Reading 4: Walt Disney

Walt Disney was born in Chicago, USA, 5 December 1901. He grew up in Illinois and was one of the first people to create a new film business. He started his career making advertisements. These, however, were not very successful. They were criticised greatly! It was then that Walt decided to move to Hollywood. He made two silent animated films starring a new cartoon character called Mickey Mouse. They were extremely popular. In 1928, Walt created a new film where Mickey talked. The film was called Steamboat Willie. Soon Mickey was seen with friends Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. These films were great hits and made Walt Disney a millionaire. Later in his career, Walt Disney made films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bambi, (1942). They are still very popular. Disney was also the person that invented theme parks. The most famous are Disneyland in California, Disney World in Florida and Euro Disney in Paris. Walt Disney died 15 December 1966. His body was not buried or cremated, it was frozen. His frozen corpse is in Los Angeles, California