His name is among the most famous in American entertainment—if not the most famous. On December 15, 1966, a man named Walter Elias, better known as Walt Disney, passed away. To mark your language study trip to the U.S., LEC takes a look at the unique career of this tireless jack-of-all-trades.
Walt Disney’s Illinois for your language study trip to the U.S.?
Although Walt Disney became a legend in California, he was born a few thousand miles away, inIllinois—a state you may have the chance to get to know better during your language study program in the U.S. with a host family.
Walt Disney and the most famous mouse
Born to a Canadian father of Irish descent and a mother born inOhio, the young man began attending classes at the Institute of Art in 1915. In 1918, enlisted as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross, he arrived in France, from where he unsuccessfully submitted a few cartoons to American newspapers. Upon returning to the United States, he crossed paths with another talented young cartoonist, Ub Iwerks, who would henceforth become his closest collaborator; together, they would bring a certain Mickey Mouseto life …
Walt Disney, the undisputed king of the Oscars
The rest of the story is up to you to discover—or rediscover—during a language study trip to the U.S. : the man would go on to found the Walt Disney Company, bring the world’s first theme park to life, and win the most Oscars ever awarded to a single person since the award’s inception!