1965:
The World's Fair in New York City, opens for the second and final season.
The fair includes Disney-created attractions for Ford, General Electric, Pepsi-Cola, and the State of Illinois.
Robert Moses, the planner of
the 1964-1965 World's Fair in
New York, wanted Walt
Disney to take over the
fairgrounds as a "Disneyland
East" when the
show closed. Moses,
accustomed to getting his
way, was politely told "no."
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.
1915:
Lloyd Richardson, who contributed his editing skills to many Disney animated and
live-action motion pictures, including the Academy Award-winning The Vanishing
Prairie, is born in Portland, Oregon. His career highlights also include Disney's weekly TV series
(from 1954-1980), the animated It's Tough to Be a Bird, and the feature film So Dear to My Heart.
1920:
Cartoonist and animator Bob Moore is born in Los Angeles,
California. He joined Disney as an apprentice in 1940 and worked on such classics as Dumbo,The
Reluctant Dragon, and The Three Caballeros. During World War II, when the Studio produced special projects for the United States government, Moore helped animate training films for Navy pilots. He was later drafted into the Navy, and ordered to a special unit dedicated to producing animated training films. After the war he returned to Disney to serve as a story man, contributing to such animated shorts as Inferior Decorator, and package feature films including Melody Time and Make Mine Music. Starting in 1951 Moore headed the one-man art department for publicity (which he ran for 3 decades) single-handedly developing clever promotional art concepts for Disney films and later its theme parks. He eventually was named creative director of marketing and designed many Disney movie posters, Christmas cards, letterheads, magazine covers, and logos. He also served as one of Walt Disney’s official autographers, signing thousands of photographs with Walt’s famous signature. In addition, Moore drew for the Little Golden Books series in 1952-53. Among the highlights of his prolific career was designing the commemorative Walt Disney United States postage stamp in 1968, as well as the official mascot for the 1984 Summer Olympics. He incorporated the mascot, Sam the Eagle, into the logos for each Olympic event. In 1983, after 43 years of service, Moore retired from The Walt Disney Company. Named a Disney Legend in 1996, Bob Moore passed away in
Hawaii on November 20, 2001.
1930:
Disney's 7-minute cartoon Just Mickey is released. Mickey gives a rousing violin
performance (complete with a Hungarian dance) of "Traumerei," the finale to the William Tell Overture.
1938:
Disney animator Bill Tytla marries Adrienne le Clerc, a 22-year-old actress and fashion model from Seattle. They met while she posed for a Disney art class!
1983:
"Believe You Can ... and You Can!" a TV special on the new Fantasyland at Disneyland, airs.
Walter Slezak, a character actor and singer, passes away at age 80 in New York.
He portrayed Baron in Disney's 1964 film Emil and the Detectives.
2000:
The Orlando Sentinel reports that Walt Disney World's next big attraction, billed as a "one-of-a-kind astronaut experience," will lift off at Epcot in 2003. The attraction (in the former Horizons Pavilion next to Test Track) will feature a 5-minute ride that simulates space flight 20 to 30 years in the future.
2001:
Disney's House of Mouse airs "Daisy's Debut".
At Walt Disney World, the Main Street Bake Shop and Plaza Ice Cream Parlour
will close for the first major renovation in 30 years after close of business on this
day (they are scheduled to reopen late in July). Over in Tomorrowland, The
Timekeeper begins seasonal operation.
In celebration of the opening of Disney's California Adventure, a special
commemorative lithograph signing featuring Senior Concept Designer Rennie
Marquez takes place at Off the Page in Disney's newest park.
2002:
The Carolwood Pacific Historical Society hosts "Imagineering Appreciation Day,"
a gathering of past and present Imagineers at Walt's Carolwood Barn in Griffith
Park, California. Visitors get the rare opportunity to meet and converse with some of Disney’s greatest Imagineers including Marty Sklar, Harriet Burns, Bill Evans, Bill Martin, Fred Joerger, Sam McKim, Bob Gurr
and Roger Broggie, Jr.
2003:
Actress Hilary Duff appears on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno promoting her new Disney feature The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Serving as the finale of the Disney Channel television series of the same name, the film will be released by Buena Vista Pictures May 2.
2004:
The New York City production of Beauty and the Beast performs its 4,093rd show,
making it the sixth longest running musical in Broadway history.
The ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards are held at the Beverly Hilton in
Los Angeles, California. Among the winners for Top Box Office Films are
Brother Bear and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Apple Computer reaches an agreement with Disney's Buena Vista Music Group for
Apple's Internet iTunes Music Store to carry soundtrack music titles of Disney films.
