Walt Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, voice actor and film producer.

A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons.

As a film producer, Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations.

He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors.

Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

For several years Disney had been considering building a theme park. In mid-1954, Disney sent his imagineers to every amusement park in the U.S. to analyze what worked and what pitfalls or problems there were in the various locations and incorporated their findings into his design. Construction work started in July 1954, and Disneyland opened in July 1955; the opening ceremony was broadcast on ABC, which reached 70 million viewers.

Walt Disney was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1986.