This Day in Disney History

[tiggerguy]

April 15

1917:
Hans Conried, the voices of Mr. George Darling and Captain Hook in Disney's Peter Pan, is born in Baltimore, Maryland. He also appears in the live-action films The Cat From Outer Space and The Shaggy D.A.

1959:
Actress Emma Thompson, the voice of Captain Amelia in Disney's 2002 animated feature Treasure Planet, is born in London, England.

1972:
Lou Romano, the voice of Bernie Kropp in the 2004 Disney/Pixar animated feature The Incredibles, is born.

2005:
"Disney's Rock Around The Mouse" - a live musical tribute to the decade in which Walt Disney's original Anaheim theme park opened - officially debuts at Tokyo Disneyland.

Epcot's 12th Annual International Flower & Garden Festival bursts into action (through June 5)

[tiggerguy]

April 16

1921:
Actor Peter Ustinov, the voice of Prince John in Disney's 1973 Robin Hood, and Captain Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach in Disney's live-action 1968 Blackbeard's Ghost, is born in London, England.

1924:
Award-winning composer/arranger Henry Mancini - who wrote the music for Disney's The Great Mouse Detective - is born in Cleveland, Ohio.

[tiggerguy]

April 17

1994:
Thirty-year-old Randle Charles falls about 20 feet from one of the Skyway cabins in Disneyland. He lands in a tree near the Alice in Wonderland attraction. He is helped out of the tree by paramedics and taken to nearby Western Medical Center, where he is treated for minor injuries and released. (Charles will later file a $25,000 negligence lawsuit against Disney, claiming that he had suffered permanent neck and back injuries as a result of his fall. The lawsuit will be dismissed just before it is to go to trial in September 1996, when it is discovered Charles indeed jumped from the cabin.)

[tiggerguy]

April 18

1882:
Conductor Leopold Stokowski, who appears in Disney's 1940 release Fantasia, is born in London, England.

1946:
Actress Hayley Mills is born to actor John Mills and playwright Mary Hayley Bell in London, England. (Walt Disney's wife will later see Hayley perform in the movie Tiger Bay. She'll arrange for Hayley to meet Walt and the result will be her American film debut Pollyanna.)

1954:
Actor Rick Moranis, the voice of Tuke in Disney's animated 2003 Brother Bear and Wayne Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, is born Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Movie fans may recognize him from such comedy features as The Flintstones, My Blue Heaven, and Ghost Busters.)

1961:
Actress Jane Leeves - the voice of the Ladybug in Disney's 1996 James and the Giant Peach and the voice of Athena in Disney's 1998 TV series Hercules - is born in London, England. (TV fans may recognize her as Daphne Moon on the comedy series Frasier.)

2005:
The Broadway Disney hit Beauty and the Beast celebrates its 11th anniversary. The musical, which is the sixth longest-running show in Broadway history, originally opened at the Palace Theatre on April 18, 1994.

[tiggerguy]

April 19

1946:
Actor-singer Tim Curry, the voice of SIR (Simulated Intelligence Robotics) for Walt Disney World's now extinct Alien Encounter attraction, is born in Cheshire, England. (Movie fans know Curry best for his role of Doctor Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.)

2005:
Disney's On The Record (a touring musical stage show) begins performances at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The new Disney album Disney Bossa Nova is released. The CD performed in the suave, romantic musical style of bossa nova, contains 14 tracks.

[tiggerguy]

April 20

1914:
Disney Legend Betty Lou Gerson - the narrator of Disney's 1950 classic Cinderella and the voice of Cruella De Vil in the 1961 One Hundred and One Dalmations - is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

1937:
Actor George Takei - the voice of First Ancestor in Disney's Mulan and Mulan II - is born in Los Angeles, California. (Star Trek fans know him best as Mr. Sulu.)

1959:
Actor Clint Howard, the brother of Ron Howard and the voice of Roo in Disney's 1968 classic Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, is born in Burbank, California. (Film and TV fans may recognize him as Whobris in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and by his appearances in My Dog Skip, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, HBO's From the Earth to the Moon, and of course as the little boy on Gentle Ben.)

