--- title: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Released on Day of Disney's Death description: "The mythmaker is a primitive. He molds his fantasies out of primordial impulses that are common to all men," began TIME's 1966 obituary. canonical: https://time.com/5051160/star-wars-walt-disney-december-15/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-15T14:00:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:28:25.191Z article:section: History og:title: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Released on Day of Disney's Death og:description: 'Star Wars' isn't the only reason Dec. 15 matters in Disney history og:url: https://time.com/5051160/star-wars-walt-disney-december-15/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98f66afc0a8e3f27/6988f481929fad28e0beecd0/disney.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Walt Disney og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Released on Day of Disney's Death twitter:description: 'Star Wars' isn't the only reason Dec. 15 matters in Disney history twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98f66afc0a8e3f27/6988f481929fad28e0beecd0/disney.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Molding Myths and Spinning Fantasies': Read Walt Disney's Obituary From 1966  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Dec 15, 2017 2:00 PM CUT  American producer, director, and animator Walt Disney (1901 - 1966) uses a baton to point to sketches of Disneyland, 1955. American producer, director, and animator Walt Disney (1901 - 1966) uses a baton to point to sketches of Disneyland, 1955.Hulton Archive / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Dec 15, 2017 2:00 PM CUT When [_Star Wars: The Last Jedi_ ](http://time.com/5018368/star-wars-the-last-jedi/ "undefined")officially opens on Friday, it will represent one more milestone in the long history of Disney, the company that bought Lucasfilm — and thus the _Star Wars_ franchise — for [$4 billion](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/10/30/disney-star-wars-lucasfilm/1669739/ "undefined") in 2012. But Friday’s date — December 15 — is important in Disney history for another reason: it’s also the anniversary of founder [Walt Disney](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/10/16/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-walt-disney/ "undefined")’s death in 1966. Though Disney died of cancer relatively young, he forever changed the way stories are told, among other [accomplishments](http://time.com/4326360/walt-disney-world-war-ii-excerpt/ "undefined"). From the birth of Mickey Mouse in 1928 to the nature-centric documentaries he produced in his later years, his personal vision permeated the culture, as TIME explained in its remembrance of the animation innovator: --- > “” --- In concluding the obituary for Disney, TIME noted that, though the flag flew at half-staff at Disneyland, Walt’s death did not distract theme-park visitors and moviegoers from the enjoyments he created. The show, as it was, went on. With the latest sure-to-be-blockbuster Disney release, it still does, just as Disney would have wanted. “He saw his own role,” TIME observed, “as the fantasist animating the warm dreams that men and children refuse to let die.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5051160/star-wars-walt-disney-december-15/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5051160/star-wars-walt-disney-december-15/"},"headline":"'Molding Myths and Spinning Fantasies': Read Walt Disney's Obituary From 1966","datePublished":"2017-12-15T14:00:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:28:25.191Z","description":"Star Wars isn't the only reason Dec. 15 matters in Disney history","url":"https://time.com/5051160/star-wars-walt-disney-december-15/","keywords":["People","movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98f66afc0a8e3f27/6988f481929fad28e0beecd0/disney.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98f66afc0a8e3f27/6988f481929fad28e0beecd0/disney.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Walt Disney","caption":"Disney Makes A Point","creditText":"Hulton Archive / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/people/","name":"People"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5051160/star-wars-walt-disney-december-15/","name":"'Molding Myths and Spinning Fantasies': Read Walt Disney's Obituary From 1966"}}]}] ```