2005:
The 2004 Thea Awards are presented at the 11th Annual Thea Awards Gala at
the Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim, California. Winners include Walt Disney
World's Mission: SPACE (for Attraction with Technological Breakthrough), Walt
Disney Imagineering's Lucky the Dinosaur (for Technology), and Disneyland's
Aladdin (for Live Show).
"During his prolific 65-year-career with Disney, John Hench made major contributions to
every area of the entertainment spectrum, and helped my uncle Walt put the magic into
the Magic Kingdom. He was one of the most versatile and talented artists to ever work at
the Studio, and his vision helped to create and popularize Disney theme parks."
-Roy E. Disney
1919:
Comedian, actor & songwriter Red Buttons, who
appeared in Disney's 1977 Pete's Dragon as
Hoagy, is born Aaron Chwatt in New York City.
(An Academy Award winner, Buttons appeared in such films as
The Poseidon Adventure and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.)
1934:
The U.S. Patent Office grants a patent to the Ingersoll-Waterbury Clock Company, of Connecticut, for the first Mickey Mouse watch.
1960:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs the episode "Two Happy Amigos."
1961:
Walt Disney Presents airs "Texas John Slaughter: A Holster Full of Law,"
the 15th episode of the western mini-series starring Tom Tryon.
1992:
Disney's Beauty and the Beast is nominated for six
Academy Awards. Among the nominations is one for Best
Picture. It is the first time in the history of the Motion Picture Academy
that an animated feature is nominated in this category.
Winners will be announced March 30, 1992.
2004:
Imagineer, artist and Disney Legend John Hench passes away at the age of 95 in
Burbank, California. An employee of the Walt Disney Company for more than 60 years, Hench began as a story
artist in 1939. He made his way through the animation department doing everything including backgrounds,
layout and art direction, and even effects animation and special effects. Walt Disney respected Hench as one of the
studio's most gifted artists and teamed him with Salvador Dalí on the animated short Destino (a project begun in
1945 but completed and released in 2003). Hench won a special effects Oscar for his work in the 1955 film 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea before moving to WED Enterprises to spend the rest of his career helping to design Disney
theme parks all over the world. He was also the official corporate portrait artist for Mickey Mouse.
2006:
Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receiver Hines Ward is named Most
Valuable Player at Super Bowl XL upon his team's 21-10 win over
the Seattle Seahawks. Immediately following the game in Detroit,
Ward is videotaped for the latest "I'm Going to Disney World!" TV
commercial, adding "...and I'm taking The Bus!" - a reference to
teammate Jerome "The Bus" Bettis. The two teammates will appear at a
victory parade at the Magic Kingdom the following day.
1937:
A memo to Disney cartoonist Al Taliaferro from the animation story department
reads, "Inasmuch as we have decided to actually put a story crew to work on "Donald's Nephews," we would like to recognize the source from which the
original idea of these new characters sprang ... Thanks."
Taliaferro has recently created Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey & Louie for his comic strip.
1991:
Good Time Jazz Records releases Firehouse Five Plus Two: At Disneyland -
a live recording taken of the group's performances at The Golden Horseshoe
back in July 1962.
1936:
The United Artists film Modern Times starring Charlie Chaplin is
released. In a short sequence actress Paulette Goddard picks up a Mickey
Mouse doll in a department store and holds it up in front of Chaplin!
2000:
Mickey Mouse Works airs on ABC-TV with the shorts "Donald's Dynamite:
Magic Act," "Survival of the Woodchucks," "Mickey's Rival Returns," and
"Mickey and the Seagull."
The Disney Channel Original Movie The Color of Friendship, based on a true
story about the friendship between two girls from different worlds who learn to
overcome their differences, debuts. (It will earn an Emmy Award.)
Jordan Nagai - the voice of Russell in the 2009 Pixar film Up - is born in Los
Angeles, California. Director Peter Docter auditioned 400 boys in a nationwide casting call for the part.
Nagai actually showed up to an audition with his brother, who was really the one auditioning. However,
Docter, who had passed on other potential voices that sounded too artificial, realized that 7-year-old Nagai
behaved and spoke non-stop like Russell ... and chose him for the part!
2007:
Disney announces that they have started a new company called ImageMovers
Digital with the producers of Polar Express to make animated films based in part
on the movements of actors. Producer-director Robert Zemeckis, along with Jack Rapke and Steve
Starkey, will make films that Disney will market and distribute.
