This Day in Disney History

[tiggerguy]

June 6

1955:
Sandra Bernhard, the voice of Cassandra on Disney's TV version of Hercules, is born in Flint, Michigan.

1967:
Actor Max Casella, the original Timon in Disney's Broadway musical The Lion King, and the voice of Tip in Disney's Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, is born in Washington, D.C.

[tiggerguy]

June 7

1975:
Walt Disney World's version of Mission to Mars - developed with NASA - debuts in Tomorrowland.

2006:
Disney World announces that the Cinderella Castle apartment will be completely decorated and upholstered as a 'royal bedchamber', which can sleep up to four people.

[tiggerguy]

June 8

1902:
In Chicago, Elias and Flora Disney baptize their son Walter at the St. Paul Congregational Church. The Disneys are loyal members of the congregation - Flora plays the organ and Elias, a carpenter by trade, has helped build the church.

1917:
Walt Disney graduates from Benton Grammar School in Kansas City, Missouri.

1944:
Mouseketeer Don Grady is born Don Agrati in San Francisco, California. Besides being a member of TV's Mickey Mouse Club in 1957, he has also written music for game animation for Disney's Lilo and Stitch, Return to Neverland, and The Santa Clause.

[tiggerguy]

June 9

1932:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Musical Farmer is released in theaters.

1934:
Donald Duck makes his very first film appearance in The Wise Little Hen, a Silly Symphony short by Walt Disney.

1961:
Actor Michael J. Fox, the voice of Milo James Thatch in Disney's 2001 release Atlantis: The Lost Empire, is born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

1963:
Actor Johnny Depp, the star of Disney's live-action Pirates of the Caribbean series, is born in Owensboro, Kentucky.

2004:
Donald Fauntleroy Duck celebrates his 70th birthday with a party at Disneyland Paris!

[tiggerguy]

June 10

1949:
Child actor & Disney Legend Kevin Corcoran is born in Santa Monica, California.

1995:
About 110,000 people attend a free outdoor premiere of Disney's Pocahontas
on the Great Lawn in New York City's Central Park.

[tiggerguy]

June 11

1947:
Actor Meshach Taylor - who in 1998-1999 made his Broadway debut as Lumiere in Disney's Beauty and the Beast - is born in Boston, Massachusetts.

[tiggerguy]

June 12

1890:
Junius Matthews, the voice of Rabbit for Disney's Winnie the Pooh features, is born in Chicago, Illinois.

1901:
Animator Clyde "Gerry" Geronimi, the co-director of many Disney animated features
including Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan, and Cinderella is born
in Italy.

[tiggerguy]

June 13

1910:
Veteran character actress Mary Wickes is born in St. Louis, Missouri. She is the animators' live-action model for Cruella DeVil in Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians and the voice of wisecracking gargoyle Laverne in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (her last film).

1920:
Actor Rex Everhart, the voice of Maurice in Disney's 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast, is born in Watseka, Illinois.

1953:
Comedian/actor and Disney Legend Tim Allen - Tim Taylor on ABC-TV's Home Improvement, the voice of Buzz Lightyear for Disney/Pixar's Toy Story animated features, and the star of all 3 The Santa Clause films - is born in Denver, Colorado.

[tiggerguy]

June 14

1895:
Cliff Edwards, the voices of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio and Jim Crow in Dumbo, is born in Hannibal, Missouri. He will be named a Disney Legend in 2000.

1909:
Singer-actor Burl Ives, whose Disney credits include the 1948 So Dear to My Heart as Uncle Hiram Douglas and the 1963 Summer Magic as Osh Popham, is born in Hunt, Illinois.

1916:
Actress Dorothy McGuire is born in Omaha, Nebraska. Her Disney credits include Summer Magic as Margaret Carey, and Old Yeller as Katie Coates.

[tiggerguy]

June 15

1967:
The Club 33 restaurant (for members-only) opens at 33 Royal Street, in New Orleans Square at Disneyland. It is comprised of two dining rooms and several adjoining areas, all of which hold a wide array of magnificent antiques and original works of art.

1999:
Disney's Tarzan has its world premiere in Singapore.

[tiggerguy]

June 16

1907:
Writer Helen Aberson is born in Syracuse, New York. Her book "Dumbo, the Flying Elephant" which she co-wrote with Harold Perl, will inspire the 1941 Disney classic Dumbo.

1955:
Disney's 15th animated feature film Lady and the Tramp has its world premiere in Chicago. It is the first Disney cartoon feature filmed in CinemaScope. (It will be generally released 6 days later.)

Actress Laurie Metcalf, the voice of Lucille Krunklehorn in Meet the Robinsons, Andy's Mom in the Toy Story films and Sarah in Treasure Planet, is born in Carbondale, Illinois.

Tony Anselmo, Disney animator and voice of Donald Duck, is born in London, England.

[tiggerguy]

June 17

1882:
Composer Igor Stravinsky is born in Russia. His composition The Rite of Spring can be heard in Disney's 1940 Fantasia.

1902:
Academy Award-winning composer & Songwriter Hall of Famer Sammy Fain is born Samuel Feinberg in New York City. He'll contribute to the song scores for such Walt Disney animated films Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.

[tiggerguy]

June 18

1956:
Disneyland's Storybook Land (including Canal Boats of the World) premieres. The
canal, located in Fantasyland, contains 465,000 gallons of water in which 13 boats
(powered by outboard motors) sail. The vessels are named Cinderella, Daisy, Aurora, Alice, Faline, Flora, Fauna, Flower, Katrina, Merryweather, Wendy, Snow White, and Tinkerbell. The ride is partly based on Madurodam, a tourist attraction in Holland that Walt Disney once visited.

1988:
Mickey's Birthdayland opens in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Located between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland (past the Tomorrowland Speedway), guests can also arrive via the Walt Disney World Railroad.

1999:
Disney's 37th animated feature Tarzan is generally released in the U.S. The soundtrack features five tracks by Phil Collins - who will win an Academy Award and a Grammy Award.

[tiggerguy]

June 19

1915:
Pat Buttram, the voice behind many Disney animated characters – including Chief in the 1981 release The Fox and the Hound, and Luke in the 1977 release The Rescuers - is born in Addison, Alabama.

1995:
A bronze statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, called the Partners Statue and created by Blaine Gibson is installed at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney Word

1996:
Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame has its world premiere at the Superdome in New Orleans, utilizing six enormous screens, and a parade through the French Quarter.

[tiggerguy]

June 20

1936:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons Moving Day and Mickey's Rival are both released. Moving Day, features the character Peg Leg Pete (voiced by Billy Bletcher). Mickey's Rival, features Mickey's rival Mortimer Mouse.

1941:
The Disney animated/live-action feature film The Reluctant Dragon – starring comedian Robert Benchley - debuts.

1952:
Actor John Goodman is born in Affton, Missouri. His Disney voice credits include Sullivan Truck in Cars, James P. Sullivan in Monsters, Inc., Pacha in The Emperor's New Groove, and Baloo in The Jungle Book 2.