My full name is Walter Elias Disney. I was born on December 5 1901 in Chicago Illinois. I had three brothers and a sister. After I was born my family moved to Missouri where I spent most of my childhood. Even as a young boy I was interested in art and sold drawings to my neighbours to make money. Later, I studied art and photography at the McKinley High School in Chicago.
My mother always encouraged me to pursue my aptitudes. In 1918 I tried to enlist for military service but I was rejected because I was underage, so instead I joined the Red Cross and went to France were I draw an ambulance for a year. When I returned from France I started a career in commercial art and a company which went bankrupt. I decided to start over and went to Hollywood. On July 13, 1925 I married Lillian Bounds who had been one of my first employees and we had two daughters, Sharon and Diane.
Following the success of my "Alice Comedies" I became a recognised producer in Hollywood. In 1932 my cartoon "Flowers and Trees" won me my first Academy Award. During the Depression I produced "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" which was the first full length animated musical and in the next five years I also produced "Dumbo", "Bambi", and "Pinocchio". I became a television producer in 1954 and used television as a means to entertain. My motion picture "Mary Poppins" mixed life actors with cartoons.
My dream amusement park Disneyland opened in 1955 in California, a place for children to take rides and meet Disney characters. I have plans to open a new theme park in Florida but unfortunately I have been diagnosed with lung cancer.