Walt Disney's Real Name: Walter Elias Disney

Quick answer: Walt Disney's real name was Walter Elias Disney. He was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, and died on December 15, 1966, in Burbank, California. "Walt" was a short form of Walter.

Walt Disney's real name

Disney was born Walter Elias Disney, the fourth son of Elias and Flora Disney (Britannica; The Walt Disney Family Museum). His middle name came from his father. He was known as Walt from childhood.

Early life

The family moved to a farm in Marceline, Missouri, a place Disney later idealized, and then to Kansas City. As a teenager he served as a Red Cross ambulance driver in France at the end of World War I. Back in Kansas City he worked in commercial art and started an animation studio, Laugh-O-Gram, which went bankrupt (Britannica).

Hollywood and Mickey Mouse

In 1923 he moved to Los Angeles and, with his brother Roy O. Disney, founded the studio that became The Walt Disney Company. After losing the rights to his character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney and animator Ub Iwerks created Mickey Mouse. Steamboat Willie (1928), one of the first cartoons with synchronized sound, made Mickey a star. Disney himself voiced Mickey for years (Britannica).

Snow White and the feature era

Disney gambled on a feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). It was a huge success and was followed by Pinocchio, Fantasia (both 1940), Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942). Later decades brought Cinderella (1950), live-action films and the Oscar-winning Mary Poppins (1964).

Disney holds the record for the most Academy Awards won by an individual: 22 competitive Oscars plus four honorary awards (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).

Television and Disneyland

Disney embraced television with shows like Disneyland and The Mickey Mouse Club. In July 1955 he opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California. He also planned the Florida project that became Walt Disney World, which opened in 1971, after his death.

Death

Disney, a longtime heavy smoker, died of complications of lung cancer on December 15, 1966 (Britannica). His brother Roy saw the Florida resort to completion.

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler (book) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Blu-ray