Walt Disney (December 5, 1901-December 15, 1966) is one of the world's most beloved entertainers. In his lifetime, he created the most successful cartoon and created the empire that is Disney Corporations. He received 22 Academy Awards and 59 nominations, a record to this day. However popular today, Walt Disney did not start out very well in the entertainment industry.

Walt Disney did to start his career life out as an animator. In fact, he was almost as far from it as careers go. He drove an ambulance in France for the Red Cross after dropping out of McKinley High School. When returning from France, he moved to Kansas City to pursue a more artistic occupation. A.V. Cauger, the owner of the Ad Company, allowed him to borrow equipment for Walt Disney's at-home project. Walt was inspired by Edwin G. Lutz animation books and considered cel animation to be more hopeful than cutout. It was in that moment that Walt decided to launch his own business. He and a co-worker secured a deal with Frank L. Newman, a local theatre owner. He agreed to allow them to screen their cartoons, entitled Laugh-O-Grams, at his theatre. Unfortunately, Walt's studio went bankrupt after only a short while and he set off for Hollywood along with his brother Roy.

He and Roy scraped together their savings and bought a studio in Hollywood. In 1925, the brothers created the Alice Comedies which ran for two years. One of the artists working on the cartoon, Lillian Bounds married Walt Disney soon after assuming her position on the staff.
After losing the rights to Oswald (another cartoon made famous by Walt Disney) he felt the need to find a replacement-and fast. He remembered a mouse he had adopted as a pet and gave him life. Thus, Mickey Mouse was created. His first movie, Plane Crazy was a silent film. Walt gave him a voice in 1929. He did not stop there.

In the late 1940's on a trip to Chicago, Walt drew a sketch of his soon-to-be amusement park Disney Land. On July 17, 1955 Disney Land was opened for business. On October 1, 1971, another amusement park opened with the familiar name. This similar park was named Disney World and is in Orlando, Fl. Unfortunately, Walt did not get to see the opening of the new park due to his death in 1966.

Walt Disney had been a chain smoker and in 1966 was scheduled to undergo surgery on a neck injury. X-rays showed that there was a tumor on his left lung. Ten days after his 65th birthday, he collapsed in his home. The cause of death was acute circulatory collapse which was caused by his lung cancer. The last thing Disney wrote was not a script, a song, or a will, but he had written the name of actor Kurt Russell. The reason being is unknown to everybody.

Walt Disney was a pioneer for animation and continues to gain fans even after his passing. His cartoons and theme arks have shown everybody that: "If you dream it, you can do it." -Walt Disney.