Walt Disney: when dreams come true

1. Surname Disney is of Irish origin. It came from D'Isney and it was changed after his ancestors arrived to USA. Full name of Walt Disney was Walter Elias Disney. Middle name Elias was his father's first name.

2. Walt was youngest of four brothers in the family. He also had younger sister, but Walt stayed in touch only with one of his siblings through his life. With his brother Roy he eventually established now famous Disney Company.

3. Walt's father Elias Charles Disney tried his luck at very different professions. He was gold miner, building contractor, farmer, newspaper publisher and owner of jam factory, all without real success.  He was hard working and religious man who regularly physically abused his kids and his first three sons left family as soon as they can. Walt did the same at tender age of seventeen when he tried to join American forces in Europe. They rejected him but he became an ambulance driver for Red Cross.

4. Young Walter enjoyed drawing scenes from nature and redrawing caricatures from newspapers. He sold his first drawing (picture of a horse) to family doctor for five cents. When family moved from Kansas to Chicago, he took drawing lessons, experimented with photography and studied cartooning. After return from World War he got his first job (his brother Roy helped him) as commercial illustrator in art studios in Kansas City.

5. Most important achievement of Walt's first job was friendship with Ub Iwerks, very talented illustrator who accompanied Walt through most of his career. They established their first studio in 1922 but only one year later filed for bankruptcy mainly because of lack of experience. Walt tried his luck as director in Hollywood after that but nobody wanted to hire him. Eventually one of his earlier projects (Alice in Cartoonland with animated settings and real actress Virginia Davis) got him a contract with Universal Studios and a chance to open new company, this time together with more experienced brother Roy and again with Ubbe Iwerks.

6. Walt and Ubbe created character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and for short time it looked like a winner. Business was expanding, they hired more animators and they needed some additional money from their main business partner Winkler Pictures. Instead of raise Walt got devastating information: Winkler Pictures who already had copyright for the character Oswald hired all Disney's animators with the exception of Iwerks who refused to leave his long time friend. So Walt and Ubbe faced the financial breakdown once again. They desperately needed new character and his name was Mickey. Mickey Mouse.

7. Mickey Mouse was not instant success. It looked more like a catastrophe from the very beginning. Nobody wanted to invest in Plane Crazy, inspired with historic flight across Atlantic by Charles Lindbergh. Response to second Mickey Mouse movie Gallopin' Gaucho wasn't better either. Walt decided to try one more time but with one important difference: synchronization.

Due to enormous costs Steamboat Willie was probably last chance for Disney. Luckily the talking mouse (with Walt's voice!) was instant hit and masses were more than willing to pay to see Mickey in cinema.

Disney Company was back in the saddle!

8. Another major success came with first full length animated and synchronized movie (in color of course). Snow White and seven dwarfs from 1937 is still a quality standard for all professionals in movie industry. With huge budget of two million dollars it pushed the company once again on the verge of survival but proved profitable in the first weekend after release. It earned six millions in only three days!

Snow White was first in Disney Animated Classics and a starter of now probably most profitable Disney's brand: Disney Princess.

9. Walt Disney always had new big projects in his mind. He established Mickey Mouse Club for fans in 1929 to connect kids with his characters even more. He initiated several TV shows, including one named Mickey Mose Club (surprise, surprise) who paved the road to success to numerous pop stars (ever hear about Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera or Justin Timberlake?). His biggest lifetime project was indisputably Disneyland, followed by Walt Disney World, Epcot, Euro Disney and other thematic parks made of his dreams and for kids' pleasure.

10. Walt Disney married one of his animators Lilian Bounds after very short acquaintances. They had two daughters: one biological, one adopted. Walt wasn't typical Hollywood star. He wasn't showing off in numerous parties like many of his contemporaries did. Instead he liked to spend his spare time (which was rarity) with his family.

Walt was a chain smoker for many years. He explained this and some of his other habits as a response to too rigid education in his childhood. Walt Disney died of lung cancer on December 15 1966. The legend about his body frozen with cryogenics techniques waiting for better cures is not true. But through his tremendous opus Walt Disney is still alive!