Mortimer or Mickey?

We all know him as Mickey but has he always been  known by that name?

Mickey Mouse would not have been what he is today were it not for Lillian Disney. Initially, Mickey Mouse used to go by the name Mortimer, but Walt Disney’s wife, Lillian, deemed the name too ceremonious that she asked her husband to change it, to which he obliged. Contrary to some reports that seem to suggest that Mortimer never made an appearance on the screen, he actually did. He first appeared back in 1932 in a black and white film, talking picture actually, entitled Steamboat Willie.

Disney’s first cartoon character was a rabbit named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He was popular to some extent but Walt Disney still felt this wasn’t the real character he had in mind, and on went his quest for the right one. It was in 1928 that the idea of Mortimer came to Walt when he was travelling with his wife on a five-day trip on the train. When they got to California, Walt sought the help of friend Ub Iwerks in coming up with the character. Making his debut on Steamboat Willie on November 18, 1928, Mickey Mouse, then Mortimer, uttered his first words. Guess what they were? “Hot dog!”

Happy 86th Birthday, Mickey!

Oh golly, what joy, what love and what abundance this little mouse has brought us all!