2005:
The world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media's The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe takes
place at Royal Albert Hall in London, England.
soundtrack, which led to the recording of two albums with Phil Harris (the voice of Baloo): The Jungle Book and
More Jungle Book, on Disneyland Records. Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with a New Orleans
style jazz band in the 1920s, a successful Swing combo in the 1930s, a Big Band in the 1940s, a hot Vegas act
with his wife Keely Smith in the 1950s, and a pop-Rock go-go band in the 1960s! In 1959, he and Smith won the
Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus for "That Old Black Magic". Referred to as the
King of the Swingers, Prima also composed the famous jazz anthem "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)".
1929:
Publisher and Disney Legend Gaudenzio Capelli is born in Milan, Italy. During
his 33-year career he helped make Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters
wildly popular through Topolino magazine (Italy's Mickey Mouse publication).
1935:
Animator John Lounsbery (who has been working at the Disney Studio for a little
over 5 months) weds Florence Hurd at the Forest Lawn Chapel in California.
1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Anything Can Happen Day.
ABC-TV's Disneyland series debuts "The Goofy Success Story"
(a compilation of cartoon shorts) featuring Pinto Colvig, the voice of Goofy.
1964:
Compass East Corporation is incorporated in Delaware. It will be responsible
for buying up the Florida land that will eventually become Walt Disney World.
The name Compass East Corporation appears (as does other dummy companies) on Donn Tatum's Main
Street window in WDW's Magic Kingdom.
1986:
The Disney Channel begins to broadcast 24 hours a day.
(It had previously been airing only 18 hours a day.)
The Wonderful World of Disney airs "Swiss Family Robinson."
1997:
The first (of what will be 4) official "Toad Ins" take place at Walt Disney World's
Fantasyland. Toad fans peacefully converge on the Magic Kingdom wearing matching green Save
Toad t-shirts to show their support for the Mr. Toads' Wild Ride attraction (which is scheduled to close).
The Wonderful World of Disney airs "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book"
on ABC-TV.
Disney Channel debuts a new episode of Muppets Tonight. Titled "The Cameo Show," the
Muppets search frantically for a host after Bobo the Bear accidentally kills Arsenio Hall, the original guest star!
Jay Leno, Kevin Eubanks, Little Richard, Christopher Darden, and Kathy Ireland make cameos.
1999:
Cynthia Harriss is named president of the Disneyland Resort. She has held a variety of
senior positions with Disney, including senior vice president of park operations at Disneyland, and senior vice
president of stores for the Disney Store chain.
Disney's direct-to-video (cassette) Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas is released, as
is Inspector Gadget, The Jungle Book, and The Little Mermaid.
2001:
The Lizzie McGuire episode "The Courtship of Miranda Sanchez" debuts on
Disney Channel as does the Disney Channel Original Movie 'Twas the Night.
"Twas the Night tells the story of a mischievous 14-year-old boy and his irresponsible uncle who nearly
ruin Christmas when they decide to take Santa's new high-tech sleigh for a joyride!
2004:
Disney releases 7 DVDs on this day. They include Mickey Mouse in Black& White Volume 2,
The Complete Pluto: Volume 1, The Mickey Mouse Club: Week One, "Gargoyles" Season 1, The Lion King
Movie Collection, Kim Possible: The Villain Files, and That's So Raven: Supernaturally Stylish (Volume 1).
2006:
Roy E. Disney attends the release party of a new Disney DVD -
True-Life Adventures Vol 1 - at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. It is the first release of
the new Walt Disney's Legacy Collection. (True-Life Adventures was a series of 13 groundbreaking film shorts
and short features released between 1948 - 1960.)
MouseFest 2006 - an unofficial, international annual convention bringing together
the people behind independent Disney books, newsletters and Web pages -
invades Disney World.
