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Walt Disney with many of his characters (2).
Walter Elias Disney was one of the world's most prominent figures in the entertainment industry. Walt and his brother Roy co-founded Walt Disney Productions (3). His contributions included "21 full length animated films, 493 short subjects, 47 live-action features, 7 True-Life Adventure features, 330 hours of Mickey Mouse Club television programs' 78 half-hour Zorro television adventures, and 280 other television shows" (4).
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Early Life

As a young boy, Disney drew, painted, and sold pictures to his family and friends. He attended McKinley High School where he took drawing and photography classes. He also took night classes at Chicago Art Institute. At 16, Disney dropped out of school to join the army but was rejected for being underage. He decided to join Red Cross instead and was sent to France (5).
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Beginning of Walt Disney Productions

Disney worked as a commercial artist before he began producing cartoons. Steamboat Willie was his first short film which created the iconic character, Mickey Mouse. Disney cartoons were heavily sought after but his company struggled because he strived for perfection and thus production was slow. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938) was Disney's first feature-length cartoon. Snow White took Disney approximately three years, starting it in 1935 and completing the film in the fall of 1938 (6). Disney went on to create hundreds more cartoons which became popular among children and parents (7). 
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Achievements/Honors

Walt Disney received many awards throughout his career. He won  Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature for The Vanishing Prairie and The Living Desert. He also won Academy Awards for Best Short Film for many of his films. In total, Disney won twenty-two Academy Awards (8). In addition to the awards for his animations, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal (9). In total, Walt Disney won sixty awards. His animations remain popular among children, teenagers, and adults alike. Known for his cartoons, Disney contributed to the evolution of the entertainment industry.
1. "Walt Disney Biography," in Encyclopedia of World Biography (n.p.: n.p., 2015).
2. Rachel Kolb, "The Walt Years," Sound on Sight, last modified February 10, 2014, accessed June 3, 2015, http://www.soundonsight.org/28-days-of-disney-animation-the-walt-years/.
3. "Walt Disney," Bio., accessed May 21, 2015, http://www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533.
4. "Walt Disney Biography," in Encyclopedia of World Biography.
5. "Walt Disney," Bio..
6. "Walt Disney on the Making of Snow White: CBC Archives," video file, YouTube, posted by CBC, December 16, 2009, accessed May 28, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7ZkWfD0ELE.
7. Judith S. Baughman, "Walt Disney," in American Decades (Detroit, MI: Gale, 1998).
8. "Walt Disney," Bio..
9. United States House of Representatives, "Congressional Gold Medal Recipients," History, Art, & Archives, accessed June 3, 2015, http://history.house.gov/Institution/Gold-Medal/Gold-Medal-Recipients/.
10. "Walt Disney," The State Historical Society of Missouri, accessed June 3, 2015, http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/d/disney/.
11. Michael Peraza, "Memories of the House of Mouse," Ink and Paint Club, last modified November 18, 2013, accessed June 3, 2015, http://michaelperaza.blogspot.com/2013_11_01_archive.html.
12. Chris Lucas, "Disney Top Ten Lists," Blogspot, http://disneytoptenlists.blogspot.com/2011/02/ten-disney-moments-at-oscars.html.