By, Lauren Burns
“You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”(6) On December 5, 1901, a star was born, Walt Disney. (1) Even at a young age Walt had always been interested in drawing and art. (2) Farm life was a bit boring so Walt would scurry over to his neighbor’s farm and draw pictures of their horses, but he drew them like cartoons.(7) In high school Walt took many drawing classes and photography.(1)
Drawing didn’t clinch it for Walt; he decided to drop out of high school and enlist in the army.(7) Unfortunately, Walt was underage so the army kicked him out. What a sad day, but then things looked up for him!(1) Instead, Walt worked for the Red Cross and was sent to France to drive an ambulance. (7) Bored with this, he started working for Kansas City Film Ad Company; there he met a man named Fred Harman.(1)
Fred and Walt decided to start a cartoon called Laugh-O-Grams which turned out to be extremely popular.(1) Sadly, like all good things, it had to come to an end. Walt had gotten into so much debt that he had to sell the studio.(1)
Still interested in cartoons, Disney pooled his money with his brother Roy and they left to Hollywood.(5) They created a television show called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and contracted about $1,500 each.(1) While working on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt hired a girl named Lillian Bands. He later married her.(5) Lillian and Walt had two girls named Diane and Sharon.(8)
However the glory days of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit soon ended; one of Walt’s employees stole the rights for Oswald.(3) But thankfully, Walt had a backup plan. He had been working on a new character. You probably know him, Mickey Mouse! Very soon after, Walt starred Mickey in a show called Steamboat Willie. In fact, Mickey Mouse was so popular that Walt created a Mickey Mouse Club show which became very popular.(3)
Then it happened, Walt made his first full-length movie; Snow White! When Snow White first debuted, it won eight million dollars and to the present day it has won 1,499 million dollars and eight oscars!(2)(1) After Snow White debuted, Walt created another show called Dumbo; which was also extremely popular.(2)
Walt Disney also did a lot more than make movies. Walt helped establish California Institute of Arts.(2) Another one of Walt’s great interests were theme parks. So, the Walt Disney Company decided to make a theme park!(7) Therefore Disneyland was born. Disneyland is located in several places including Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, and California.(5) Each one of those places are extremely fun and a main attraction.
Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966 in California from lung cancer.(1) By the time Disney died, he had 493 short subjects, 47 live action films, 330 hours of Mickey Mouse Club, and 280 other television shows.(5) As you can see Disney had his ups and downs in life, but he persevered. He changed life as we know it, without him the world would be a much different place. “ When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.”(6)
Works Cited Page
"Walt Disney Biography." Bio. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Walt Disney's Life." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
2015 The New York Times Company, n.d. Web.
"Walt Disney Biography." - Life, Family, Children, Name, Story, Death, History, Wife, School, Information, Born, Contract. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2015.
"Walt Disney Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
"31 Surprising Facts About Walt Disney." Inc.com. N.p., 29 Apr. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
"Walt Disney." Famous Birthdays. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2016.
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