The current owners of the house Elias Disney built for his family in Chicago, put
the home up for auction on eBay. The four-bedroom frame house at 2156 N. Tripp Avenue was
constructed in 1893. This is the house Walt Disney was born and lived in for the first 4 years of his life. The
auction is to last 30 days with a starting bid of $280,000.
The 49th Grammy Nominees are announced.
Among The Walt Disney Company's 15 nominations are:
Baby Einstein Meet The Orchestra (Walt Disney Records) for Best Musical Album for Children
I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This! by Bob Newhart (Hyperion Audiobooks)for Best Spoken Word Album
Cars (Walt Disney Record/Pixar) for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album
The Chronicles Of Narnia -The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe & Pirates Of The Caribbean - Dead Man's
Chest (both Walt Disney Records) for Best Score Soundtrack Album
(Grammy Sunday will take place February 11, 2007)
1941:
Sunday - Walt Disney hears the news over the radio of the Japanese sneak attack
on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. He receives a phone call from his studio manager telling him that army troops
are moving onto their Burbank lot! The troops are going to provide an anti-aircraft installation to protect the
nearby Lockheed factory (which manufacture airplanes for the U.S. armed forces).
Walt Disney was first
fascinated by television
back in the mid-1930s
when he visited Camden, New
Jersey to see a demonstration of
the new medium by RCA head
David Sarnoff. Following World
War II, the Disney Studio even
applied to the FCC for
a television station license -
Walt envisioned a television
broadcasting center
at his studio!
1989:
The Little Mermaid, the twenty-eighth animated feature in the Disney
animated features canon, is released in Argentina.
2007:
Disney Channel premieres the Hannah Montana episode "I Will Always Loathe
You," featuring country superstar Dolly Parton and veteran comic actress Vicki
Lawrence - as Miley's grandmothers!
1998:
The cover of TIME features "100 Builders & Titans" with photos of Henry
Ford, Walt Disney, Akio Morita, and Bill Gates against a background of
construction workers.
DECEMBER 7
Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
DECEMBER 7
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1945:
Disney's Pluto cartoon Canine Patrol, directed by Charles Nichols, is released. Pluto (a member of the Coast Guard) tries to keep a baby turtle from off-limits beach territory.
DEC
SEASON 2 EPISODE 12
CLICK ON THIS BLAST FROM THE PAST:
2009:
Swindon in Wiltshire, England is announced as the world’s first ever Walt Disney
World "twin town," thanks to 20-year-old Rebecca Warren. More than 500 people from across
the UK nominated their home towns to compete for the official status and a celebratory, magical, Disney twinning
party. Warren's entry - a video slideshow with original poem - beat the 24 other shortlisted entries! Swindon’s
‘twinning ceremony’ is set to take place in January 2010 ... bringing a touch of Disney magic from the famous
Florida theme parks to Wiltshire.
2010:
Wonders of the Younger, the sixth album by the band Plain White T's, is released on
Hollywood Records (a record label owned by The Walt Disney Company).
Operation: Secret Santa, a computer animated short film sequel to 2009's Christmas
special Prep & Landing, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, airs on ABC.
The voice cast includes veteran comedic actress Betty White as Mrs. Claus.
2011:
It is reported that the Disney Institute is helping to train NFL "teammates" or Super
Bowl workers/volunteers in the customer-friendly ways of Cast Members at Disney
theme parks. The goal is to make all fans at Super Bowl XLVI "feel like VIPs." The league's working with Walt
Disney Co.'s Disney Institute on a "Fans First" initiative to train the 20,000 executives and employees who will
work Super Bowl XLVI on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis.
1910:
Trumpeter, bandleader, singer, composer, and actor Louis Prima,
known for his memorable contribution to Disney's The Jungle Book
as the voice (and live-action reference) for King Louie, is born in
New Orleans, Louisiana. He performed the hit song "I Wanna Be Like You" on the
December 7
2015:
Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger presides over a ceremony to dedicate the newly
restored office of Walt Disney in the Animation Building at the Walt Disney Studios lot
in Burbank, California. Disney Parks guests have been able to see selections from Walt’s office suite over
the years at One Man’s Dream (at Disney’s Hollywood Studios) and inside the Main Street Opera House
(at Disneyland park), but the Walt Disney Archives painstakingly restored the suite (down to the smallest details)
including original furnishings, his piano (frequently played back in the day by Disney Legend Richard Sherman),
awards, and some items from his collection of miniatures.
