Walt Disney
aka Jo G.

Hello, my name is Walter Elias Disney, better known as "Walt Disney". I was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois and died on December 15, 1966 when I was sixty-five years old from lung cancer in Burbank, California. I am the son of Flora Call Disney and Elias Disney.

When I was four years old, my mother, father, three brothers, and I moved from Chicago to Marceline, Missouri. We moved to a farm where I developed a love for drawing and trains. Then at the age of seven, my mother sent me to school. It was easy enough because my mother had taught me how to read. I studied arithmetic, writing, geography, and spelling. My older brothers, Herbert and Raymond left Missouri to go back to Chicago. My other brother, Roy, stayed and taught me many things about farm life. Then, we moved to Kansas City when I was eight years old. Ruth, my youngest sister, and I went to Benton Grammar School. I have to admit I didn't pay very good attention in class but I did my homework and did well enough on tests.

Soon, I went to Kansas City Art Institute. Finally, when I was sixteen, I dropped out of school.

When I was a child, I was very good at drawing and had a wild imagination. One time, when I was eight years old, a doctor asked me to draw a picture of his horse. So I did. As soon as I was finished, I gave it to him and he dropped a nickel in my hand. I was shocked. I also sold pictures to a local barber of the people who were in his shop. I guess I was also considered to be funny and liked to have a good time. Once, my brother Roy and I had to clean a hearse. I was doing the inside and scared people by pretending I was dead and then popping up when they looked in. I thought it was so funny.

When I was an adult, my brother Roy and I started Disney Brothers' Studio. We started a new series, Alice's Comedies, based on Alice in Wonderland. It was a success. I became a "Hollywood figure". In 1928, I created Mickey Mouse. I was going to name him Mortimer Mouse after a childhood pet mouse but my wife, Lillian, told me that it sounded "sissy" and we

agreed on Mickey. I also created Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Daisy and many others as well as drew Cinderella, Snow White, and more. Another thing I did was dream up and build Disneyland. It wasn't hard because of my wild imagination. However, I feel sorry for my brother, Roy, because he was the one who had to raise all the money for me and all my wild ideas. Everybody seemed to like Disneyland and our movies. Soon, I had twenty-six Oscars.

Towards the end of my life, I was still like a kid. created more characters and films. I released Sleeping Beauty and I created the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. More and more customers kept coming to Disneyland. The old and the young were having fun, which made me happy. Also, Presidents came too as well as other famous people. Another character I released was Bambi. The thing that I liked about Bambi was that I insisted the artists draw real deer to make the film more realistic. It turned out great! Soon, I was getting older but still rode my trains and drew all the time. I also started working on Disney World. On

December 15, 1966, I died but my spirit still lives through my characters and creations.

I was happy that people gave me the chance to draw. One person that really believed in me was my Aunt Maggie. When I was on the farm in Missouri, my Aunt Maggie came for a visit. She always brought presents and this time she gave me a sketchpad. Dad encouraged me, too. One day, I found a bucket of tar and thought it was paint. So, I decided to paint my pet pig Porky. However, after I painted it, Dad got pretty mad at me. Mostly though, I thank Roy because he encouraged me and handled the money side of everything I did. I never could have done it without him. Those are the people that helped me succeed and encouraged me to follow my dreams.

As a kid, I did a lot of dreaming. As an adult, I got to make my dreams come true. Remember, "a dream is a wish your heart makes". Don't ever stop dreaming!

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