Ten Interesting Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Walt Disney

8/14/2019 Ten Interesting Facts You Probably Didnt Know About Walt Disney

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Ten Interesting Facts You Probably Didnt Know About Walt Disney

Walt Disney epitomized the American dream lie !ew others" #ure$ he wasnt per!ect" %ewas a ruthless businessman$ long rumored to be antisemitic and otherwise racist$ and wasa leader !or %ollywood&s anticommunist search in the '()*&s" +ut he rose up !rom humblebeginnings, his childhood was anything but stable as his !amily mo-ed throughout themidwest as his !ather pursued wor" %is string o! early !ailures made it seem lie successwould ne-er come" As the Disney company too o!!$ he ne-er sat on his laurels$ always

pursuing another way to e.tend the Walt Disney brand" I! entertainment is Americasgreatest e.port to the world$ Walt Disney was the most !amous supplier o! thiscommodity" /uite simply$ there is no denying the impact Disney had on the world and hehas to be raned as one o! the greatest Americans o! the 0*th century$ in terms o! worldin!luence$ at least"

Without !urther ado$ here are ten !acts you probably didnt now about Walt Disney andthe Walt Disney 1ompany"

1) Oswald the Rabbit, Disneys first successful cartoon, was traded for sportscaster

Al Michaels in 2006"

In '(02$ Walt Disney was struggling" +ut then he hit it big with a character named

3swald the 4abbit" %e sold the rights o! the character to 5ni-ersal and it becameDisneys biggest success at that time$ ri-aling contemporary cartoons Krazy Kat andFeli. the 1at" In '(06$ Disney went to negotiate a better contract !or the rabbit and hisanimators$ but 5ni-ersal had other plans" They wanted Disney to tae a twenty percentcut" 7egotiations !ell through and 3swald the 4abbit$ since his rights were actuallyowned by 5ni-ersal$ became property o! 5ni-ersal"

Fast8!orward 2( years9 7+1 :owned by 5ni-ersal; had


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the games" They looed to hire Al >ichaels$ who was under contract at ?#P7 :owned byA+1$ which was owned by Disney; " #o Disney and 5ni-ersal made a deal" 5ni-ersalwould get Al >ichaels and Disney would recei-e the nearly 6* year old cartoon$ 3swaldthe 4abbit"

2) ontrary to popular !yth, "alt Disney "A# $O% cryo&enically fro'en when he

died(

An urban legend states that upon his passing$ Walt Disneys !rozen corpse was stashedunderneath thePirates of the Caribbeanride at Disneyland" This is simply not true" WaltDisney passed away on December '@th$ '(" Two days later$ and consistent with hiswishes$ he was cremated" A burial plot with a garden$ presumably containing his ashes$with his name on it is at the Forest Bawn >emorial Par in Clendale$ 1ali!ornia"

The !irst nown e.periment with human cryogenic !reezing didnt happen until anuary'(2$ a month a!ter Disneys death" #e-eral sources ha-e claimed that the urban mytharose !rom a couple o! Disney animators who said that Disney !roze himsel! as a iceys 4i-al$ where he plays >iceys ri-al !or >innie" %es rude$sel!ish$ and se.ist" In other words$ the e.act opposite o! >icey" %e also looed morelie a rat than a mouse$ with his longer snout$ whisers$ and two protruding !ront teeth"3ddly$ he taled in a +roolyn accent" %e would appear again in E>iceys 4i-al4eturns$ ) years later in 0***"

-) $either Mic*ey Mouse nor the fa!ed +"alt Disney si&nature were actually e.er

drawn by "alt Disney hi!self(

While Walt did setch the original plans !or the >icey >ouses character$ the !inaldesign !or >icey we-e all come to now and lo-e was actually done by the !amedDisney animator and Dutchman 5b Iwers" In addition$ the !amed signature is what isnown as a Estylized -ersion o! Disneys" As can be seen on legal documents$ Disneysown signature was not nearly as e.citing or intricate" In !act$ rumor had it that Waltcouldnt e-en reproduce the !amed signature"

/) "alt Disneys last written words were apparently +urt Russell

As Walt Disney laid on his deathbed$ su!!ering !rom lung cancer$ in '($ the story goes:later con!irmed by Kurt 4ussell; that he scribbled on a piece o! paper the name EKurt4ussell" %e died ne-er writing another word" >any ha-e speculated what this couldha-e meant$ including the !amous actor himsel!$ Kurt 4ussell who in a 0**2 appearance


