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During a 43-year Hollywood career that spanned the development of the motion picture medium as a modern
American art, Walter Elias Disney, a modern Aesop, established himself and his product as a genuine part of Americana.
David Low, the late British political cartoonist, called Disney "the most significant figure in graphic arts since
Leonardo." A pioneer and innovator and the possessor of one of the most fertile imaginations the world has ever known, Walt Disney,
along with members of his staff, received more than 950 honors and citations from every nation in the world, including 48
Academy Awards® and seven Emmys® in his lifetime. Walt Disney's personal awards included honorary degrees from
Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern California, and UCLA; the Presidential Medal of Freedom; France's Legion of Honor
and Officer d'Academie decorations; Thailand's Order of the Crown; Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross; Mexico's Order of
the Aztec Eagle; and the Showman of the World Award from the National Association of Theatre Owners. The creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of the Disneyland® and Walt Disney World® Theme Parks was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. His father, Elias Disney, was Irish-Canadian. His mother, Flora Call Disney, was of German-American descent. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl. |
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