2004:
Disney producer/supervisor & Disney Legend Harry Tytle passes away at age 95.
For 40 years he worked (alongside Walt Disney) as co-producer of the Disney television series. Tytle is also
the author of "One of Walt's Boys," a memoir of his years at the Walt Disney Studios.
1935:
Story Musgrave, six-time NASA Space Shuttle astronaut and a consultant to the
Epcot attraction Mission: SPACE, is born in Boston, Massachusetts. With a 30 year career
spanning the Apollo era of the 1960s right through to the Space Shuttle program of the 1990s, Musgrave is the only
astronaut to have flown on all five Space Shuttles. He is also a pilot, surgeon, mechanic, poet and philosopher.
In 1997 he visited the Disney Institute in Florida, and in 1994 appeared in an episode of ABC's Home Improvement.
2005:
Disney's animated feature Valiant opens in theaters. Set in 1944, Valiant is a woodland pigeon
(voiced by Ewan McGregor) who wants to become a great hero someday. When he hears they are hiring recruits
for the Royal Homing Pigeon Service, he immediately sets out for London!
"The Proud Family Movie," a Disney Channel Original Movie based on the Disney Channel animated series "The Proud Family," airs for the first time. It serves as the finale to the show’s original 2-season run. Penny and her family are lured on an all expenses paid vacation where a mad scientist captures them, refusing to let them go because Oscar won't reveal one of his secret Proud Snacks formulas. The voice cast features Kyla Pratt, Tommy Davidson, Paula Jai Parker, Jo Marie Payton, Tara Strong, Alisa Reyes, Orlando Brown, Soleil Moon Frye, Arsenio Hall, and Carlos Mencia.
1692:
The Reverend George Burroughs - an ancestor of Walt Disney - is hanged in
Massachusetts, as the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 rages on. Walt Disney through maternal
lines is a descendant of this minister, who along with George Jacobs, Sr., John Proctor, John Willard, and
Martha (Allen) Carrier are wrongfully put to death on this day. Burroughs had been the minister at Salem Village
from 1681 to 1683 and had made several enemies there, in particular, the Putnam family, who accused
him of witchcraft!
1933:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Lullaby Land is released. Directed by Wilfred Jackson, this
short tells the story of a baby who falls asleep and dreams of a land where "powder puffs and binkies grow on trees."
(The Disneyland attraction Storybook Land Canal Boats will later pay tribute to Lullaby Land.)
1938:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon The Whalers is released. Comedic nonsense rules when
Captain Mickey struggles to empty a pail of water, Donald gets his head stuck in a boot that's tied to a harpoon
rope, and in trying to save him, Goofy falls through the blowhole of the whale they're trying to capture! Directed by
Dick Huemer, the short featurs the voices of Walt Disney (as Mickey), Pinto Colvig (as Goofy), and Clarence Nash
(as Donald Duck).
1955:
The Disney short Bearly Asleep, featuring Donald Duck (voiced by Clarence Nash)
and Humphrey the Bear (voiced by James Macdonald), is released. Directed by Jack
Hannah, Humphrey is kicked out of his cave because of his obnoxious snoring and tries to find another place to
hibernate for the winter. It is only the second short to be released thus far in 1955.
Casa de Fritos located next door to Aunt Jemima's Pancake House
opens at Disneyland. The Mexican eatery features a Frito Kid chip-dispensing machine.
Guests can place a nickel in a cash box and watch the Frito Kid come to life! While rolling his
eyes, licking his lips, and turning his head, he hollers back to an unseen partner
inside the mountain to send down a wax-paper bag of Fritos!
1963:
Actor, musician, producer & Disney fan John Stamos, who was
the e-bay winning bidder for Disneyland's entrance sign used
between 1989 and 1999, is born in Cypress, California. He also
appeared on a 1989 "Guest Day" episode of Disney Channel's MMC. Stamos
attended the grand opening of Walt Disney Sudios theme park in Paris in 2002.
In December 2008 & 2012 he narrated Disneyland's annual Candlelight Ceremony and in
January 2011 sailed aboard the new Disney Dream cruise ship. TV fans will know him
from Full House as Uncle Jesse, and ER as Dr. Tony Gates. When ER finished filming
its very last episode in March 2009, Stamos (a huge Disney fan) was asked on camera
what he was going to do next. He appropriately replied - "I'm going to Disney World!"