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. Art of Disney: Romance featuring Cinderella & Prince Charming, Belle &
the Beast, Lady & the Tramp and Mickey & Minnie Mouse, will be available at post offices the
following day. They are illustrated by Peter Emmerich, a teacher who worked as a
Character Artist for the Walt Disney Company for a little over six years. Nelson launches the
Flower Power concert series at America Gardens Theatre.
Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show (the second touring production
produced by Field Entertainment) premieres in Columbia, South Carolina.
In celebration of the 10th Marc Davis Lecture on Animation, the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences presents the Brothers Quay in their first speaking
engagement in the U.S., at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The evening
features a discussion with Stephen and Timothy Quay accompanied by screenings of several of their animated
short films, including the Street of Crocodiles (1986) and The Comb (1990). (Disney Legend Marc Davis was
one of Walt's "Nine Old Men.")
The Hannah Montana episode "It's My Party, And I'll Lie If I Want To" airs for the first
time on Disney Channel. It is the 5th episode of the new series starring Miley Cyrus.
1995:
Telarc releases the CD Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops Orchestra: The Magical Music
Of Disney.
Disney's Hollywood Pictures releases the romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping,
starring Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Galagher, Jack Warden, Peter Boyle, and Glynis Johns. Lonely transit worker Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Bullock) pulls her longtime crush, Peter Callaghan (Gallagher), from the path of an oncoming train. At the hospital, doctors report that he's in a coma, and a misplaced comment from Lucy causes Peter's family to assume that she is his fiancé. When Lucy doesn't correct them, they take her into their home and confidence. But things get even more complicated when she finds herself falling for Peter's sheepish brother, Jack (Pullman). The film will be a critical and commercial success, grossing over $182 million at the box office. Bullock and Pullman will receive praise for their performances, and Bullock will garner a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.
1970:
Actress, voice actress and comedian Nicole Sullivan is born in Manhattan, New York.
Her Disney film credits include Princess Mira Nova for the direct-to-DVD Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000) and Franny in Meet The Robinsons (2007). Sullivan's television voice credits include Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
(2000-01), Teamo Supremo (2000), Kim Possible (2002-05, 2007), Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama (2005), Lilo &
Stitch: The Series (2005), Brandy & Mr. Whiskers (2006). and Big Hero 6: The Series (2018). She has also appeared in
the Disney Channel Movie Let It Shine and episodes of Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019), and ABC's According to Jim & Grey's Anatomy. (Television fans will recognize Sullivan from MADtv and The King of Queens.)
Bringing the prehistoric world to "life" was achieved by Mr. Disney and his WED Enterprises staff by developing a remarkable technique called "Audio-Animatronics" - animation powered by sound and controlled by electronics. -1964/65 World's Fair souvenir book
2008:
In a press release, Disney announces the launching of
Disneynature; "a prestigious new production banner that will
literally go to the ends of the earth to produce major big
screen nature documentaries." In the tradition of the old "True-Life Adventures" series, the first film to
be released domestically under Disneynature will be EARTH, in April 2009.
APRIL 21
APRIL 21
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
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A
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Disneynature announced
The day before Animal Kingdom's 10th anniversary, Josh Gates, host
of the Sci-Fi Channel series “Destination Truth,” presents a cast of
what is believed to be a “yeti” footprint to Joe Rohde vice
president/executive designer of Walt Disney Imagineering, at Disney
World. Gates and his expedition team found the footprint while filming an episode of “Destination
Truth” in Nepal in November 2007. The cast will soon be placed on display at DAK's Expedition Everest attraction.
2009:
Although heavy morning winds prevent guests from taking part, Disney World's
newest attraction Characters in Flight, a tethered helium filled balloon ride (operated
by Aerophile - a company specializing in tethered helium balloons) has an official
opening ceremony at Downtown Disney. The balloon, which can hold up to 30 guests
(depending on weather conditions), rises 400 feet above Disney World for a 360-degree breathtaking view!
Disney World holds an "Open Mouse" for Cast Members to get a look at their newest
resort, Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The Kidani Village, which opens
May 1, is part of the Disney Vacation Club. A separate building located west of the main lodge, it houses more
than 300 villas. Featuring over 30 species of wildlife that roam free on the savannas of a 21-acre wildlife preserve, Kidani Village offers guests the unique opportunity to observe exotic animals in their natural habitat from viewing areas throughout the resort and from the balconies of select guest rooms. (Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
opened on April 16, 2001.)
