Born Walter Elias Disney in Chicago, Illinois. The man who would one day become the most famous name in film animation and children's entertainment began his working life as a schoolboy, delivering newspapers on a route administered by his father. At 14 he enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute and at 16 volunteered as a Red Cross ambulance driver in France during the waning months of WWI. Returning to the US in 1919, he went to work for a commercial art studio in Kansas City, where he met Ub Iwerks, another young and promising artist, who was to become his lifelong collaborator. They next joined the Kansas City Film Ad Company, where they made animated commercials and before long were turning out a series of satirical animated cartoons on their own and selling them to a local theater under the title of Laugh-O-Grams. Encouraged by the results, Disney formed his own cartoon production company, which he also called Laugh-O-Gram, but soon went bankrupt and headed for Hollywood, where in 1923, in partnership with his older brother, Roy, and with the creative help of Iwerks, he began producing a series of animation-live action cartoons called ALICE IN CARTOONLAND (1923-26). In 1927, Disney and Iwerks initiated a new cartoon series, Oswald the Rabbit, and the following year created Mickey Mouse, the cartoon character that was to put Disney on his road to fame and fortune. The first two Mickey cartoons, "Plane Crazy" and "Gallopin Gaucho," were silent; but Disney, a stickler for perfection and technical quality, quickly switched to sound with the third, "Steamboat Willie," utilizing an improvised early sound system. Disney himself provided Mickey's characteristic high-pitched voice on the sound track. Encouraged by the success of their sound experiments, the Disney team started the Silly Symphony cartoon series, in which the action on the screen was created to match the beat of a prerecorded music track rather than the other way around, as had been the custom. The first of these were THE SKELETON DANCE (1929) and the best known and most successful, THE THREE LITTLE PIGS (1933), which introduced the hit song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" In the meantime, the success of Mickey Mouse spawned a whole menagerie of animal cartoon characters, some of whom became popular "stars" in their own right, notably Minnie Mouse, Mickey's mate, Donald Duck, Goofy (originally named Dippy Dawg), and Pluto. Disney continued to strive for technical improvement of his product. As early as 1931 some of the cartoons were made in two-strip color and by the mid-30s the entire studio output was in three-strip Technicolor. The Disney team also developed the multiplane camera, a breakthrough in animation technique which made it possible to create animated films with more intricate action and with a greater sense of perspective and depth. The Disney organization had meanwhile grown into a virtual animation factory, employing hundreds of men and women and realizing profits from the merchandising of a whole array of products associated with the studio's cartoon characters. By 1934, Disney began realizing a years-long dream, the production of a feature-length animated cartoon, at a great risk of company resources, money, and prestige. The first Disney feature, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, was premiered in December 1937, and released in February of 1938, proving an enormous success at the box office. Other Disney feature cartoons followed, the most controversial of which was FANTASIA (1940), an ambitious attempt to marry animation with classical music which came about as a result of a collaboration with conductor Leopold Stokowski. The film enraged music purists who objected to the vulgarization of the classical pieces through popular imagery and was not initially successful at the box office. But it won Disney many new admirers among serious filmgoers and eventually became a big moneymaker through repeated re-releases over the years. During WW II, the Disney company was recruited to help in the propaganda effort and turned out a great many training and morale-boosting films, culminating in the live-action animation feature documentary VICTORY THROUGH AIR POWER (1943). It was a trying period for the company, in the wake of a 1941 strike by animators against Disney's authoritative rule and naturalistic drawing style which resulted in a mass resignation from the studio and the formation of UPA (United Productions of America). But the company survived the crisis and wartime production restrictions and went on to new heights of prosperity. After some success with features combining live action with animation, production expanded to include pure action films, the first of which was TREASURE ISLAND (1950). At the same time, production began on a fascinating series of nature documentaries, known as the True-Life Adventure series, that followed the success of the half-hour short SEAL ISLAND (1948). The first of these features was THE LIVING DESERT (1953) and the last, JUNGLE CAT (1960). Several films in the series won Academy Awards. By now, Disney was America's undisputed king of family entertainment in America. But he was not resting on his laurels. He formed a subsidiary, the Buena Vista company, as a distributing arm for the Disney films, thus freeing himself of any dependence on other powers in the industry. In October of 1954 he launched a weekly TV series that has remained a popular family entertainment program to this day. The following year he opened Disneyland, a 160-acre fantasy-amusement park in Anaheim, California, one of the world's major tourist attractions. His successors opened an even larger and more elaborate amusement park, Disney World, in Orlando, Fla., in 1971. Disney died on December 15, 1966, of acute circulatory collapse following surgery for the removal of a lung tumor. But his name remains a household word associated with high standards in family entertainment, and the empire he had built continues to dominate the field.  