(And he did!)
2001:
Scuttle's Landing (a small refreshment/snack booth) in Disney
World's Fantasyland closes for a 6-day rehab.
The Tomorrowland attraction The Timekeeper once again opens seasonally
at the Magic Kingdom. The Disney World attraction will now remain open until
September 22 (while It's A Small World, Astro Orbiter and Hall of Presidents are being refurbished).
2002:
The Travel Channel airs Disney's Imagineers for the first time.
2006:
Kumiko Mori, Japan's popular television personality, makes her worldwide debut on
Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Mori is the host of Disney Japan's Disney
Paradise, a variety show based on Disney trivia.
Disney-MGM Studios' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire - Play It closes.
(A new interactive ride-through attraction, Midway Madness, is scheduled to open in summer 2008.)
"The Great American Concert: Walt Disney’s Fantasia with Fireworks" is performed for
a second night at the Hollywood Bowl in California.
Disney Channel airs the series finale of Phil of the Future. The episode "Back to the
Future (Not the Movie)" is the 43rd and last show about the Diffy family.
1994:
Hollywood Pictures releases the mystery thriller Color of Night. New York psychologist Bill Capa becomes traumatised and flees to Los Angeles after one of his patients commits suicide. When a fellow doctor there is brutally murdered, the psychologist agrees to take on his clients, with chilling results. The film stars Bruce Willis, Jane March, Rubén Blades, and Lesley Ann Warren.
Marcellite Garner,
from Disney's ink and
paint department, was
the original voice of Minnie
Mouse (starting in 1929). She
can be heard in such shorts as
The Karnival Kid, Mickey's
Orphans, and Mickey's
Surprise Party. (Thelma
Boardman took over the
voice for a short time
starting in 1941.)
2008:
Verizon FiOS TV video-on-demand customers get a first look at the summer's
hottest new movie from Disney Channel. The highly anticipated film, The Cheetah Girls One
World, begins premiering today on FiOS TV's Disney Channel on Demand - three days ahead of the movie's
Disney Channel premiere on August 22!
Walt Disney Records releases "One World" - the newest soundtrack CD from The Cheetah Girls.
Walt Disney World opens all four theme parks and the Downtown Disney area one
hour earlier - at 8 a.m. - due to the possibility of Tropical Storm Fay striking Central
Florida sometime later this day. The sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Fay
will travel through the entire state until finally leaving Florida by August 24.
AUGUST 19
Today is National Aviation Day
THIS DAY
MADE IN
THE USA
AUGUST 19
 | ||||
| ||||
John Stamos born
National Aviation Day was established by a presidential
proclamation in 1939. August 19 was chosen because it is the anniversary of Orville Wright's birthday.
"Walt felt the Aristocats should follow the same tack as Dalmatians. He said it would be good if the cats could talk amongst themselves, but never in front of humans." -Harry Tytle (1909-2004)
| ||||
2011:
Disney Store kicks off D23 Expo 2011 (a 3-day event at the Anaheim
Convention Center) with a very special opening ceremony to
"unlock imagination" at its 1,500 square-foot pop up store and to
celebrate Disney Store's 25th anniversary.
Also among this day's 30-plus Expo events:
The 2011 Disney Legends Ceremony takes place at 11AM, hosted by noted television personality Tom Bergeron.
"From giving voice to some of our most iconic and beloved Disney princesses to bringing a smile to millions of
television viewers every morning for two decades, we are proud to present these 12 men and women with our
highest, most coveted honor, The Disney Legends Award." -Disney President and CEO Bob Iger
Chief creative officer of Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, John Lasseter, and deputy postmaster
general, Ronald Stroman, unveils the USPS Send a Hello Forever stamp series. The new Send a Hello Forever
stamps feature Buzz Lightyear and two of the green, three-eyed aliens from Toy Story; Lightning McQueen and
Mater from Cars; Remy the rat and Linguini from Ratatouille; the robot Wall-E from Wall-E; and Carl Fredricksen
and Dug from Up.
Constantine Maroulis (star of Rock of Ages and former finalist on American Idol) joins Fisher-Price®, a subsidiary
of Mattel, Inc., and Disney Consumer Products to introduce the new Rock Star Mickey interactive feature plush.
The rocker jams on stage with Mickey Mouse to show kids and Disney fans classic rock star moves featured in the
interactive plush.
