2003:
Disney's Freaky Friday, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, opens in theaters. It is a remake of Disney's 1976 comedy (and based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers) about a mother and daughter whose personalities are switched. (This is actually the third time Disney has made Freaky Friday, as a television version aired in 1995.)
1887:
Composer-conductor Oliver Wallace is born in London, England.
At some early point in his life, Wallace and his family crossed the Atlantic Ocean and settled in Canada. They later trekked across the continent and eventually moved to the west coast. Wallace worked at the Walt Disney Studios on both short subjects and features from 1936 until his passing in 1963. His large body of work includes the Mickey Mouse short Mickey's Amateurs, and the features Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Old Yeller, and Dumbo. Starting with the 1948 Seal Island , Wallace also specialized in musical accompaniments for Disney documentaries, including nearly all the films for the "People and Places" series and some of the "True Life Adventures". He was nominated for five Academy Awards during his tenure at Disney and in 2008 was named a Disney Legend.
1928:
Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short Poor Papa is released.
When Oswald is visited by the stork multiple times, he resorts to a variety of strategies to
stop the continual flow of babies.
1961:
The Flying Saucers attraction opens in Disneyland's Tomorrowland.
Guests control the crafts, which float on powerful jets of air, by leaning to one side or the other. The saucers
float just inches above a 16,000 sq. ft. arena. (Due to technical problems and the fact that the huge air
compressors need constant repair, the attraction will close after only 5 years in operation.)
1966:
Nita Dee Di Giampaolo, a member of the 70s TV series
The New Mickey Mouse Club, is born in Los Angeles, California.
1970:
A bizarre occurrence takes place at Disneyland when 750 "Hippies" and "Radical
Yippies" infiltrate the park, and take over the Wilderness Fort. They raise the Vietcong flag
and pass reefers out to passersbys. Later, they march in a Main Street parade, and sing their own lyrics to
"Zipadee Doo Dah" ("Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Mihn is going to win..."). More conservative park guests try to drown them
out by singing "America the Beautiful." Before the confrontation can heat up, a platoon of Anaheim Police officers in full riot gear pour into the park from backstage areas! A riot is adverted and Disneyland vice president of
Operations Dick Nunis orders the park closed at 7:10 PM. For many years afterward Disneyland will selectively
enforced a "dress code" at the park, occasionally refusing admission to "long-haired hippies". (This unusual
incident is the only time an outside security force has ever made a full-blown public appearance at the park.)
Filmmaker and actor M. Night Shyamalan is born in India. He directed and wrote the 1999 supernatural thriller The Sixth Sense.
1999:
Disney's Buena Vista Pictures releases the psychological thriller "The Sixth Sense"
(through its Hollywood Pictures label) starring Bruce Willis. About a troubled, isolated boy named Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment, who is able to see and talk to the dead, "The Sixth Sense" will become Disney's highest-grossing live-action film. Confused by his paranormal powers, Cole is too young to understand his purpose, and too terrified to tell anyone, except child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (played by Willis) - who doesn't realize that he himself is dead. The cast includes Toni Collette, Olivia Williams, Donnie Wahlberg, Glenn Fitzgerald, and Mischa Barton. It will be nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for M. Night Shyamalan, Best Supporting Actor for Osment, and Best Supporting Actress for Colletee.
As of this day, Disneyland's Monorail Café (part of the Disneyland Hotel) closes.
Opened since 1986, it will be removed to make room for areas of the new Downtown Disney, which is part of the
large Disneyland Resort Expansion Project. (The Monorail Café occupied the spot first called the Coffee Shop,
which opened back in 1955.)
2002:
The direct-to-video animated film The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina
is released through Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment. The film, a co-production
between Miramax Films, Hyperion Pictures and Philippine Animation Studio Inc., features the voices of Jennifer
Love Hewitt (as Thumbelina), Elijah Wood (as Tom Thumb), and Peter Gallagher (as the comically
sinister Mole King).
Disney composer & conductor Oliver Wallace (born this day in 1887) voiced the
character Mr. Winky
for the 1949 animated
The Adventures of Ichabod
and Mr. Toad.
1988:
The Disney Channel Premiere Film Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss (co-produced by Disney and PBS) debuts. Based on Jean Shepherd's 1968 short story, the movie follows the same Parker family from A Christmas Story on their annual vacation to Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss, a set of cabins by a lake in Michigan. The film features a very young Jerry O'Connell as 14-year-old Ralph Parker.
2004:
"Phenomonally Yours," the ninth Phil of the Future episode, airs for the first time on Disney Channel.
Tiger Cruise, the 54th Disney Channel Original Movie, airs for the first time.
