1927:
Actor and Disney Legend Dickie Jones is born in Snyder, Texas. A
prodigious horseman from infancy who was billed at the age of four as the World's Youngest
Trick Rider and Trick Roper, 11-year-old Jones was the voice of Pinocchio for Disney's 1940 classic animated film
Pinocchio. With a career that stretched into the mid-1960s, Jones appeared in many western films and TV series.
1965:
Disney's Mary Poppins is nominated for an amazing 13 Academy Awards!
Best Picture (a first for a Disney film)
Best Actress in a Leading Role (Julie Andrews)
Best Director (Robert Stevenson)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi)
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
Best Sound
Best Film Editing (Cotton Warburton)
Best Music, Music Score - Substantially Original (Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman)
Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment (Irwin Kostal)
Best Music, Original Song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee" by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman)
Best Costume Design, Color
Best Effects, Special Visual Effects (Peter Ellenshaw, Hamilton Luske & Eustace Lycett)
The 37th Academy Awards will be held April 5.
Shawnte Northcutte, a member of the 1977-1978 TV series
The New Mickey Mouse Club, is born.
2005:
Walt Disney World hosts the second annual "ESPN The Weekend Presented
by Speed Stick 24/7" at Disney-MGM Studios. The 3-day event offers fans the
opportunity to see and hear ESPN personalities and several legendary athletes.
Singer Cyndi Lauper guest stars (as Ms. Patuto) on the That's So Raven
episode "Art Breaker."
Disney's professional hockey team the Mighty Ducks are officially sold to
billionaire Henry Samueli and his wife, Susan. Originally founded in 1993 by The Walt
Disney Company as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the team's name was based on the 1992 film The Mighty
Ducks. (Disney subsequently made an animated series called Mighty Ducks, featuring a fictional Mighty
Ducks of Anaheim team that consisted of ducks led by the Mighty Duck Wildwing.) Henry and Susan Samueli
will change the name of the team to the Anaheim Ducks before the 2006–07 NHL season.
1913:
Radio, television, film, and voice actor Jim Backus is born in Cleveland, Ohio. His Disney
credits include the 1977 Pete's Dragon as the Mayor, the 1972 Now You See Him, Now You Don't as millionaire Timothy
Forsythe, and the 1951 animated short Plutopia as Milton the cat. (Television fans remember him as the voice of the
cartoon character Mr. Magoo and for his role of Thurston Howell III on the classic sitcom Gilligan's Island.)
1938:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Boat Builders, featuring the voices of Walt Disney (as
Mickey), Pinto Colvig (as Goofy), Marcellite Garner (as Minnie Mouse), and Clarence
Nash (as Donald Duck) is released. The seven-minute short is directed by Ben Sharpsteen (who will go
on to direct Dumbo). Mickey, Donald, and Goofy construct the ship "Queen Minnie" from folding component parts.
But when Minnie launches the ship by hitting it with a champagne bottle, she whacks it so hard that, once out at sea,
the boat splits into its original parts again!
1962:
The NBC-TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
airs part 2 of "Comancho."
1980:
The 1979 Disney sci-fi feature The Black Hole is nominated
for 2 Academy Awards - Best Cinematography and Best
Effects, Visual Effects. Winners will be announced April 14.
1981:
Walt Disney Productions and CBS agree to move Disney's
long-running show to CBS-TV.
1999:
Disney replaces Robert Iger at the helm of ABC with Steve Bornstein and names
Iger the President of Walt Disney International, the business unit that oversees
Disney's international operations, as well as Chairman of the ABC Group.
Disney's Mulan wins "Best Children's Movie" at the 22nd Annual International
Angel Awards.
2000:
The first preview of Disney's pop-opera Aida takes place at the Palace
Theater on Broadway in New York City. The show (which will have 29 more previews
before an official opening March 23, 2000) features new songs by Elton John & Tim Rice.
2001:
Disney launches their new "Magic Happens" advertisement campaign during
ABC-TV's Wonderful World of Disney. The corporate image campaign features something
rarely seen in the advertising business; a richly detailed 90-second commercial.
2003:
Monkees singer/drummer Micky Dolenz begins touring as
Zoser in Disney's Aida at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
in Fort Myers, Florida. (In 2004 he will play the role on Broadway.)