Peter Pan was the final Disney
animated feature released
through RKO and the final Disney
film in which all members of
Walt's Nine Old Men worked
together as directing animators.
1907:
Novelist, scriptwriter and historian Samuel W. Taylor is born in Provo, Utah. His short story A Situation of Gravity was the inspiration for Disney's 1961 live-action The Absent-Minded Professor and the 1963 Son of Flubber. Taylor also wrote many stories and magazine articles for the Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Adventure and Esquire.
Second star to the right and straight on till morning!
1964:
The live-action Disney feature The Misadventures of Merlin Jones -
starring Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Leon Ames and Dal McKennon - premieres in St. Louis, Missouri. Kirk plays college student Merlin who experiments with mind-
reading and hypnotism ... which leads to run-ins with Judge Holmsby (played by Ames).
1982:
The Disney live-action film Night Crossing starring John Hurt and Beau
Bridges is released. It is based on the true story of the Strelzyk and Wetzel families, who on
September 16, 1979 escaped from East Germany to West Germany in a homemade hot air balloon.
FEBRUARY 5
Peter Pan debuts
FEBRUARY 05
THIS
SITE MADE
IN THE USA
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1950:
Tony-nominated actor Jonathan Freeman, known for
voicing the villainous Jafar in Disney's Aladdin and its
sequel The Return of Jafar, is born in Bay Village, Ohio.
His Broadway credits include The Little Mermaid as the original Grimsby, Beauty and the Beast as Cogsworth, and
in 2009 - Mary Poppins as Admiral Bloom and Bank Chairman. Freeman reprised his role as Jafar on stage in the new
musical adaptation of Aladdin, which played at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in July 2011. He later played the role in
the Broadway production as well, which opened in March 2014 at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Freeman is also
the voice for Eli Pandarus for the animated series American Dragon: Jake Long.
In Memory of John Hench (1908-2004)
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"Other than Walt Disney himself, no one symbolizes The Walt Disney Company more than John Hench." -Marty Sklar
A celebration for the upcoming Disneyland production "Snow White - An Enchanting
New Musical," takes place with a handprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese
Theatre. Snow White and all the dwarfs take part with Honorary Mayor of Hollywood Johnny Grant officiating.
"I always admired Walt's optimism. He seemed to know the direction he was going to. When I was at the studio, I remember he kept driving
all of us back down to a more fundamental level all the time." -John Hench
1935:
Academy Award nominations are announced with Disney's animated
The Tortoise and the Hare being considered for an Oscar in the category Short Subjects, Cartoons. Oscar night will be held February 27, 1935.
-Best Picture
-Best Sound
-Best Music, Original Score
-Best Music, Original Song ("Beauty and the Beast")
-Best Music, Original Song ("Belle")
-Best Music, Original Song ("Be Our Guest")
"Ninety isn't old. You're old when your doctor doesn't X-ray you any more - he just holds you up to the light!"
1953:
Disney's 14th animated film (but the studio's 20th feature
to be released), Peter Pan (based on James M. Barrie's 1904
story) opens at the Roxy Theatre in New York City. The film features the voices of Bobby Driscoll (as the boy who won't grow up) and Kathryn Beaumont (as Wendy Darling). Wendy and her brothers are whisked away to the magical world of Neverland by Peter Pan and his jealous sidekick Tinkerbell. Along the way they must evade the evil pirate Captin Hook! This will be the final Disney animated feature released through RKO, as Walt Disney will establish his own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution, by the end of 1953. The film features music written by Sammy Cahn, Sammy Fain, Frank Churchill, Jack Lawrence, and Oliver Wallace.
Released along with Peter Pan is A True-Life Adventure: Bear Country, directed
by James Algar and narrated by Winston Hibler. The live-action short follows
the life of black bears from one winter to another.
1987:
This day's issue of Walt Disney World Eyes & Ears ("Prepared By And For
The Walt Disney World Cast") announces that the 6th annual Village Wine
Festival will be held at the Conference Center February 5-8.
Darren Criss, an actor, singer, and songwriter, is born in San Francisco, California.
