Walt Disney was an informant for the FBI.

Famous Figures

W hen he wasn’t building an animation empire that still dominates Hollywood more than half a century after his death, Walt Disney was busy moonlighting as an FBI informant. He was initially recruited on November 10, 1940, and was then made a “Special Agent in Charge Contact” in 1954. The famed animator enjoyed a friendly relationship with the bureau — but what exactly did he do? The answer reveals a side of Disney that many people aren’t aware of.

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By the Numbers

Academy Awards won by Walt Disney, a record

Amount of money Disney had when he left for Hollywood in 1923

$40

Did you know?

Walt Disney’s last written words were “Kurt Russell.”

Though no one knows why, least of all the actor himself, Walt Disney’s last written words before he died on December 15, 1966, were “Kurt Russell.” Russell, who was 15 at the time and had already appeared alongside Elvis Presley in 1963’s It Happened at the World’s Fair, has since gone on to star in such classics as The Thing, Escape From New York, and Tombstone. But he wasn’t exactly a star in those days, despite having just signed a 10-year contract with Disney, and he’s as confused as anyone as to why the studio head wrote his name on a note shortly before his passing. When asked about the note in a 2017 Huffington Post interview, Russell said, “Oh gee. I don’t know what it’s connected to.”