[tiggerguy]

April 21

1920:
Cartoonist, animator and Disney Legend Bob Moore is born in Los Angeles, California. He will join Disney as an apprentice in 1940 and work on such classics as Dumbo and The Reluctant Dragon. In 1951 Moore will head the one-man art department for publicity (which he will run for 3 decades) single-handedly developing clever promotional art concepts for Disney films and later its theme parks.

2005:
At sunset, an advertisement for Disney's landmark production of The Lion King becomes the first imagery on a new 2,500-square-foot electronic display in New York City. The sign, located at the top of the western facade of the Durst Organization's 48-story flagship tower at 4 Times Square, incorporates a revolutionary high-resolution, energy saving technology. The Lion King (now in its 8th year on Broadway) will occupy the display, which is readable to viewers as far away as the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, for several weeks.

2006:
The U.S. Postal Service unveils new 39-cent stamps (featuring Disney characters) at Epcot the same day the park's Flower & Garden Festival begins . The new stamps, which feature Cinderella and Prince Charming, Belle and the Beast, Lady and the Tramp and Mickey & Minnie Mouse, will be available at post offices the following day. Nelson launches the Flower Power concert series at America Gardens Theatre.

[tiggerguy]

April 22

2005:
At Disneyland Jiminy Cricket Environmentality buttons are handed out to guests to celebrate Earth Day.

[tiggerguy]

April 23

1928:
Child star Shirley Temple, who presented Walt Disney with special Oscars for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is born in Santa Monica, California.

1960:
Actress Valerie Bertinelli, the voice of Princess Sabrina in Disney's 1984 TV movie Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, is born in Wilmington, Delaware.

2005:
Disneyland Park guests are offered a sneak peek at Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams. The all-new parade highlights classic Disney stories and characters that have contributed to Disneyland over the past five decades.

[tiggerguy]

April 24

1959:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "The Wetback Hound."

[tiggerguy]

April 25

1953:
Ron Clements, the co-director & writer of such Disney features as Treasure Planet, Hercules, and Aladdin, is born in Sioux City, Iowa.

1964:
Actor Hank Azaria, who portrays Charles Danner in Disney's 1999 comedy movie Mystery, Alaska, is born in Queens, New York. (TV fans may recognize Azaria from his voice work on The Simpsons.)

1970:
Actor Jason Lee, the voice of Buddy Pine/Syndrome in the 2004 Disney-Pixar animated feature The Incredibles, is born in Huntington Beach, California.

[tiggerguy]

April 26

1916:
Actor & voice artist Vic Perrin - one time narrator of Epcot's Spaceship Earth and Universe of Energy - is born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. (He is best known as the "Control Voice" in the original version of the 1960s TV series The Outer Limits. Fans of the 1960s cartoon Jonny Quest will remember him as the voice of the evil Dr. Zin.)

Contemporary artist, author and illustrator Eyvind Earle is born in New York City. Walt Disney will assign this famous artist to create the distinctive backgrounds and settings for Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, and Paul Bunyan.

2004:
Michael Eisner makes Forbes' list of worst CEOs in America.

2005:
Walt Disney Records releases Disney Channel Hits: Take 2, a collection that includes a CD and a DVD of Disney Channel Original Movie songs and music videos.

Hong Kong Disneyland and the MTR Corporation unveil the first Disneyland Resort Line train, which will bring guests to the heart of China's first Disney theme park (set to open on September 12, 2005).

[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.

1932:
Announcer and voice actor Casey Kasem is born in Detroit, Michigan. In 1969, he and Paul Frees will record a series of comedic radio ads promoting the debut of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion.

[tiggerguy]

April 28

2006:
Disney's California Food & Wine Weekends begin for the very first time at the Anaheim park.

Fall Out Boy performs for the first of a 2-night engagement at Disney World as part of Disney's Grad Nite 2006.

[tiggerguy]

April 29

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

2001:
MousePlanet holds its "Mouse Adventure" competition at Disneyland. This light-hearted event, loosely based on the cast member event "Minnie's Moonlit Madness," is a scavenger hunt-like game which awards prizes to the top teams.