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NY World's Fair opens for 1965 season
A team of Walt Disney World gardeners go to work before dawn every day to ensure that the landscape is perfect when visitors arrive. Plants play a vital role in the Vacation Kingdom,
each one being thoughtfully placed and perfectly maintained to help create moods for the
park's many themes. To Disney gardeners, all of the park is a stage, and the plants are
their stagecraft.
1944:
Disney's Donald Duck short The Contrary Condor, directed by Jack King, is released.
While mountain climbing in the Andes, Donald is taken under the wing of a mother condor who mistakes him for one
of her newborn babies.
1910:
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain,
passes away in Connecticut at age 74. Born in 1835, Walt Disney admired Twain's writing and so the
famous author's name and image can be found scattered throughout Disney theme parks all over the world.
"Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see." -Mark Twain
2017:
The nature documentary Born in China, a co-production between Disneynature and
Shanghai Media Group, is released in the United States (one day before Earth Day).
Narrated by John Krasinski, the film captures intimate moments with a panda bear and her growing cub, a young
golden monkey who feels displaced by his baby sister, and a mother snow leopard struggling to raise her two cubs.
Directed by Lu Chuan, Born in China was first released in China on August 12, 2016.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)," the soundtrack album for the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2., is released by Hollywood Records. It features well-known classic songs from the 1970s by such artists as
Electric Light Orchestra, Sweet, Looking Glass, Fleetwood Mac, and Cheap Trick.
Also released by Hollywood Records on the same day is a separate film score album, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Original Score)," composed by Tyler Bates.
1956:
Film producer John Walker is born in Elgin, Illinois. He produced Disney-Pixar's The Incredibles (2004) and its sequel Incredibles 2 (2018). (In The Incredibles, the plaques on the wall that are seen when Dash is sent to the principal's office reads: J. Walker.) Walker was also the executive producer for Walt
Disney Pictures Tomorrowland (2015).
1979:
Actor James McAvoy is born in London, England. His Disney credits include The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) as Mr. Tumnus, the animated Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) as the voice of Gnomeo, Muppets Most Wanted (2104) making a cameo as a delivery man, and the superhero film Dark Phoenix (2019) as Charles Xavier / Professor X.
2015:
How Do You Feel Now?, the debut studio album by American indie rock band Joywave, is released through Cultco Music and Disney's Hollywood Records.
1975:
Actor Brian J. White is born in Boston, Massachusetts. His Disney films credits include
Mr. 3000 (2004) as T-Rex and The Game Plan as Jamal (2007).
1978:
Voice actress and writer Thelma Boardman, the second voice of Minnie Mouse, passes away at age 68 in California. Voicing Minnie for only 4 shorts -The Little Whirlwind (1941), The Nifty Nineties (1941), Mickey's Birthday Party (1942), and Out of the Frying Pan Into the Firing Line (1942) - Boardman (originally from Disney's Ink and Paint Department) also supplied a few voices for Disney's Bambi and such shorts as Mother Goose Goes Hollywood and Donald's Better Self.
1961:
Actress, singer, and voice artist Cathy Cavadini is born Catherine Janet Cavadini in Long Beach, California. Perhaps best known as the voice of Blossom in Cartoon Network's The Powerpuff Girls,
during her long and prolific career, her voice has been featured in over a hundred radio & television commercials, and in over a thousand films, television movies, and series. Her Disney credits include the voice of Andrina in The Little Mermaid, the Fainting Lady in Lilo & Stitch, additional voices in The Lion King, Dinosaur, and Finding Dory, and Dreamerwind in Soul.
1935:
Actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host Charles Grodin is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Known for his deadpan delivery and often cast as a put-upon straight man, his film career actually began with an uncredited bit part in Disney's 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. A familiar face as a supporting actor in many Hollywood comedies, he played Nicky in the 1981 The Great Muppet Caper (pre-Disney) and played the logical Left Brain in Cranium Command, an attraction at the Wonders of Life pavilion at Walt Disney World Resort's Epcot theme park (starting in 1989). In 1990, Grodin played Quentin the security guard in "The Muppets at Walt Disney World," a television episode of The Magical World of Disney. Some of Grodin's film credits include the satirical black comedy "Catch-22" (1970), the comedy romance "The Heartbreak Kid" (1972), the action comedy "Midnight Run" (1988) and the family comedy "Beethoven" (1992). Making frequent appearances on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and "Late Night with David Letterman," he himself became a talk show host on CNBC in 1995. Charles Sidney Grodin passed in 2021 at age 86 in Connecticut.
