New Biography Reveals the Life of Walt Disney

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published May 29, 2007 at 9:46 AM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

A new biography of Walt Disney chronicles the life of a visionary artist but also a savvy businessman. He often struggled to reconcile these two worlds while changing the face of animation. Noted ani

Alison St John (Guest Host): Walt Disney wasn't successful in his early days, but he said "I think it's important to have a good, hard failure when you're young." He never let failure stop him. A new biography of the life of Walt Disney describes the man behind the amazing success of animated films in the American movie industry.

Our guest has written a history of American Animation called Hollywood Cartoons , and he has now used that research and interviews with dozens of key characters in the growth of animation, to produce a biography of Walt Disney.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Guest:

Michael Barrier, an animation historian. His new book is called, The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney.