had
already acquired a massive fortune by this time in his career, he intentionally
wanted to make sure that this apartment remained as modest in nature and décor
as possible. The main purpose of the apartment was for him to be able to keep a
close eye on the progress of Disneyland as it was literally being built right
before his eyes.
He did not personalize this particular space by hanging up any pictures of
his family members or friends because it was never his intention to become
overly comfortable within that space. In addition to making sure that everything
was built and developed according to his original vision, he was able to get a
lot of work done. This apartment is still located on Main Street in Disneyland
today but some of the furniture has been replaced since it was first used by
Walt Disney himself, the papers that he wrote are still located on the desk.
Disney's apartment above the Fire Dept.
10) Walt Disney's
Body Was Never Cryogenically Frozen
A major myth that has been circulating through the media for years is that the
body of Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen and placed directly underneath one
of the most popular attractions at Disneyland, the Pirates of the Caribbean.
This is an urban legend that is not true and reports have confirmed over the
years that this was a rumor that started when a few Disney animators made the
joke that he wanted to be frozen after he died. Two days after Walt Disney
passed away in December of 1966 from lung cancer his request to be cremated was
granted. There is a burial plot that has a flourishing garden that holds his
ashes in Glendale, California in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park. The first
experiment and test of human cryogenic freezing did not occur until January
1967
9) Walt Disney
Wanted to Join the Army As a Teenager
After dropping out of high school at the age of 16, Walt Disney wanted nothing
more than to join the Army. He wanted to be able to serve his country and help
other people in a major way by doing so. However, he was rejected by the
recruiters because of being too young. He did not let this rejection deter him
from finding a way to help people and he decided to join the Red Cross shortly
afterward. One of his first big assignments was to be sent overseas to work in
France as an ambulance driver that also occasionally chauffeured Red Cross
officials; he kept this assignment for an entire year.
A major highlight and foreshadowing element of this time of Walt's life was
that he did not want to cover the ambulance in the standard camouflage that was
provided. Instead, he decided to cover it from bumper to bumper with cartoon
characters that would eventually become a part of the expanding animated world
of Disney.
Walt Disney and his Red Cross ambulance
8) He Loved Creating
and Using Alias Names Frequently
Throughout his career, Walt Disney was known for using an extensive list of
different aliases for himself as well as his various projects. This was
especially the case after his name had become a source of international
notoriety and fame. In most cases he would use variations of his own name
spelled backwards, for example: "Retlaw Elias Yensid". He would keep his
middle name intact while cleverly spelling his first and last names in reverse.
There were also quite a few instances in which he left the middle name out
completely and would just refer to himself as "Retlaw Yensid".
His habitual use of aliases were also reflected in his work through a variety
of different projects. He decided to cleverly use the name "M.T. Lott" when he
was searching for the perfect plot of land to use to build an amusement park.
This was done so that potential sellers and realtors would not try to hike up
the prices associated with that land just because Walt Disney was wealthy. The
name of the sorcerer in the hit Disney movie "Fantasia" was "Yen Sid", which was
a clever variation of Walt's last name reversed.
7) Walt Disney
Originally Named Mickey Mouse "Mortimer"
As Walt was traveling on a train with his wife back home from yet another failed
business meeting in 1928, he began to create simple sketches of a cartoon mouse.
With each individual sketch, the character started to develop and evolve more to
the point where Walt knew that he may be on to something big. Many people might
think that the first name that came to Walt's mind when it came to this soon to
be famous mouse was "Mickey" or even "Minnie" but they are incorrect. The first
name that popped into Walt's head was actually Mortimer Mouse.
When he finally showed the drawings of Mortimer Mouse to his wife, she told
him that the name was too pompous for that character and suggested that he
change it. It was her idea to name this cute little mouse "Mickey", which would
eventually become his defining character. That moment resulted in the birth of
Mickey Mouse but the pompous Mortimer Mouse lived on to become Mickey's
competitive rival in the courting of Minnie Mouse in a 1936 cartoon; he made
another appearance in a sequel to that cartoon that was created over six decades
later in 2000.
6) He Started
Selling His Drawings at the Age of Seven
Shortly after Walt Disney was born his family moved to Marceline, Missouri and
purchased a farm; this is where Walt spent a majority of his childhood. Walt
acquired a passion for visiting the nearby railroad tracks around the same time
that he discovered that he enjoyed drawing and he was fairly decent at it. He
was not just interested in drawing and basic sketches but in other types of art
as well. He would spend countless hours working on a wide variety of different
sketches of nature, animals, and other characters instead of doing his homework
as well as other assigned school projects.