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1931-32: FLOWERS AND TREES - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1931-32: MICKEY'S ORPHANS - Producer  Special Award 1931-32: For the creation of Mickey Mouse.  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1932-33: BUILDING A BUILDING - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1932-33: THE THREE LITTLE PIGS - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1934: THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1935: THREE ORPHAN KITTENS - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1935: WHO KILLED COCK ROBIN? - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1936: THE COUNTRY COUSIN - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1937: THE OLD MILL - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1938: BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1938: MOTHER GOOSE GOES HOLLYWOOD - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1938: FERDINAND THE BULL - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1938: GOOD SCOUTS - Producer  Special Award 1938: "For SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, recognized as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field for the motion picture cartoon." Winner presented one Statuette and seven Miniature Statuettes.  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1939: THE POINTER - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1939: THE UGLY DUCKLING - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1941: LEND A PAW - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1941: TRUANT OFFICER DONALD - Producer  Honorary Award 1941: "For (their) outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through the production of FANTASIA." Winners presented Certificates.  Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award 1941  Nominated for Documentary 1942: THE GRAIN THAT BUILT A HEMISPHERE - Producer  Nominated for Documentary 1942: NEW SPIRIT - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1942: DER FUEHRER'S FACE - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1943: REASON AND EMOTION - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1944: HOW TO PLAY FOOTBALL - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1945: DONALD'S CRIME - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1946: SQUATTER'S RIGHTS - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1947: CHIP 'AN DALE - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1947: PLUTO'S BLUE NOTE - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1948: MICKEY AND THE SEAL - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1948: TEA FOR TWO HUNDRED - Producer  Short Subjects (Two-Reel) 1948: SEAL ISLAND - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1949: TOY TINKERS - Producer  Short Subjects (Two-Reel) 1950: IN BEAVER VALLEY - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1951: LAMBERT THE SHEEPISH LION - Producer  Short Subjects (Two-Reel) 1951: NATURE'S HALF ACRE - Producer  Short Subjects (Two-Reel) 1952: WATER BIRDS - Producer  Documentary (Feature) 1953: THE LIVING DESERT - Producer  Documentary (Short Subject) 1953: THE ALASKAN ESKIMO - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1953: RUGGED BEAR - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoon) 1953: TOOT, WHISTLE, PLUNK AND BOOM - Producer  Short Subjects (Two-Reel) 1953: BEAR COUNTRY - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Two-Reel) 1953: BEN AND ME - Producer  Documentary (Feature) 1954: THE VANISHING PRAIRIE - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1954: PIGS IS PIGS - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Two-Reel) 1954: SIAM - Producer  Documentary (Short Subject) 1955: MEN AGAINST THE ARCTIC - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoons) 1955: NO HUNTING - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Two-Reel) 1955: SWITZERLAND - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Two-Reel) 1956: SAMOA - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoon) 1957: THE TRUTH ABOUT MOTHER GOOSE - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoon) 1958: PAUL BUNYAN - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Live Action Subjects) 1958: THE GRAND CANYON - Producer  Nominated for Documentary (Shorts) 1959: DONALD IN MATHMAGIC LAND - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoon) 1959: NOAH'S ARK - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Live Action Subjects) 1959: MYSTERIES OF THE DEEP - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoon) 1960: GOLIATH II - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Live Action Subjects) 1960: ISLANDS OF THE SEA - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoon) 1961: AQUAMANIA - Producer  Nominated for Short Subjects (Cartoon) 1962: SYMPOSIUM ON POPULAR SONGS - Producer  Nominated for Best Picture 1964: MARY POPPINS - Producer  Short Subjects (Cartoon) 1968: WINNIE THE POOH AND THE BLUSTERY DAY - Producer 63 nominations, 20 Awards, 4 Special or Honorary Awards