The Man Behind the Myth: Walt's Passing

Marking the 45th anniversary of the death of Walt Disney. December 15, 1966.

On the afternoon of December 14, Lilly (Walt Disney's wife) visited him and she telephoned Diane (their eldest daughter) later to say, "Oh, he's so much better. He got out of bed. He kept putting his arms around me, and his grip was so strong. I know he's going to get well. I know he's going to be all right."

Roy (Walt's eldest brother) visited him that evening, and Walt seemed weak but lucid. The two brothers talked quietly about company matters, and Walt was intent on discussing Disney World and EPCOT. He stared at the ceiling which was covered with foot-square acoustical tiles, and he raised a faltering hand to point out the design of the Florida property. Roy, too, was encouraged by Walt's appearance, and he remarked to Edna that night that he thought Walt had a good chance to recover.

Walt Disney died at nine-thirty the next morning (December 15, 1966) of an acute circulatory collapse, according to the death certificate.

Sorrow and disbelief encircled the world. -- Excerpted from "Walt Disney: An American Original" by Bob Thomas

Eric Sevareid on the CBS Evening News seemed to express the feelings of most Americans:
It would take more time than anybody has around the daily news shops to think of the right thing to say about Walt Disney. He was an original; not just an American original, but an original, period.

He was a happy accident; one of the happiest this century has experienced; and judging by the way it's been behaving in spite of all Disney tried to tell it about laughter, love, children, puppies and sunrises, the century hardly deserved him. ... People are saying we'll never see his like again.

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