Rising to fame starring on the television series "Glee" (2010–2015), he has also appeared on Broadway and in film and has released several musical albums. Criss' Disney credits include a 2014 episode of ABC-TV's "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," the 2020 television special "The Disney Family Singalong" - in which he sang "I Wan'na Be Like You," and the 2021 Halloween special "Muppets Haunted Mansion" - playing The Caretaker.
FEB
FEB
2012:
The New York Giants win the 46th Super Bowl, beating the New England
Patriots 21-17. Giants quarterback (and MVP) Eli Manning shouts "I'm going to Disney World!" -
taking part in the 26th year of the famous Disney commercial. Manning, who will take part in a parade the
following day at the Magic Kingdom, is the 45th athlete to scream those famous 5 words.
2013:
Disney releases the 1953 animated Peter Pan on Blue-ray along with a new
documentary short Growing Up with Nine Old Men. Bonus content on the 3-disc package also
includes an introduction by Diane Disney Miller and deleted songs and scenes from Peter Pan. Also released
is Aladdin Diamond Edition.
Disney's Brave is awarded 4 times at the 11th Annual VES Awards at the Beverly
Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Presented by the Visual Effects Society, the event recognizes
outstanding visual effects in twenty-four categories of film, animation, television, commercials and video games.
Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
February 05
FEBRUARY IS DCA MONTH
2015:
Walt Disney Company names Thomas O. Staggs its chief operating officer, making
the parks chief the No. 2 executive at the world's largest entertainment company.
A 25-year Disney veteran, Mr. Staggs is currently Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, overseeing the
strategy, operations and creative development of the company’s iconic travel and leisure businesses. He will
assume the role of Chief Operating Officer immediately, while continuing to lead Parks and Resorts until a
successor is named.
2018:
Quarterback Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles, the MVP of Super Bowl 52, serves
as the Grand Marshal of the Super Bowl parade at Disney World. Foles is greeted by fans at
the Magic Kingdom the day after the Eagles victory over the New England Patriots
in Minneapolis.
2011:
The 38th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation of 2010, is held
at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. Among the winners-
-Best Animated Short Subject: Day & Night
-Character Animation in a Live Action Production: Ryan Page - Alice in Wonderland
1947:
Motorsports analyst, author, national television broadcaster, and racing driver Darrell Waltrip is born in Owensboro, Kentucky. A three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (1981, 1982, 1985) and a three-time NASCAR Cup Series runner-up, Waltrip provided the voice of race announcer Darrell Cartrip in the Pixar feature films Cars (2006), Cars 2 (2011), and Cars 3 (2017).
1948:
Actor Tom Wilkinson is born in Wharfedale, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.
He appeared in Disney's 2013 The Lone Ranger, playing the role of Latham Cole. (American audiences will known him for playing Benjamin Franklin in HBO's John Adams, a role that won him both a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries.)
2020:
Actor, filmmaker, and author Kirk Douglas passes away at age 103 in Beverly Hills, California. Born Issur Danielovitch in Amsterdam, New York, he became a bona fide superstar through such blockbuster films as Champion (1949), Young Man with a Horn (1950), and Spartacus (1960). In 1954, Douglas starred as Ned Land in Disney's live-action 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, along with James Mason and Peter Lorre. It was the first time that major international stars appeared together in a Disney film. In 1986, he appeared in the comedy Tough Guys (a Touchstone Pictures release) with Burt Lancaster. In 1991 he played a small role in the slapstick crime comedy "Oscar" (also a Touchstone film) starring Sylvester Stallone. Douglas and his first wife Diana Dill had two sons, actor Michael Douglas and producer Joel Douglas.
2008:
The direct to video film Snow Buddies, the second installment in the Air Buddies series, is released on DVD. Disney's puppies travel to frosty Alaska for a new adventure.
1946:
The ABC of Hand Tools, an animated training film made for General Motors Corporation, is delivered. Directed by Bill Roberts, it shows the proper use and care of common hand tools.
2021:
Actor Christopher Plummer passes away at age 91 in Connecticut. Disney/Pixar fans will remember him as the voice of Charles F. Muntz in the 2009 animated film Up. He also played John Adams Gates in National Treasure, Mr. Massie in Cold Creek Manor, and Abraham Van Helsing in Dracula 2000. Plummer will always be remembered for his performance as Captain Georg von Trapp in the musical film The Sound of Music (1965) alongside Julie Andrews.
