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December 5, 2001, marks the 100th anniversary of Walt's birth.
To mark this important event, the Walt Disney Family Museum is
proud to present a special multimedia exhibit highlighting some
of the most significant milestones in Walt's life.
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1901
WALT IS BORN IN CHICAGO
Walt was born in Chicago on December 5, 1901. Here he poses at
age 5 with his younger sister, Ruth, in front of the Disney home
in Chicago. All of the Disney children except Herbert were born
in this house, which Walt's father, Elias, had built with his own
hands. (More
about Walt's early years)
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1918
OFF TO POST-WAR FRANCE
Walt wanted to join the US Army Corps fighting in Europe during
World War I, but he was too young. He did, however, enlist as
a driver for the Red Cross Ambulance Corps, and was sent to France
shortly after the Armistice of November, 1918. Here he poses with
his longtime friend Russell Maas. (More
about Walt in France)
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1920
WALT LEARNS ABOUT ANIMATION
Upon his return from France, Walt decided to make a living as
an artist. Here he is at his drawing table at the Kansas City
Film Ad Company around 1920. The company produced brief cartoon
commercials, using pin figures stuck on a registration board.
(More
about Walt in Kansas City) To see a film of Walt describing
these early cartoons, choose either 56K modem
or DSL/ISDN.
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1922
WALT'S FIRST STUDIO
Buoyed by the success of his first animated cartoon for the Newman's
Theater in Kansas City, Walt founded his first company, Laugh-O-grams
Inc., in Kansas City in May, 1922. He was only 20 years old. Unfortunately,
Walt's distributor, Pictorial Clubs, went bankrupt before they
could pay Walt for all the cartoons they had ordered. (More
about Laugh-O-grams)
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1923
"ALICE'S WONDERLAND"
Undaunted, Walt scraped together enough money to begin his most
ambitious film to date: a cartoon combining live-action and animation
entitled "Alice's Wonderland." It was still unfinished
when Walt's money finally ran out, and Laugh-O-grams went out
of business. Walt wasn't discouraged; he simply headed for the
capital of movie-making, Hollywood. (More
about "Alice's Wonderland")
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