Walter Elias “Walt” Disney (born December 5, 1901, in Chicago, died December 15, 1966, in Los Angeles) was an American film producer, director, writer, dubbing actor, animator, entrepreneur, visionary, and philanthropist. He was one of the greatest creators of the entertainment industry in history, a legend of animation and film. He won a record number of 59 Oscar nominations, of which he also won a record number of 26 statuettes, and was a seven-time winner of the Emmy Award. Together with his brother, Roy Oliver Disney, they founded Walt Disney Productions, now known as The Walt Disney Company. It is the world's second-largest media corporation. ¹⁾

While we now know that the movie was a huge success, nobody thought it would work at the time. To fund the film, Disney took out several loans, even mortgaging his own house for it. Insiders referred to Snow White as “Disney's Folly,” assuming that it would financially destroy Walt. Even Walt's wife, Lillian, thought the movie would totally fail. ²⁾

Snow White became the first movie to ever release a soundtrack in 1944. ³⁾

Disney did the voice for Mickey Mouse from 1928 to 1947. ⁴⁾

Walt Disney had some French roots, with “D'Isigny” being his original family name until it was converted to “Disney.” ⁵⁾