Brief Life History of Robert Samuel
ROBERT SAMUEL DISNEY, SR. ~ was an uncle to Walt Disney, (Walter Elias Disney), Roy Oliver Disney, Herbert Arthur Disney, Raymond Arnold Disney and Ruth Flora Disney. Robert was in the real estate business and he helped Walt and his brother Roy finance their original legal partnership to make animated movies. Robert rented a small garage to Walt and Roy when they began to operate in California, and provided some much needed cash to help them pursue their dream of making cartoons! Walt had invited Virginia Davis, an American child actor, who was already a live-action star of Alice’s Wonderland and Alice and her parents moved from Kansas City to continue to work for Walt Disney. Walt and Roy also hired two new employees who ink and painted the celluloid. Walt rented a shabby shooting camera and installed it in the garage. Roy operated the camera, and Walt was responsible for animation. On October 16, 1923, Walt Disney and his older brother Roy O. Disney founded “Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.” Walt and Roy always said: "If Uncle Robert had not rented us his garage and loaned us some cash, it is likely our dream of making cartoons would have been far more difficult!"
Photos and Memories (1)
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Family Time Line
Sources (17)
- Robert Disney in household of Cassel Disney, "Canada Census, 1871"
- Robert Samuel Disney, "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994"
- Robert Disney, "Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1863
Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.
1870
Historical Boundaries: 1870: Ellis, Kansas, United States
1886
Statue of Liberty is dedicated.
Name Meaning
English (of Norman origin): habitational name with fused French preposition d(e), for someone from Isigny in Calvados, France, named from the Gallo-Roman personal name Isinius (a Latinized form of Gaulish Isina) + the locative suffix -acum.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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