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on immy Kimmel Bi-e said$ EIts true" I dont now what to mae o! that" I was taeninto his o!!ice one time a!ter he died and I was shown that" 4ussell was a child actor atthe time !or Disney$ ha-ing today;$ which was nearly )**J o-er the original budget" In addition$images o! the Wiced Witch and the ?nchanted Forest were thought to be too !rightening!or younger audiences"

3n December 0'$ '(G2$ #now White and the #e-en Dwar!s$ premiered at the 1arthayTheater in Bos Angeles" It went on to gross :adPA was !ormed to protect %ollywood !rom Ecommunist in!luences"+esides Disney$ ohn Wayne$ 1ecil +" De>ille$ Cinger 4ogers$ Cary 1ooper$ and 4onald4eagan were in-ol-ed in this organization" In '()2$ Disney testi!ied in !ront o! %5A1:%ouse 5nAmerican Acti-ities 1ommittee$ which has to be one o! the most ironicallynamed committees in 5"#" history; that !ormer animators o! his were actually 1ommunistsympathizers" In addition$ Disney was anti8union and claimed the '()' strie by the#creen 1artoonists Cuild was a ploy by 1ommunists to gain in!luence in %ollywood"

5) 4n 15, "alt Disney hosted $a'i propa&andist and fil!!a*er 7eni Riefenstahl

at his studio and &a.e her a tour(

In '(G6$ only a month a!ter Kristallnacht$ the beginning o! the 7azi campaign to roundup all the ews$ Beni 4ie!enstahl arri-ed in the 5nited #tates" #he was there to meet withstudio e.ecuti-es and gain an American audience !or her !ilm on the '(G +erlin Cames$Olympia" The !ilm showcased Cerman athletes in -arying stages o! preparation andachie-ement" It was meant to perpetuate the Aryan agenda8 that Cerman athletes were!itter and more inclined to athletic success than the rest o! the worlds athletes"


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Despite the hesitation o! other studio e.ecuti-es$ Walt Disney too her in and ga-e her atour o! Disney #tudios" In e.change$ she o!!ered him a pri-ate showing o! Olympia"Disney re!used due to the !ear that others would !ind out that he had hosted her" WhenBeni arri-ed bac to Cermany$ she praised Disney to her go-ernment !or gi-ing her anaudience"

) "alt Disney debuted the first Audio8Ani!atronics at the 16- "orlds air

The '() Worlds Fair$ located in Flushing >eadows$ 7ew Yor$ introduced many typeso! pre8#pace Age technology$ including such things as I+> computers" +ut !ew o! thesethings recei-ed as much attention as Disneys Audio8Animatronics8 mo-ing robots thathad words or had pre8recorded audio coming out o! their mouths"

Two e.hibits at the Worlds Fair best illustrated this technology Abraham Bincoln inECreat >oments with >r" Bincoln and EIts #mall World a slow mo-ing boat ride!eaturing international unity and a -ery annoying theme song" President Bincoln woulde-entually become a member o! todays Disney World attraction E%all o! Presidents"

10) "alts apart!ent, where he often wor*ed, is still abo.e the firehouse on Main

#treet in Disneyland(

A small$ but !ully8!unctional$ one8bedroom that Walt used o!ten as a wor space and aplace to watch his dream come to li!e still e.ists abo-e the !irehouse on >ain #treet inDisneyland" Walt lo-ed the little apartment because it allowed him to watch the peopleen


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And e-en though ohn the +aptist taught baptism into one$ Hthat is on esusH$ esus came to him to be

baptized"Hohn did baptize""" and preach the baptism o! repentance !or the remission o! sins""" saying$ Therecometh one mightier than I a!ter me"""H 8>ar '9)$2"

The signs !rom the hea-en didnt come until afteresus was baptizedMBue G90' 7ow when all the peoplewere baptized$ it came to pass$ that esus also bein&baptized :past tense;$ and praying$ the hea-en wasopened$ 00 And the %oly Chost descended in a bodily shape lie a do-e upon him$ and a -oice came !romhea-en$ which said$ Thou art my belo-ed #on, in thee I am well pleased"

It does not say anywhere that ohn or esus mentioned the words HFather$ #on$ and %oly ChostH That is theutter assu!ption!rom the lips o! a man$ and not scripture" +ut Paul specificallysays ohn did baptisepointing tothe one who came a!ter$ that is on esusM

Hohn .erilybaptizedN saying unto the people that they should belie-e on %im which should come a!terhim$ that is, on hrist 9esus" When they heard this they were baptized in the name o! the Bord esusH8Acts '(908@" 4f they who were already bapti'ed by the sa!e !an who bapti'ed 9esus$ i! they were toldto be rebapti'ed into 9esus= why wont you do the sa!eL

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Ten Interesting Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Walt Disney