4. Walt Disney was not a Disney executive
As difficult as this may be to imagine, the founder of the Walt Disney Company had no formal title within its ranks. Disney did accept a salary of $182,000 annually plus a deferred salary of $2,500 each week. That is a grand total of $312,000 in annual income.
In 2015 American dollars, that is the equivalent of $2.3 million a year for a man whose company is worth $156 billion. Putting this number in different terms, actress Angelina Jolie earned a factor of six times as much for starring as Maleficent as Disney was paid in annual income for creating classic movies such as Sleeping Beauty.
5. Beloved by the Academy
In Hollywood, the most powerful people are the ones who have won an Academy Award. Anybody who is earned multiple Oscars automatically becomes iconic. Recently, George Clooney became only the second person ever to be nominated for an Academy Award in six different categories. Who was the first person to do this? Yup, it’s Walt Disney.
During the course of his life, Disney won a staggering 22 Oscars, and he was also honored with four others, starting with a special award in 1932 for his creation of Mickey Mouse. Even more impressive is that Disney was nominated an astonishing 59 times over the course of his career. As a reminder, there are only 24 categories each year. To further put this number in perspective, consider that screen legend Meryl Streep has “only” been nominated 18 times.
6. Walt did not draw the first Mickey Mouse cartoon
If your jaw is on the floor right now, take a deep breath. It will be okay in a second. Walt Disney had a co-creator for the character of Mickey Mouse. His name was Ub Iwerks, and he was universally renowned for his work ethic.
During the time when Disney was still finishing his final few Oswald the Lucky Rabbit projects , Iwerks shrugged off his official responsibilities and instead worked on what would become the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, Plane Crazy. Iwerks spent a total of six weeks making history on a project that Disney soon provided his full endorsement. The two men are credited as co-directors on the project
If you are a mouse fan and are confused by this news because you know that Steamboat Willie came first, understand that Plane Crazy failed to receive distribution. So, Steamboat Willie became the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released. It was not, however, the first one drawn. Despite being the first full creation, Plane Crazy was only the fourth official Disney release.
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Another little known fact is tha Walt Disny was a DeMolay. Disney was initiated into Mother Chapter in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1920. He received the Legion of Honor in 1931. Disney was a member of the first class to be inducted into the DeMolay Hall of Fame on November 13, 1986.