His love for art and creative talent also inspired him to persuade his sister
to help him with a major painting project at a young age; he wanted to paint a
side of their family home with nothing but tar. Walt was not the only person
that enjoyed his artistic talents, he made a lot of money by selling many of his
sketches to local neighbors and friends of the family that were also impressed
by his work. They most likely didn't know that the value of those childhood
drawings would skyrocket years later.
10 year old Walt Disney, center right
5) He Produced
Educational Films for American Schools
Walt Disney was primarily known for animating cartoons and feature films for the
general public. However, he also produced a series of educational films that
were specifically designed to be used for academic purposes within different
grade schools throughout the country. This particular production project lasted
for six years between 1945 and 1951; it covered such topics as learning how to
properly bathe infants, avoid catching a cold, as well as the dangers of driving
too fast on the road. Walt was able to cover these topics thoroughly within a
series of educational shorts that were then included in the standard curriculum
for many classrooms throughout America.
Due to the positive responses and reactions that were generated after these
releases, Walt decided to tackle more mature topics that also affect young
people in regards to biology and sexuality. The ten-minute film titled "The
Story of Menstruation" was a clever combination of hygiene tips, scientific
facts and captivating animation. It was produced by Walt Disney but was
originally requested and financed by Kotex Products. Reports confirm that over
105 million students were able to watch this film as classroom instruction and
it was commonly used as a part of the curriculum throughout the 1960s.
Disney collaborating with
Dr. Wernher von Braun for educational films
4) He Was Fired from
a Newspaper Job for a Lack of Creativity
Even as a young teenager, there were many different people that noticed a lot of
potential in Walt Disney that offered him an opportunity to work for them. As
mentioned earlier, he was able to sell many of his drawings and sketches to
family friends as well as neighbors when he was seven years old. The Kansas City
Star newspaper offered to hire Walt Disney to work for them while he was still
rather young as well.
However, they were not impressed by what he had to offer and later made the
decision to fire him. When asked about the reason for their decision, the
official report was that Walt Disney was fired for his overall lack of
creativity. The editor of the Kansas City Star newspaper that made the final
choice to let him go stated that Walt "lacked imagination" and simply did not
have any "good ideas". Walt probably started to feel as if the editor was right
after he drove his next business venture, an animation studio named
Laugh-O-Gram, into bankruptcy.
Fortunately, he turned this setback into a monumental comeback shortly after
he teamed up with his brother after moving to California to produce a cartoon
series that was the turning point of his success story. Ironically, when the
Walt Disney Company purchased American Broadcasting Company (ABC) they acquired
the Kansas City Star Newspaper.
The Kansas City Star
Courtesy of blog.genealogybank.com
The American Broadcasting Company
3) Many People Hated
His Idea to Adapt "Snow White" as an Animated Feature Film
Walt Disney had dreamed about creating a brand new animated version of the
popular story "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" since he worked as a Kansas
City newsboy at the age of fifteen. This childhood ambition originally occurred
when he watched a silent film adaption of this popular fairy tale that starred
critically acclaimed actress Marguerite Clark. He decided to go out on a major
limb when it came to creating the very first full length feature film for the
Walt Disney Company and it went down in history as the first full length
animated color film as well. The working budget for this picture went over 400
percent of the original budget, reaching over $2 million.
Walt Disney had to mortgage his house and get approved for a loan just to
have enough money to finish making this movie. There were also a lot of negative
responses to the animated images of the enchanted forest and wicked witch
because most people thought that they would be too scary for children. Contrary
to popular opinion, the movie became an overnight success. Since its original
release in December of 1937, it has been able to gross an inflation adjusted
amount of over $1.6 billion.
Snow White and The Seven Dwarves 1937 screenshot
2) Charlie Chaplin
Was a Major Influence on Disney in Many Ways
The Fire Fighters
Along with his passion for drawing sketches and cartoon characters, Walt Disney
also developed a talent for acting and performing at a young age. When he
attended school he would spend a lot of time entertaining all of his friends by
imitating one of his artistically talented idols on the big screen, Charlie
Chaplin. Walt Disney was a big fan of Chaplin's silent films and would sneak out
of the house late at night just so he could see them in local theaters without
his parent's permission. He spent hours practicing the different routines and
comical performances that he learned from watching them for his friends as well
as family members.
Walt's appreciation of Chaplin's work on the big screen was also a major
influence when it came to defining the personality and quirks of his leading
cartoon character, Mickey Mouse. At the end of the 1915 movie "The Tramp",
Chaplin walks away feeling absolutely dejected and defeated. Shortly afterward
he stops and lifts up his head then strolls off with a positive outlook on life
because he decided that life was not that bad after all; he was going to
maintain a positive attitude about it. Walt decided that this would be the same
type of attitude that Mickey would have when it came to reacting to different
hardships. Walt created a version of the popular 1916 Chaplin short "The
Fireman" in the 1930 animated cartoon "The Firefighters", which had Mickey Mouse
as the lead character.
