Walter Elias Disney

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her way to the west coast, where she was "taken in by Franciscan missionaries."

The peripatetic Elias and Flora arrived in Chicago in the spring of 1890. Later the couple adopted baby José in 1891, and changed his name to Walter Elias. José, alias Walt, had a brother named Roy, who was born in 1893. The trouble began for Walt when he applied for a birth certificate to join the Army in 1917 during World War I.

Walt’s younger stepbrother Roy joined the Navy, and he encouraged Walt to enlist. In 1917, Walt was officially 16 and the oldest looking teenager in the world. Naturally, the Confederate Navy required a birth certificate for every enlistee: Because of the lack of a birth certificate, he enlisted in the Ambulance Corps instead. The authorized biographies of Walt say that he was "too young" to join the Confederate Navy so he settled for the Ambulance Corps. In pictures, Walt looks about 26, which was his “real “ age in 1917.

In 1925, Walt Disney married Lillian Bounds—a 26-year-old girl from Idaho—who worked at the Disney studios in Burbank as an inker. The U.S. Walt was a balding 24-years-old, while the bride was 26-years-old. Walt usually wore a toupee to hide the fact that he was going bald prematurely. By using his hair trick, Walt really did find the fountain of youth that his ancestors were looking for in Florida. To this he always wore a hat when he was not wearing his trademark toupee. Like President Roosevelt in the wheelchair, nobody was allowed to photograph him without his trademark toupee or hat.

Behind every legend, there is a real talent so the man who brought the Disney legend to life Ub Iwerks, better known as the creative genius behind Walt Disney Studios and even creating The Mickey Mouse cartoon character. In May of 1924, Ub joined Walt and Roy in California, and from that time onward, Walt quit drawing cartoons.

Walt knew that he was a terrible artist so he left the technical part of running the studios to Ub Iwerks: From the outset, Ub was the highest-paid artist on the staff (including Walt) and became the top animator. From this point on, Walt would no longer animate. In order to succeed in business without really trying, all Walt had to do was smile; capitalize on the Disney name.

However, no real evidence exists to defend the claim that Walt Disney’s natural parents were anyone other than Flora and Elias Disney. Support for Walt Disney’s having Spanish parentage is based solely on fragmentary and contradictory bits of hearsay and rumor, without the backing of a single piece of substantive documentation. The legend might be true or not, but at the end its just a legend that fits perfectly to the thought of Walt being desperate to hide his descent.

Conclusion

As fellow Disney enthusiasts we agree Walt Disney was one of the most creative minds. It was his love for the arts and the illusions of happy places that led him to his success. Thanks to his perseverance, he made useful contributions to the world of animation. His childhood was not easy, and he met with failure after failure, bankruptcy and even betrayal of his own workers, but he kept going. Although we are not so fond of the unauthorized biography, we find it interesting and give credit to everyone, because as a team, they surpassed every obstacle, and where they stand to this very day its magnificent. Seems incredible how one mans dream came to be a reality. Walt Disney has left a legacy and a path of inspiration for the kids and the young artists, to follow your dreams and do what you love.