Editing Walt Disney (section)

==Personal life and character==
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?195399-10/walt-disney Interview with Neal Gabler on ''Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination'', November 19, 2006], [[C-SPAN]]}} 
Early in 1925, Disney hired an ink artist, [[Lillian Disney|Lillian Bounds]]. They married in July of that year, at her brother's house in her home town of [[Lewiston, Idaho]].<ref name=wddiofclmt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D7peAAAAIBAJ&pg=4762%2C3438544 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=Walt Disney dies of cancer at 65 |date=December 16, 1966 |page=1}}</ref> The marriage was generally happy, according to Lillian, although according to Disney's biographer [[Neal Gabler]] she did not "accept Walt's decisions meekly or his status unquestionably, and she admitted that he was always telling people 'how henpecked he is'."{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=544}}{{efn|One possible exception to the stable relationship was during the making ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' (1937), where the stresses and turmoil associated with the production led to the couple discussing divorce.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=544}}}} Lillian had little interest in films or the Hollywood social scene and she was, in the words of the historian Steven Watts, "content with household management and providing support for her husband".{{sfn|Watts|2013|p=352}} Their marriage produced two daughters, [[Diane Disney Miller|Diane]] (born December 1933) and Sharon (adopted in December 1936, born six weeks previously).{{sfn|Barrier|2007|pp=102, 131}}{{efn|Lillian had two miscarriages during the eight years between marriage and the birth of Diane; she suffered a further miscarriage shortly before the family adopted Sharon.{{sfn|Barrier|2007|pp=102, 131}}}} Within [[Disney family|the family]], neither Disney nor his wife hid the fact Sharon had been adopted, although they became annoyed if people outside the family raised the point.{{sfnm|1a1=Mosley|1y=1990|1p=169|2a1=Gabler|2y=2006|2p=280}} The Disneys were careful to keep their daughters out of the public eye as much as possible, particularly in the light of the [[Lindbergh kidnapping]]; Disney took steps to ensure his daughters were not photographed by the press.{{sfnm|1a1=Thomas|1y=1994|1p=196|2a1=Watts|2y=2013|2p=352}}

[[File:DisneySchiphol1951.jpg|thumb|left|Disney family at [[Schiphol Airport]] (1951)]]
In 1949, Disney and his family moved to a new home in the [[Holmby Hills]] district of Los Angeles. With the help of his friends [[Ward Kimball|Ward and Betty Kimball]], who already had their own [[Grizzly Flats Railroad|backyard railroad]], Disney developed blueprints and immediately set to work on creating a miniature [[live steam]] railroad for his back yard. The name of the railroad, [[Carolwood Pacific Railroad]], came from his home's location on Carolwood Drive. The miniature working steam locomotive was built by Disney Studios engineer [[Roger E. Broggie]], and Disney named it ''Lilly Belle'' after his wife;{{sfn|Broggie|2006|pp=7, 109}} after three years Disney ordered it into storage due to a series of accidents involving his guests.{{sfn|Barrier|2007|p=219}}

Disney grew more [[Conservatism in the United States|politically conservative]] as he got older. A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] supporter until the [[1940 United States presidential election|1940 presidential election]], when he switched allegiance to the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]],{{sfn|Thomas|1994|p=227}} he became a generous donor to [[Thomas&nbsp;E.&nbsp;Dewey]]'s [[1944 United States presidential election|1944 bid for the presidency]].{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=452}} Disney engaged in [[red-baiting]] in response to organized labor actions against his company. In 1941, he paid for a full-page ad in ''Variety'' claiming that "Communistic agitation" was responsible for a cartoonist strike against him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perlstein |first=Rick |url=https://archive.org/details/invisiblebridgef0000perl |title=The invisible bridge : the fall of Nixon and the rise of Reagan |date=2014 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-4767-8241-6 |page=361}}</ref> In 1946, he was a founding member of the [[Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals]], an organization who stated they "believ[ed] in, and like, the American Way of Life&nbsp;... we find ourselves in sharp revolt against a rising tide of Communism, Fascism and kindred beliefs, that seek by subversive means to undermine and change this way of life".{{sfn|Watts|2013|p=240}} In 1947, during the [[Second Red Scare]], Disney testified before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] (HUAC), where he branded [[Herbert Sorrell]], [[David Hilberman]] and [[William Pomerance]], former animators and [[trade union|labor union]] organizers, as communist agitators; Disney stated that the 1941 strike led by them was part of an organized communist effort to gain influence in Hollywood.<ref name="CNN: HUAC" />{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=370}}

''The New York Times'' reported in 1993 that Disney had been an FBI informant passing secret information to J. Edgar Hoover about communist activities in Hollywood.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/06/movies/disney-link-to-the-fbi-and-hoover-is-disclosed.html|title=Disney Link To the F.B.I. And Hoover Is Disclosed|last=Mitgang|first=Herbert|date=May 6, 1993|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 10, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> However, while Walt Disney was made a "Special Agent in Charge Contact" in 1954, FBI officials claim this was largely an honorary title regularly awarded to members of a community who might be of use to the bureau.<ref name="Korkis">{{cite web |url=https://www.mouseplanet.com/11885/Debunking_Myths_About_Walt_Disney |title=Debunking Myths About Walt Disney |last=Korkis |first=Jim |date=November 20, 2017 |website=mouseplanet.com |publisher= Mouseplanet |access-date=September 2, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Creative Explosion: Walt's Political Outlook |url=http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/collection/insidestory/inside_1933e.html |website=The Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=November 1, 2023|date=June 7, 2008|page=17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607073757/http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/collection/insidestory/inside_1933e.html |archive-date=June 7, 2008 }}</ref> The FBI declassified and released Walt Disney's file on their website, and revealed that much of Disney's correspondence with the bureau (via studio personnel) was in relation to the production of [[educational films]]; such as a certain installment of the "Career Day" [[newsreel]] segments on ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' focusing on the bureau (which aired in January 1958), as well as an unmade 1961 educational short warning children about the dangers of [[child molestation]].<ref name="Korkis" /><ref>{{cite web |title=FBI Records: The Vault - Walter Elias Disney |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/walter-elias-disney |website=vault.fbi.gov |publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] |access-date=November 1, 2023}}</ref>

Disney's public persona was very different from his actual personality.<ref name="PBS trailer 2" /> Playwright [[Robert E. Sherwood]] described him as "almost painfully shy&nbsp;... diffident" and self-deprecating.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=204}} According to his biographer [[Richard Schickel]], Disney hid his shy and insecure personality behind his public identity.{{sfn|Schickel|1986|p=341}} Kimball argues that Disney "played the role of a bashful tycoon who was embarrassed in public" and knew that he was doing so.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=205}} Disney acknowledged the façade and told a friend that "I'm not Walt Disney. I do a lot of things Walt Disney would not do. Walt Disney does not smoke. I smoke. Walt Disney does not drink. I drink."<ref name="PBS trailer 1" /> Critic [[Otis Ferguson]], in ''[[The New Republic]]'', called the private Disney: "common and everyday, not inaccessible, not in a foreign language, not suppressed or sponsored or anything. Just Disney."{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=205}} Many of those with whom Disney worked commented that he gave his staff little encouragement due to his exceptionally high expectations. Norman recalls that when Disney said "That'll work", it was an indication of high praise.{{sfn|Norman|2013|p=64}} Instead of direct approval, Disney gave high-performing staff financial bonuses, or recommended certain individuals to others, expecting that his praise would be passed on.{{sfn|Krasniewicz|2010|p=77}}