2006:
Disney invites fans to meet the stars of the new family comedy feature
The Shaggy Dog at New York City's World of Disney Store.
Actor Darren McGavin passes away in California at age 83. His Disney credits included
the 1976 feature No Deposit, No Return, the 1978 comedy western Hot Lead and Cold Feet, and the 1979
made-for-TV-movie Donovan's Kid. (McGavin also starred in the 1950s series Mike Hammer and the 1970s
series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. He may be best remembered for his role of the grumpy father in the
holiday comedy film A Christmas Story.)
1991:
The Bearly Asleep shop, located in Disney World's Frontierland, closes.
1939:
One of the most prominent and influential architects of the first half of 20th century,
Frank Lloyd Wright visits the Disney Studios on Hyperion Avenue in Hollywood for
an informal discussion with Walt's staff.
"Walt Disney is something unique. He is what he is. I think that he happened to stumble upon
the future development of the cinema. I don't think that was his fault. He happened in on it
with this peculiar gift of his, which I think is precious."
-Frank Lloyd Wright, This Day in Disney History 1939
2007:
The Oscar for Best Achievement in Visual Effects is awarded to Pirates of the
Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at the 79th Annual Academy Awards.
Disney/Pixar's Cars is edged out by Happy Feet for Best Animated Feature and
Disney's The Little Match Girl, nominated for Best Animated Short, loses to The Danish Poet.
1971:
Recording artist Daniel Powter is born British Columbia. Best known for his piano driven pop
single "Bad Day," the singer-songwriter penned "The World You've Dreamed of Lately" - a song for Disney's "Where
Dreams Come True" marketing campaign.
Actor, director and producer Sean Astin is born to actress Patty Duke and Michael Tell.
Astin provided the voice for the title character in Disney Channel's Special Agent Oso (2009-2012). First known for the role of Mikey Walsh in Warner Bros. The Goonies, he appeared in the 1986 Disney made-for-TV movie The B.R.A.T. Patrol, the 1992 Encino Man, and the 2002 Snow Dogs. That same year he supplied the voice for Hercules in the action role-playing video game Kingdom Hearts. Astin met fans of Oso during Disney's D23 Expo in August 2011. In January 2015, Astin completed the Dopey Challenge at the Walt Disney World Resort which involved running a 5k, 10k, half marathon and full marathon on four consecutive days! (Movie fans know Astin best from such features as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Rudy, and 50 First Dates.)
The "Gracey" family depicted in
the Disney film The Haunted
Mansion is a nod to
Disney Imagineer
Yale Gracey, who
was an animator and
mechanical genius.
He had a hand in
developing many of the
attraction's illusions.
As a layout artist, Gracey
worked on more than 50
Disney animated shorts!
1986:
Actor Justin Berfield is born in Los Angeles, California. Best known for his role
on the hit sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, Disney fans will know him as the voice of Gil in Kim
Possible episodes and as Caption Writer in the feature Max Keeble's Big Move.
2008:
exclusive, attendees-only dinner and program in the Blue Bayou Restaurant in New
Orleans Square. In attendance are Disney Legends Blaine Gibson, "X" Atencio, Bob Gurr, and Harriet Burns.
A special after-hours ride through the Haunted Mansion, exclusively for Swinging Wake attendees takes place after
the public leaves the park!
FEBRUARY 25
FEBRUARY 25
THIS
SITE MADE
IN THE USA
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Aida previews on Broadway
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1956:
Disney's Mouseketeers perform live in Yuba City, California. The show, held at the Yuba
City High School, is a late Christmas gift for the town's children whose Christmas had been ruined by a
devastating flood last December 24.
2010:
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is officially relaunched on this evening
at Walt Disney World as ESPN The Weekend kicks off (for the next 4 days).
Ayefour Publishing releases the book Project Future: The Inside Story Behind
the Creation of Disney World by Chad D. Emerson. The books shares the amazing
behind the scenes story of how Disney's Florida resort, code-named Project Future, rose from the
marshes of Central Florida to become one of the world's most popular theme park resorts.
Disney's fantasy adventure Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton and
starring Johnny Depp, premieres in London at the Odeon Leicester Square.
