Walt Disney, the visionary whose pioneering spirit and inimitable creativity made the impossible possible, turning dreams into reality and building the foundation of The Walt Disney Company of today, dies at age 65. He passes away of acute circulatory collapse (caused by lung cancer) at St. Joseph's Hospital, where he had been in the hospital since November 30th, just ten days after his 65th birthday.
When the news of Walt's death reaches Disneyland in Anaheim, consideration is given to closing the park for the day, but instead it is kept open (as Walt would have wanted), but the flags on Main Street USA are lowered to half-mast. Mr. Disney will be cremated two days later. (His 74-year-old brother Roy O. Disney will postpone his planned retirement and start construction in Florida on Walt's latest project, Disney World.)
Disney's funeral was conducted quickly and quietly -- at the Little Church of the Flowers in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale -- at 5:00 PM on Friday, December 16 (the day after his death). No announcement of the funeral was made until after it had taken place, no associates or executives from Disney Studios were invited, and only immediate family members were in attendance.
When the news of Walt's death reaches Disneyland in Anaheim, consideration is given to closing the park for the day, but instead it is kept open (as Walt would have wanted), but the flags on Main Street USA are lowered to half-mast. Mr. Disney will be cremated two days later. (His 74-year-old brother Roy O. Disney will postpone his planned retirement and start construction in Florida on Walt's latest project, Disney World.)
Disney's funeral was conducted quickly and quietly -- at the Little Church of the Flowers in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale -- at 5:00 PM on Friday, December 16 (the day after his death). No announcement of the funeral was made until after it had taken place, no associates or executives from Disney Studios were invited, and only immediate family members were in attendance.
Early on, Walt decided to pursue a career in commercial art, which soon lead to his experiments in animation. He began producing short animated films for local businesses, in Kansas City. By the time Walt had started to create The Alice Comedies, which was about a real girl and her adventures in an animated world, Walt ran out of money, and his company Laugh-O-Grams went bankrupted. Instead of giving up, Walt packed his suitcase and with his unfinished print of The Alice Comedies in hand, headed for Hollywood to start a new business. He was not yet twenty-two. The early flop of The Alice Comedies inoculated Walt against fear of failure; he had risked it all three or four times in his life. Walt's brother, Roy O. Disney, was already in California, with an immense amount of sympathy and encouragement, and $250. Pooling their resources, they borrowed an additional $500, and set up shop in their uncle's garage. Soon, they received an order from New York for the first Alice in Cartoonland(The Alice Comedies) featurette, and the brothers expanded their production operation to the rear of a Hollywood real estate office. It was Walt's enthusiasm and faith in himself, and others, that took him straight to the top of Hollywood society.
Walts optimism came from his unique ability to see the entire picture. His views and visions, came from the fond memory of yesteryear, and persistence for the future. Walt loved history. As a result of this, he didn't give technology to us piece by piece, he connected it to his ongoing mission of making life more enjoyable, and fun. Walt was our bridge from the past to the future.
During his 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development of the motion picture industry as a modern American art, Walter Elias Disney established himself and his innovations as a genuine part of Americana.
During his 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development of the motion picture industry as a modern American art, Walter Elias Disney established himself and his innovations as a genuine part of Americana.