Walt Disney

WALT DISNEY d1966. American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, international icon and philanthropist. He is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. He along with his brother Roy O Disney was the co-founder of Walt Disney Productions, the best known motion-picture producers in the world which today still has annual revenues of around 35 billion USD.  He is particularily renowned as an early pioneer and innovator during the 1930-40s, in the field of animation and later theme park design. Walt Disney and his staff created some of the world's most famous fictional characters including Mickey Mouse, a character for which Disney himself was the original voice. He has been awarded four honorary Academy Awards and has won twenty-two competitive Academy Awards out of fifty-nine nominations (including a record four in one year) giving him more awards and nominations than any other individual. He has also won seven Emmy Awards. He is the namesake for Disneyland and The Walt Disney World Resort Theme Parks in the USA, as well as further resorts in Paris / Tokyo and Hong Kong. He died of lung cancer in California in 1966 aged 65. The following year, construction began on The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. His brother Roy Disney first inaugurated The Magic Kingdom on October 1st 1971