1904:
Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash, best known as the voice of Donald Duck (for
50 years), is born in Watonga, Oklahoma. His Donald Duck voice was achieved by what is called buccal speech: an alaryngeal form of vocalization which uses the inner cheek to produce sound rather than the larynx. Nash
first discovered it while trying to mimic his pet goat Mary! His first Disney credit was the animated short, The Wise Little Hen (Donald's debut) in 1934. In addition to Donald's voice, Nash also voiced Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. He also provided the Popeye-esque voice for the Rough House statue in Pinocchio, the bullfrog croaking "Watch out!" in Bambi, the meows of Figaro the kitten in a handful of shorts, and some dog sounds in One Hundred and One Dalmatians. The last film to feature Nash's famous Donald voice was the 1983 Mickey's Christmas Carol, although he continued to provide Donald's voice for commercials, promos and other miscellaneous material until his death in 1985.
2016:
Prolific character actor Harry Morgan, who appeared in more than 100 films but was best known for his role as Colonel Sherman Potter in the popular television series MASH, passes away at his Los Angeles home at age 96. During the 1970's, he
appeared in such live-action Disney features as The Barefoot Executive, Snowball Express, The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Cat from Outer Space, and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.
2018:
Nominations for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards are announced. Among the nominees-
-Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: Black Panther – Ludwig Göransson, composer and
Coco – Michael Giacchino, composer
-Best Song Written for Visual Media: "All the Stars" (from Black Panther) and "Remember Me" (from Coco)
Winners will be announced on February 10, 2019, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Mary Poppins Returns: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is released by Walt Disney Records. The songs feature vocal performances by the film's cast consisting of Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda,
Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Pixie Davies, Julie Walters, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, and Meryl Streep.
The score includes musical references to the songs and score from the first film written by the Sherman Brothers.
1924:
Jack Couffer, a cinematographer, film & television director, and author, is born in Upland, California. Specializing in documentary films, often involving nature and animal cinematography, he is best known for his Academy Award nominated work on Paramount Pictures' Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1974). Couffer joined Walt Disney Studios first as a cameraman on the early True Life Adventure series of nature films, before going on to work in a variety of functions--writer, director, & producer, on more than two dozen movies. His Disney work include such films as The Legend of Lobo, Nikki, Wild Dog of the North, and Secrets of Life. Couffer's final book, "My Boss, Walt: Making the Disney Wildlife Shows," was published in June 2019.
1965:
Actor Jeffrey Wright is born in Washington, D.C. He supplied the voice of Poppa Henry
in the 2015 The Good Dinosaur.
1905:
Leonard H. Goldenson, the second president of the United States-based television network American Broadcasting Company (ABC), from 1953 to 1986, is born in Pennsylvania. He started with the organization in 1953 when he helped arrange the merger of United Paramount Theaters with the fledgling ABC (a failing collection of five television stations). He took a chance in 1954 by contracting for the first Disney television series, Disneyland, and investing in the park Walt was building in Anaheim. Prior to retiring, he merged ABC with Cap Cities. Goldenson was named a Disney Legend posthumously in 2004.
1906:
German translator Erika Fuchs is born in Rostock. Largely known in Germany due to her translations of American Disney comics, especially Carl Barks' stories about Duckburg and its inhabitants, she became chief editor of Disney's newly founded German Micky Maus magazine in 1951 (and worked there until her retirement in 1988).
Germany's first comic museum, "Erica Fuchs House, Museum of Comic Strips and the Art of Language," opened 4
months after her death in 2005.
