by Nathaniel R
Disney won every single short category plus Documentary Feature at the 1953 OscarsWith 59 days left until Oscar nominations, it seems an appropriate time to remind everyone that it's not Meryl Streep (20) or Woody Allen (24) or even John Williams (50) who holds the record for Most Oscar Nominations of All Time, but industry titan and one of the most influential people who ever lived: Walt Disney. His fingerprints... or mouse glove prints if you will, are still all over showbiz, especially the business part. But we're here to talk Oscar. He received an incredible 59 competitive Oscar nominations, winning 22 of those races.
So in addition to holding the record for most nominations, he also holds the record for most wins. The last of those nominations and wins was his only posthumous honor -- Winnie Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968) took the Animated Short Oscar (then called "Best Short Subject, Cartoons")...
The bulk of those 59 nominations, 39 of them, come in the animated short category but he was also honored in the categories we now think of as Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short, and Best Picture (only once but for the classic Mary Poppins).
But those numbers don't even convey his full Oscar glory. He also received the Irving Thalberg awards and 3 Honorary Oscars, one of which was famously 1 full statue with 7 miniature companion statues for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) as you can see in this adorable photo with presenter Shirley Temple from the 11th annual Academy Awards in February 1939.