Walt Disney

Walt Disney was born in 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, US. Walt Disney's background is described as Irish-Canadian descent father, German-English mother. Growing up, the family was working class — a strict father whose ventures kept failing; Walt delivered his father's newspapers from 4:30 a.m., unpaid. Went bankrupt at 21 and left for Hollywood with $40; mortgaged his house for a feature-length cartoon.

Born

1901 · Chicago, Illinois, US

Roots

Irish-Canadian descent father, German-English mother

Family

Working class

A strict father whose ventures kept failing; Walt delivered his father's newspapers from 4:30 a.m., unpaid.

Education

Left high school at 16; Red Cross ambulance service in France at 17

Started with

$40

What he carried to Hollywood at 21 after his Kansas City studio went bankrupt.

Affiliations & societies

Order of DeMolayDocumented

Joined the Masonic youth order as a teenager in Kansas City; the order later gave him its Legion of Honor.

Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

1. 1922 · age 20
   Laugh-O-Gram Studio

   His Kansas City cartoon studio; it is bankrupt within a year — he reportedly lived on beans in the office.

2. 1923 · age 21
   Hollywood$40

   Founds Disney Brothers with Roy on family loans.

3. 1928 · age 26
   Loses Oswald, draws Mickey

   His distributor takes his character and most of his staff; Mickey Mouse is created in response, and Steamboat Willie adds sound.

4. 1937 · age 36
   Snow White$1.5M cost

   Mocked as "Disney's Folly"; he mortgages his house to finish it, and it becomes the highest-grossing film to date.

5. 1955 · age 53
   Disneyland

   Borrows against his life insurance to develop the park.

6. 1966 · age 65
   Dies

   Mid-construction of the Florida project.