Walt Disney : 1901-1966

1968-Spe-11 Marceline MO

(1901 – 1966) American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons.

In the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio (now the Walt Disney Company) with his brother Roy. With Ub Iwerks, he developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years.

As a film producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards won (22) and nominations (59) by an individual. 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 and have also been named as some of the greatest films ever by the American Film Institute.

First Day Cover with hand-drawn, hand-painted cachet by Dave Dubé, based on Paris Match magazine cover - Yesterland

Scrooge McDuck drawn by Carl Barks at age 97 - Yesterland

While postal regulations at the time stated that any non-presidential individual honored on a commemorative stamp must be dead for ten years, the support for a Disney tribute was overwhelming. The Office of the Postmaster General corresponded with hundreds of Americans requesting a Walt Disney stamp, receiving letters from private citizens as well as the Walt Disney Studios, Governor Ronald Reagan, actors Fess Parker and John Wayne, and a number of United States Congressmen.

Smithsonian National Postal Museum