1963:
Academy Award nominations are announced with Disney receiving 3:
Bon Voyage - Best Sound & Best Costume Design
Symposium on Popular Songs - Best Short Subjects, Cartoons
Winners will be announced April 8.
1988:
NBC-TV airs the musical special Totally Minnie. Hosted by Suzanne Somers, it is the first
film to feature Minnie Mouse (voiced by Russi Taylor) in a lead role.
1997:
The Walt Disney Company holds its annual shareholders meeting in Anaheim,
California.
1977:
Wendy Holcombe, a banjo picker from Alabaster, Alabama, sings and plays on
episode 30 of The New Mickey Mouse Club. Tracy Xepoleas and Jimmy Pastrone, an acrobatic
dance team from Livermore, California, are also featured. Max Hare and Toby Tortoise star in the classic Silly
Symphony cartoon The Tortoise and the Hare.
2011:
Live! with Regis & Kelly broadcasts live from Disneyland for the kickoff of
"Regis & Kelly’s Run Across America with Dean Karnazes." With a blast of red, white and blue
confetti and the sound of a horn, a few hundred local runners and Disney characters in jogging suits run with
Karnazes from the Sleeping Beauty Castle down Main Street to begin the run across America. Karnazes will run an
average of 40 to 50 miles a day before completing his journey in mid-May by running into the New York City "Regis
and Kelly" studios while the show is on the air. (One of the most well-known long-distance runners in the United
States, Karnazes is the author of two best-selling books.)
1976:
Film and television actress Rashida Jones is born to media mogul and musician Quincy
Jones and actress Peggy Lipton in Los Angeles, California. Best known for her role on The Office,
she played Veronica in the 2011 Disney The Muppets. Jones is the voice of "Cool Girl" in Pixar's Inside Out.
FEB
FEB
"Pinocchio was a tough job for me because I didn't like being so cooped up. I preferred being outdoors all the time – that's why I
liked making westerns so much."
2012:
Walt Disney Imagineering and cast members at Disney California Adventure park
bury a time capsule, containing items specific to the park, in Buena Vista Plaza. It is to
be opened by Disneyland Resort cast members in 2037.
February 25
FEBRUARY IS DCA MONTH
2017:
Actor and director Bill Paxton passes away, due to complications
from surgery, at age 61 in Los Angeles, California. He played Morgan
Earp in the 1993 Hollywood Pictures film Tombstone and Professor Gregory "Greg"
O'Hara in the 1998 Disney action-adventure family film Mighty Joe Young. Paxton also
appeared in the 2003 Disney documentary Ghosts of the Abyss, played agent John
Garrett in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Jack Belston in the 1993 Touchstone Pictures film Indian Summer, and Tom House in the 2014 autobiographical film Million Dollar Arm. Paxton directed the 2005 biographical drama The Greatest Game Ever
Played (a Walt Disney Pictures film based on the early life of golf champion Francis Ouimet).
2020:
Disney announces that CEO Bob Iger will step down from the role and become executive chairman through 2021, effective immediately. Bob Chapek, who most recently served as chairman of Disney parks, experiences and products, will assume the role of CEO.
2014:
Disney offers the 2013 hit Frozen as a digital download.
1919:
Screenwriter and animator John W. Dunn is born in Scotland. Beginning his career at the Walt Disney cartoon studio, his first story credit—Man in Space—received an Oscar nomination. Dunn's credits included Mars and Beyond, Magic Highway, USA, and Eyes in Outer Space.
2019:
The 3rd Epcot International Festival of the Arts ends.
1989:
"Practical Jokes," the 10th episode of the teen sitcom Good Morning, Miss Bliss, airs for the first time on the Disney Channel. Starring Hayley Mills as Carrie Bliss, a teacher at John F. Kennedy Junior High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, it features Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zachary "Zack" Morris, Max Battimo as Michael "Mikey" Gonzalez, and Dustin Diamond as Samuel "Screech" Powers. A mock trial is held after a series of practical jokes ends in one that breaks Miss Bliss's "unfooled" streak. Miss Bliss then reveals the joke she pulled on the students in order to get them to study the Constitution for their class better. However, she really ends up falling victim to Screech's prank. (The series will run through March 1989 before being retooled as the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell - minus Mills.)
