Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 - December 15, 1966), was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist. He was the son of Flora and Elias Disney, and had three brothers and one sister. As the co-founder (with his brother Roy O. Disney) of Walt Disney Productions, Walt became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. The corporation he co-founded, now known as The Walt Disney Company, today has annual revenues of approximately U.S. $30 billion.Walt Disney is particularly noted for being a film producer, and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design. He was nominated for 48 Academy awards and 7 Emmys, holding the record for most Oscar nominations. He also had two daughters, Diane and Sharon; Sharon was adopted. He and his staff created a number of the world's most famous productions, including the one many consider Disney's alter ego, Mickey Mouse. He is also well-known for Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the United States.
Academy Awards
Walt Disney holds the records for number of Academy Award nominations (with fifty-nine) and number of awarded Oscars (twenty-six, below). Four of his Oscars were special awards, and one, his last, was granted posthumously.
* 1932: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: Flowers and Trees (1932) * 1932: Honorary Award for: creation of Mickey Mouse. * 1934: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: Three Little Pigs (1933) * 1935: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: The Tortoise and the Hare (1934) * 1936: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: Three Orphan Kittens (1935) * 1937: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: The Country Cousin (1936) * 1938: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: The Old Mill (1937) * 1939: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: Ferdinand the Bull (1938) * 1939: Honorary Award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938) The citation read: "For Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, recognized as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field" (the award was one statuette and seven miniature statuettes) * 1940: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: Ugly Duckling (1939) * 1941: Honorary Award for: Fantasia (1941), shared with: William E. Garity and J.N.A. Hawkins. The citation for the certificate of merit read: "For their outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through the production of Fantasia"[2] * 1942: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: Lend a Paw (1941) * 1943: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: Der Fuehrer's Face (1942) * 1949: Best Short Subject, Two-reel for: Seal Island (1948) * 1949: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award * 1951: Best Short Subject, Two-reel for: Beaver Valley (1950) * 1952: Best Short Subject, Two-reel for: Nature's Half Acre (1951) * 1953: Best Short Subject, Two-reel for: Water Birds (1952) * 1954: Best Documentary, Features for: The Living Desert (1953) * 1954: Best Documentary, Short Subjects for: The Alaskan Eskimo (1953) * 1954: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (1953) * 1954: Best Short Subject, Two-reel for: Bear Country (1953) * 1955: Best Documentary, Features for: The Vanishing Prairie (1954) * 1956: Best Documentary, Short Subjects for: Men Against the Arctic * 1959: Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects for: Grand Canyon * 1969: Best Short Subject, Cartoons for: Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
