This Day in Disney History

[tiggerguy]

April 27

1902:
Singer Harry Stockwell (father of actor Dean Stockwell) is born in Kansas City,
Missouri. He will go on to supply the singing voice for the Prince in Disney's
1937 classic animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

1956:
Disney's animated short Hooked Bear, featuring Humphrey the Bear, is released. Directed by Jack Hannah, the cartoon features the voices of Jim Macdonald (as Humphrey) and Bill Thompson (as Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore).

2001:
Disneyland's Rocket Rods, a ride that was the brash new star of Tomorrowland when the aging fun zone got a $100-million face lift three years ago, closes forever. Although shuttered since September 2000 for a refurbishment that was to last until Spring 2001 ... no work was ever actually seen on the attraction. Despite efforts by designers and mechanics, the Rocket Rods was plagued with problems.

[tiggerguy]

April 28

1930:
The Silly Symphony cartoon Night, directed by Walt Disney, is released.

1949:
Actor Bruno Kirby is born in New York City. He will go on to appear in Disney's 1973 live-action comedy Superdad .

1950:
Disney's animated Trailer Horn, featuring Donald Duck and Chip 'n' Dale, is released.

1997:
The restaurant in Walt Disney World's Cinderella Castle is renamed Cinderella's Royal Table. Although originally called King Stefan's Banquet Hall - King Stefan was actually Sleeping Beauty's father ... not Cinderella's!

[tiggerguy]

April 29

1949:
Disney's Pluto's Sweater, directed by Charles A. Nichols, is released in theaters.
The short features the voices of Pinto Colvig (as Pluto) and Ruth Clifford (as
Minnie Mouse) and the music of Oliver Wallace

1952:
Actress Nora Dunn, Lilly Keeble in the 2001 Max Keeble's Big Move, is born in Chicago, Illinois.

1983:
Disney's live-action Something Wicked This Way Comes is released. Based on a Ray Bradbury novel, the film stars Jason Robards, Diane Ladd, and Royal Dano (the voice of Abraham Lincoln for Disney's Greatest Moments with Mr. Lincoln attraction).

1994:
The first phase of Disney World's All-Star Sports Resort, Surf's Up located at 1991 West Buena Vista Drive opens. A haven for sports fans, the Florida resort will eventually consist of 10 themed buildings each bordered by a giant sports icon.

[tiggerguy]

April 30

1923:
Actor Al Lewis is born in New York. Famously known as Grandpa from the hit 1960s television series The Munsters, Lewis appears in Disney's 1970 live-action film The Boatniks as Bert.

1926:
Actress Cloris Leachman, Nurse Spex in Disney's 2005 live-action feature Sky High, is born in Des Moines, Iowa. Her Disney credits also include The North Avenue Irregulars (1979) and Herbie Goes Bananas (1980).

2007:
Starting on this day, Disneyland Resort tickets can be purchased online
and printed at home.

[tiggerguy]

May 1

1915:
Art Stevens, an animator, writer, title designer, and producer at the Disney
Studios, is born in Roy, Montana. His credits include The Rescuers, The Many
Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The North Avenue Irregulars, and Peter Pan.

1927:
Walt Disney ships his second Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon,
Trolley Troubles, to Winkler Pictures - a distributor in New York City.

1940:
Walter E. Disney receives patent #2,201,689 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, for the "art of animation" camera. The multiplane camera allows for a more realistic three-dimensional image as well as depth and richness to the animation. The device uses up to seven layers of artwork (painted in oils on glass) shot under a vertical and moveable camera.

1986:
At EPCOT, The Good Turn Restaurant , open since 1982, closes. It will become Garden Grille Restaurant.

1989:
The Disney-MGM Studios theme park in Florida's Walt Disney World (located south of EPCOT) opens to the public. It is Disney's 5th theme park in the world. Although it rains throughout the day, the park is packed.

[tiggerguy]

May 2

1878:
Actor-comedian & composer Roy Atwell - the voice of Doc in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - is born in Syracuse, New York.

1925:
Athlete-turned-actor Roscoe Lee Browne - the voice of Arrow in Disney's 2002 Treasure Planet - is born in Woodbury, New Jersey. His Disney credits also include the 1988 Oliver & Company and the 1973 live-action feature The World's Greatest Athlete.

1937:
Actor, writer, television producer, musician and voice actor Lorenzo Music is born Gerald David Music in Brooklyn, New York. He will go on to voice characters for such Disney television shows as TaleSpin and The Gummi Bears.

1993:
The Theater of the Stars, a 1500 seat amphitheater located just to the right of the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant in the Disney-MGM Park, temporarily closes. It will be moved to make way for the construction of the new Sunset Boulevard area.

[tiggerguy]

May 3

1903:
Legendary singer/actor Bing Crosby - one of the narrators of Disney's 1949 animated feature The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad - is born in Tacoma, Washington.

1929:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon When the Cat's Away is released.

1931:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon The Moose Hunt is released. It is the first cartoon in which Pluto is known by that name. The short also contains Pluto's first spoken line in a cartoon, "Kiss Me." (One of only two times he speaks!)