Dick Van Dyke & The Vantastix (a popular vocal quartet) close day 1 of Expo 2011 with a performance of well-
known Disney hits, pop standards, and songs from Van Dyke’s varied entertainment career. The hour-long show
closes with a special presentation, in which Van Dyke and the Vantastix (Mike Mendyke, Bryan Chadima and Eric
Bradle) become honorary D23 members.
Fright Night, a horror-comedy film directed by Craig Gillespie, is released by Touchstone/DreamWorks. The plot follows a teenaged boy who discovers that his neighbor is actually a vampire, which culminates in a battle between the two. The cast features Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Tennant, and Toni Collette.
1946:
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States (from 1993
to 2001), is born William Jefferson Blythe in Hope, Arkansas. As Governor, Clinton and his family visited Disney World for Donald Duck's birthday in 1984. As President, he was the first to provide
dialogue for an Audio-Animatronic figure for Walt Disney World's Hall of Presidents. In 1996 Clinton
visited the Disney Institute in Florida.
August 19
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
The video for the Beach Boys' 1988
hit song "Kokomo" was filmed on
the "beach" at Walt Disney World's
Grand Floridian Resort in
Florida. Performing in the video
was honorary Beach Boy and
Disney fan ... actor John Stamos!
The resort had not opened when
the video was shot and so the
band & Stamos were GF's very
first guests!
2014:
The new Marketplace Boat Dock and Saratoga Bridge at Downtown Disney Marketplace, Florida, officially opens. The bridge offers a pedestrian-friendly connection
between Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and more than 70 shopping, dining and entertainment
offerings available at Downtown Disney. In addition, the Marketplace Boat Dock, now conveniently
located near the Marketplace Bus Loop, provides easy access to the West Side and Pleasure Island.
2013:
Principal photography begins on a new Disney feature film titled
Tomorrowland in Enderby, British Columbia.
1965:
Walt Disney is issued a passport for an upcoming trip to London, England.
Actress Kyra Sedgwick is born in New York City. Best known for her role as Brenda Leigh
Johnson on the TNT crime drama "The Closer" (2005-2012), her Disney/Touchstone credits include the romantic fantasy "Phenomenon" (1996) as Lace Pennamin, and the family comedy "The Game Plan" (2007) as Stella Peck. Sedgwick voiced a park ranger in a 2002 episode of the animated "Stanley," which aired on Disney Playhouse, and in 2022, made a voice cameo in the television special "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" along with her husband actor Kevin Bacon.
1986:
Character actress Hermione Baddeley passes away at age 79 in Los Angles, California. Born 1906 in Broseley, Shropshire, England, she often played comedic, brash, or vulgar characters. Baddeley portrayed Ellen the maid in the 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins. Her Disney credits also included The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967) as Miss Irene Chesney, The Happiest Millionaire (1967) as Mrs. Worth, and The Aristocats (1970) as the voice of Madame Adelaide Bonfamille.
2017:
Marvel's Spider-Man (also known as simply Spider-Man), an animated television series based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, premieres on Disney XD. Produced by Marvel Animation and distributed by Disney–ABC Domestic Television, it features the voice of Robbie Daymond as Spider-Man / Peter Parker.
1974:
Actress/singer Caroline Vasicek is born in Vienna, Austria. Playing Belle in the stage version of Beauty and the Beast (1995–1997), her Disney film credits also include The Little Mermaid (as Ariel's sister), and the German version of Mulan (the singing voice of Mulan).
1977:
Actor Callum Blue is born Daniel James Callum Blue in London, England. He portrayed Andrew Jacoby, Duke of Kenilworth in the 2004 The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Blue also appeared in a 2005 episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy.
2016:
Jordan Fisher's self-titled EP is released by Hollywood Records. The singer, dancer, and actor
is best known to Disney Channel fans for his roles in Liv and Maddie, Teen Beach Movie, and Teen Beach 2.
1997:
Hollywood Records releases the album Greatest Hits by The Party.
1982:
Actress/singer Erika Christensen is born in Seattle, Washington. Appearing in the 1999 Disney Channel film Can of Worms, in 2006 she starred on the short-lived drama series Six Degrees on ABC. In 2015, Christensen portrayed Betty Beaumontaine on ABC's short-lived crime drama series Wicked City.