Commodore Gary Dolan (played byBill Pullman) is in charge of a naval carrier that is on a "tiger cruise," which involves family members joining their seafaring relatives out on the ocean. Dolan's precocious young daughter, Maddie (Hayden Panettiere), is along on the cruise, partially to convince her father to take a position that involves less travel. However, family dynamics suddenly take a backseat when word reaches the ship that the
September 11 attacks have occurred. The film features the song "My Hero Is You," performed by Panettiere.
1965:
Although it has been running since July, Disneyland hosts an invitation-only showing of its new park attraction Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. The evening program includes a retreat ceremony and dinner at the Plaza Inn. Although originally showcased as the prime feature of the State of Illinois Pavilion at the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, this is not the original Lincoln figure - but an improved duplicate.
Over at the 20,000 Leagues Exhibit in Tomorrowland, Disneyland's Summertime
Talent continues with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Led by composer and pianist Duke Ellington, they will perform August 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 as well. (Widely considered a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's musicians are considered among the best.)
AUGUST 6
THIS DAY
MADE IN
THE USA
AUGUST 6
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Disneyland's Flying Saucers open
"I see dead people." -Cole Sear (played by Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense)
The Sixth Sense released
2007:
BusinessWeek magazine announces the Interbrand ranking of the
100 Best Global Brands - at number 9 is Disney.
2009:
It is announced that two young sisters from Santa Clarita, California have won a
contest to spend a night in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion! Jessica, 12, and Stephanie Sutton,
10, will be joined by their parents, Cyndi and Tim Sutton, in the mansion on Sunday (August 9) - the ride’s 40th
anniversary. The sisters won the contest, through radio station 95.5 KLOS, by receiving the most votes on the
station’s Web site for their talent ... singing "Happy Birthday" with a dog barking in the background.
Film director, producer, and writer John Hughes passes suddenly at the age of 59 in
New York City. His Disney credits include Flubber (screenplay) and 101 Dalmatians (producer). He also co-wrote
the 2001 comedy feature Just Visiting (released by Disney's Hollywood Pictures). Hughes is best remembered for his classic comedy films Sixteen Candles (his directorial debut), The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off,
Home Alone, and Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
2010:
While sailing from Gibraltar to Barcelona, the Disney Magic rescues 18 people who were aboard a small boat that had lost power. At 3:45 am on this morning, the Magic receives an SOS call stating that a nearby ship heard screams in the water. Disney's ship commences rescue operations and finds 18 Algierians who have been lost at sea for 4-5 days.
ENCORE presents Dream Our Dreams - A Musical Tribute to the Legacy of Disney
at Epcot. A yearly event staged by Disney Cast Members, performances will run through August 8.
The third newly designed Disney Store in the United States officially opens at Southern California’s Santa Monica Place.
Touchstone Pictures releases the romantic musical drama Step Up 3D. The third installment in the Step Up trilogy, and the first shot in 3D, the film stars Adam Sevani and Alyson Stoner. New York’s intense street-dancing underground comes alive as a tight-knit group of street dancers, including Luke and Natalie, team up with NYU freshman Moose and find themselves pitted against the world’s best hip-hop dancers in a high-stakes showdown that will change their lives forever.
1993:
Disney's Touchstone Pictures releases the comedy My Boyfriend's Back.
A teenage boy named Johnny returns from the dead as a zombie to meet Missy McCloud, the girl he's in love with, for a date.
2005:
The Pixar produced short One Man Band is screened at the Melbourne
International Film Festival. With one coin to make a wish at the Piazza fountain, One Man Band
tells the humorous tale of a peasant girl who encounters two competing street musicians who'd prefer her
coin find its way into their tip jars. The short will be released in June 2006 with the animated feature Cars.
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2011:
A Princess Convention takes place at the Rochester Opera House (in
Rochester, NY) with every Disney princess imaginable welcoming hundreds of
girls and their families.
A train and related artifacts that was once part of the main entrance of Disney
California Adventure arrives at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola,
California. Disney has donated the cab of the California Zephyr train (that most recently served as the
location for Bur-r-Bank Ice Cream and Baker’s Field Bakery) to become part of the
museum's Zephyr Project collection.
August 06
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
2013:
The soundtrack to Planes is released on Walt Disney Records.
1971:
Actress Merrin Dungey is born in Sacramento, California. Her ABC-TV credits include Alias as Francie Calfo & lookalike assassin Allison Doren, and 2 episodes of Grey's Anatomy. (She is also best known for her roles on the television series The King of Queens, Malcolm in the Middle, and Summerland.)
1976:
Actress Melissa George is born in Perth, Western Australia. She had recurring roles on both ABC series Alias (2003–04) and Grey's Anatomy (2008–09).