Charlie Chaplin in his Tramp persona
1) He Still Has the
Record of Winning the Most Oscar Awards
To this day, Walt Disney has been able to maintain the record of having the
highest number of Oscar Awards in the history of the industry. He was nominated
64 different times and won a record setting 32 of them as well as 48 Academy
Awards. His very first Academy Award was won for the 1932 cartoon "Flowers and
Trees". This cartoon made history by becoming the very first color cartoon and
the first to win an Academy Award. He received seven different Emmy Awards, the
Legion of Honor from France and the Presidential Freedom Medal in addition to
these accolades.
He currently has two stars under his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one
for his work in television and the other for his work on the big screen. He
received the Congressional Gold Medal award in May of 1968 and received a
special award from the League of Nations for creating Mickey Mouse. These are
just a few of the many different accomplishments, achievements and prestigious
awards that Walt Disney was able to acquire throughout his career as well as
after his death.
Final Words
Even four decades after his death, Walt Disney has still been able to inspire
millions of people around the world with his work. Disney World continues to be
one of the most popular attractions in the world and studies confirm that the
Walt Disney Company was able to turn a $1.8 billion profit during the third
quarter of the 2012 fiscal year alone. Walt Disney helped in making plans for
Disney World and other projects that have solidified Disney as being a high
quality brand with a reputation to match. Sadly, he was not able to live to see
the day when many of those plans were put into action but he has been able to
prove in more ways than one that even the most unrealistic dreams can still come
true.
References: 15) His Last Name Was Not Originally Disney
Yahoo.com - (his original last name)
Chicago Sun-Times - (d'Isigny name was originally anglicized into..)
JustDisney.com - (After getting married in 1888, he moved..)
14) His Favorite Hobby was Building Trains
JustDisney.com - (He would make his money..)
USA Today - (As an adult, Walt Disney built..)
12) He Never Graduated from High School
Yahoo - (Even though he never did receive a high school diploma, he
was..)
13) The Last Thing That He Wrote Was the Name of an Actor
USA Today - (He never explained why he wrote that specific name, which
actually were the last words that he ever wrote)
11) His Apartment and Part-Time Office is Still Located in Disneyland
TodayIFoundOut.com - (but the papers that he wrote and worked with are
still located on the desk)
10) Walt Disney's Body Was Never Cryogenically Frozen
TodayIFoundOut.com - (There is a burial plot that has..)
9) Walt Disney Wanted to Join the Army As a Teenager
BusinessInsider.com - (He kept this assignment for an entire year)
JustDisney.com - (he decided to cover it from bumper to bumper with
cartoon characters that would..)
8) He Loved Creating and Using Alias Names Frequently
Yahoo.com - (This was done so that potential sellers and realtors
would..)
7) Walt Disney Originally Named Mickey Mouse "Mortimer"
OMG-Facts.com - (He made another appearance in a sequel to that cartoon
that was created over six decades later in 2000)
6) He Started Selling His Drawings at the Age of Seven
JustDisney.com - (He wanted to paint a side of their family home with
nothing but tar)
5) He Produced Educational Films for American Schools
OpenCulture.com - (whole section)
4) He Was Fired from a Newspaper Job for a Lack of Creativity
HiddenMickeys.org - (Walt Disney was fired for his overall lack of
creativity) & (last paragraph)
BusinessInsider.com - (..to produce a cartoon series that was the
turning point of his success story)
3) Many People Hated His Idea to Adapt "Snow White" as an Animated
Feature Film
TodayIFoundOut.com - (The working budget for this picture went over 400
percent of the original budget, reaching over $2 million)
BusinessInsider.com - (Walt Disney actually had to mortgage his house
and..)
Guinness Book of World Records - (Since its original release in December
of 1937, it has been able to gross an inflation-adjusted amount of over
$1.6 billion)
2) Charlie Chaplin Was a Major Influence on Him in Many Ways
JustDisney.com - (He spent hours practicing the different routines
and..)
TheDisneyProject.com - (Walt also created a version of the popular 1916
Chaplin short..)
1) He Still Has the Record of Winning the Most Oscar Awards
DisneyClips.com - (This cartoon made history by becoming the very first
color cartoon as well as the first to win an Academy Award)
Final Words
Orlando Sentinel - (Walt Disney Company was able to turn a $1.8 billion
profit during the third quarter of the 2012 fiscal year)
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