[tiggerguy]

May 4

1937:
Surf guitarist **** Dale, whose rendition of Camille Saint-Saen's Aquarium can be heard while riding Disneyland's Space Mountain, is born in Boston, Massachusetts. He also performed live on top of Space Mountain in 1998 for the re-opening of Disneyland's Tomorrowland.

1944:
Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse since 1985, is born in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. (She is married to Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey!)

1994:
Actor Alexander Gould - the voices of Nemo in Disney/Pixar's
2003 Finding Nemo and Bambi in Disney's 2006 Bambi II - is born in Los Angeles, California.

2005:
Disneyland closes to the public today for last minute preparations for tomorrow's start of their 18-month 50th Celebration event.

[tiggerguy]

May 5

1915:
Ben Wright - the voice of Grimsby in Disney's 1989 classic The Little Mermaid and the voice of Wolf in the 1967 film The Jungle Book - is born to an English mother and an American father in London, England.

1927:
Actress Pat Carroll, the voice of Ursula in Disney's 1989 classic The Little Mermaid, is born in Shreveport, Louisiana.

1929:
Singer, voice actress and Disney Legend Ilene Woods is born in New Hampshire. In 1948, as a favor for songwriter friends Mack David and Jerry Livingston, Woods will record "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," and "So This is Love." Upon hearing Woods, Walt will hire her as the title voice of Cinderella.

1940:
Actor Lance Henriksen, the voice of Kerchak in Disney's 1999 animated feature Tarzan, is born in New York City.

1987:
Disneyland introduces Disney Dollars, its exclusive line of currency featuring Mickey Mouse on the $1 bill and Goofy on the $5 bill.

[tiggerguy]

May 6

1916:
Actress & Disney Legend Adriana Caselotti is born to musical parents in Bridgeport, Connecticut. At age 18 she will go on to supply the voice and personality to Walt
Disney's first feature-length cartoon heroine, Snow White.

1938:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Trailer is released. The short features the voices of Walt Disney (as Mickey), Pinto Colvig (as Goofy) and Clarence Nash (as Donald Duck).

1940:
The Disney Studio completes a move into new quarters in Burbank, California.

1988:
The second new World Showcase pavilion to be added to the original roster, Norway, opens at EPCOT. It includes the Puffin's Roost shop, Kringla Bakeri og Kafe restaurant, and the Restaurant Akershus.

[tiggerguy]

May 7

1917:
Actor & Disney Legend David Tomlinson - best known for his role as George W. Banks in the 1964 Mary Poppins - is born in Henley-on-Thames, England. His Disney live-action credits also include The Love Bug (playing the evil Thorndyke) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (as the humbug professor of magical arts, Emelius Brown).

1922:
Seasoned actor of stage, screen & television, Darren McGavin is born in Spokane, Washington. McGavin's Disney TV credits include the role of John Jay Forest in The High Flying Spys and Timothy Donovan in Donovan's Kid. He also portrays Mayor Ragsdale in Disney's live-action feature Hot Lead and Cold Feet and Duke in the feature No Deposit, No Return.

[tiggerguy]

May 8

1926:
Legendary comedian/actor Don Rickles - the voice of Mr. Potato Head in Disney/Pixar's Toy Story films and the voice of William in Disney World's Enchanted Tiki Room attraction - is born in New York City.

2006:
It is reported that Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee will play the roles of Mary Poppins and Bert on Broadway when the production of Mary Poppins arrives at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

[tiggerguy]

May 9

1929:
Disney's Mickey Mouse short The Plow Boy is released. It features the first appearance of Horace Horsecollar.

1949:
Singer-songwriter and piano-man Billy Joel, the voice of Dodger in Disney's 1988 Oliver & Company, is born in New York City.

1981:
Legendary Disneyland entertainer Wally Boag guest stars on episode 116 of TV's The Muppet Show. In honor of Boag, the Muppets salute vaudeville with a balloon animal act, bagpipes, and a hypnotist!

[tiggerguy]

May 10

1922:
Emmy Award-winning actress Nancy Walker, who appears in the 1973 live-action feature The World's Greatest Athlete as Mrs. Petersen, is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1929:
For the first time since moving to Hollywood, Walt Disney delivers a cartoon without a continuing character. Skeleton Dance is the first of the Silly Symphonies series. It also marks Les Clark's debut as an animator.

1956:
Actress/singer Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle in Disney's animated feature Beauty and the Beast, is born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She has also voiced Belle for such spin-offs as Belle's Magical World, Beauty and the World of Music, and Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.

[tiggerguy]

May 11

1911:
Tony Award-winning comedic actor Phil Silvers is born in Brooklyn, New York. His Disney credits include The Strongest Man in the World as Krinkle and The Boatniks as Harry Simmons.

1920:
Actor Denver Pyle is born in Bethune, Colorado. Pyle's Disney credits include the features Escape to Witch Mountain & Return from Witch Mountain, and the Disneyland TV episodes Hog Wild & The Boy Who Talked to Badgers.