Articles on Animation &Commentary 15 Dec 2007 09:11 am
Death of an Immortal
Today’s the anniversary of Walt Disney’s death.
He had been in bad health for a few months prior to his entering St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank, CA on November 2, 1966, complaining of pain in his neck and back.
An X-ray revealed a tumor on his left lung and surgery was advised. This surgery was performed on November 7th, and his left lung was removed for cancer.
Disney was released from the hospital after two weeks. He collapsed at his home in Palm Springs after spending Thanksgiving Day with his family. He spent his 65th birthday in the hospital with his family at his bedside.
On December 14th, Lillian spent some time with him, and his brother Roy visited in the evening. Roy ordered the lights at the Disney Studio across the street, to stay on at all times, while Walt was in the hospital. Walt would ask the nurses to prop him up so he could see the studios.
He died at 9:30 AM on Thursday, December 15, 1966.
The cause of Disney’s death was announced as acute circulatory collapse and was listed as cardiac arrest on his death certificate.
Not much of the information detailed above was open to the world at large.
I was a senior in college in 1966. In the middle of my day, I was preparing for a showcase I was supposed to give of an artpiece that was due for an advertising class. A number of the other art students in the school came running in to break the news to me. They were certain that I would just fall apart, and I remember not being shocked about it. I took the news in stride and went on to prepare my artwork.
I’ve always felt that I somehow hurt those classmates by not being more taken by Disney’s death. It’s at moments like this, that we start to realize things that others expect of us, and we start figuring out how to give it back to them. I guess I was affected by that day, but I’m sure it wasn’t directly related to Walt’s death.
Just for the interest of anyone out there, I’m posting here the Obituary for Disney which was published in the NYTimes that day. It’s very long, so I had to break it into six big docs. To read it, you’ll have to click on the images to enlarge.
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on 16 Dec 2007 at 1:09 pm 1.Will Finn said …
Thanks for posting this Michael. I remember this as well, though I was only 8 at the time. For me also, it was something of an anti-climax: my father (who was only 42) was abruptly stricken with pancreatic cancer at the same time and the dates of entering the hospital and the thanksgiving relapse are almost identical, so we had our own drama going on in our family. My dad died a few weeks after Walt. I was already obsessed with animation though and when JUNGLE BOOK came out a year later it not only felt to me like a reminder of Walt Disney, but also my dad, who was kind of a Baloo-like character.
By coincidence, I just happened to start reading the Neil Gabler bio on Dec. 5 and am still enjoying it. This actual obit is a vivid piece of the actual puzzle.
on 17 Dec 2007 at 4:33 pm 2.biblioadonis@yahoo.com said …
Thanks for sharing your personal experience about Walt’s passing.
I can’t imagine the last moments he spent with Lillian or Roy. What plans and dreams were ruminated on.
Thanks!
on 11 Feb 2010 at 7:00 pm 3.Mike Couture said …
I was 21, in the Navy, and on shore leave from the USS Independence while on a “Med-Cruise”. We had “anchored out” in Cannes France and I was taking some R&R in Marseilles France. Knowing very little French I happened to glance at a news-stand paper and saw Walt’s picture. I knew instantly what it meant, the headline read, “Au revoir Walt”. There was no need for translation. I was very saddened by the news. I’ll never forget that moment.
Mike C.
on 12 Feb 2010 at 8:54 am 4.Michael said …
That’s a great story Mike C., it was such a marker in some of our lives.
on 20 Oct 2010 at 1:37 pm 5.Sue Z said …
thanks for having this info as Ive always been interested in Walt Disney and Walt Disney World. more so since the day I found out that Walt Disney passed away on 12/15/1966 which is also the day I was born! do to facts found in my search it was 20 minutes apart because of time zones im on the east coast and he was on the west coast
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