2005:
Rob Richards, the organist at Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, receives the 2005 "Organist of the Year" award from the
American Theatre Organ Society.
1912:
Lyricist and songwriter Mack David (older brother of lyricist & songwriter Hal David) is born in New York City. Mack David is best known for his work in movies and television in the 1950s and
1960s, particularly his work on the Disney films Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. Along with Jerry Livingstone
and Al Hoffman, Mack wrote the Cinderella songs "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes," "The Working Song,"
and the film's hit song "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo," which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1950. For Alice in Wonderland, the same team wrote "The Unbirthday Song."
1950:
Singer-songwriter and actor Huey Lewis is born in New York City. Lewis sang
"Once Upon A Time In New York City" for Disney's 1988 animated feature Oliver & Company and
appeared in Disney's 2000 movie Duets (a Hollywood Pictures release) with Gwyneth Paltrow. He also supplied the voice for Bulworth in the series Puppy Dog Pals. Music fans know him as the lead singer of Huey Lewis and The News, who appeared in concert at Disney World's Pleasure Island on New Year's Eve 1998.
1975:
Actor Dale Godboldo, a member of Disney Channel's The All New Mickey Mouse Club (for seasons 4-7) is born in Dallas, Texas.
1988:
Epcot's Maelstrom, at the recently opened Norway Pavilion, opens to guests. Visitors
ride boats that are patterned after Viking ships and pass through various scenes with audio-animatronic figures.
1989:
Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 70-millionth guest!
1996:
The 500th Disney Store opens - in the Metro Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
1998:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon compilation The Spirit of Mickey is released.
2002:
The Lizzie McGuire episode "In Miranda Lizzie Does Not Trust" debuts on the Disney Channel.
2006:
It is announced that actor Jacob Young (JR Chandler on ABC’s All My Children) will extend his role as Lumiere in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Originally scheduled to perform in the musical for ten weeks through July 16th, Young will now play the role through August 20th.
1994:
Hollywood Records releases Angels In The Outfield
an original Walt Disney Pictures soundtrack album.
Parker Brothers released
the Disneyland Monorail
Game in 1960. The object of
the board game was to be
the first player to complete
the Monorail Ride and finish
ahead of Casey Jr.
1978:
Disney's live-action feature Hot Lead and Cold Feet is released in theaters.
The comedy - about a tough father who is out to take control of a small western town with the help of his twin sons: one a gunfighter, the other a mild-mannered coward - features Jim Dale, Karen Valentine, Don Knotts, Jack Elam, and Darren McGavin.
1928:
Character actor Warren Oates is born in Depoy, Kentucky. Best known for his roles in Blue Thunder, In the Heat of the Night, and The Wild Bunch, Oates portrayed John Blythe in Disney's 2-part 1968 TV special The Mystery of Edward Sims. (He also appeared in the Sherman Brothers musical version of Tom Sawyer as "Muff Potter" the town drunk. Fans of the 1981 Bill Murray film Stripes, will remember Oates for his role of Sergeant Hulka.)
2007:
Epcot Vice President Jim MacPhee announces that the 257-foot-tall Mickey Mouse arm, glove and wand logo structure at Epcot is coming down. The structure (up since Disney World's 2000 millennium celebration) leans on Epcot's previous and future iconic figure, the Spaceship Earth Pavilion.
It is reported that Jim Carrey is set to star in A Christmas Carol movie directed by Robert Zemeckis. The Disney movie will be a motion capture animation with Carrey playing Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Hoskins as Mr. Fezziwig. (The film will open in 2009.)
Animator and innovator in the animation industry David Hilberman passes away at age 95 in California. Born in Ohio, he came to Los Angeles to work at Disney in July 1936 as one of 40 young artists who had been recruited in a national talent search. Within 18 months, he advanced from trainee to layout artist. He worked on numerous animated shorts, including Farmyard Symphony (1938) and Ugly Duckling (1939), as well as the features Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bambi (1942). He later became one of the leaders of the union movement, which climaxed in the bitterly fought animators’ strike of 1941. After the strike, Hilberman joined with fellow ex-Disney artists Zachary Schwartz and Stephen Bosustow to found Industrial Film and Poster Service, a small studio that produced films, film strips and graphic materials for defense contractors and the Army and Navy. In late 1945, the rapidly expanding studio was reorganized as United Productions of America (better known as UPA). In 1992 he was given the Winsor McCay Award - For Distinguished Lifetime Achievement to the Art of Animation.
1944:
The United Seamen's Service, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, asks Walt Disney
Studios to produce a patch for the Merchant Marine. An exhibition of wartime art of merchant
seamen of the United Nations is scheduled at the Los Angeles County Museum from July 16 to August 13. In
connection with this exhibition, The United Seamen's Service, Inc. wants to display this new Merchant Marine
patch art at a public ceremony on Sunday, July 23. (Disney will have his artists create a patch for the U.S. Merchant Marine, recognizing their efforts in the conduct of World War II. Using one of their colorful characters, Battlin' Pete,
the patch will show Pete knocking out a humanized torpedo!)
1991:
Actor Jason Dolley is born in Simi Valley, California. Disney Channel fans know him as Newt Livingston in the series "Cory in the House," the star of the Disney Channel film "Minutemen," Connor Kennedy in the film "Read It and Weep," Pete Ivey in the movie "Hatching Pete," and PJ Duncan in the Disney Channel Original Series "Good Luck Charlie."
JULY 5
JULY 5
THIS SITE MADE
IN THE
USA
JULY
 | ||||
| ||||
Napoleon and Samantha released
"The more I go to other amusement parks in all parts of the world, the more I am convinced of the wisdom
of the original concepts of Disneyland. I mean, have a single entrance through which all traffic would flow,
then a hub off which the various areas were situated. That gives people a sense of orientation – they know
where they are at all times. And it saves a lot of walking." -Walt Disney
1972:
Disney's live-action feature Napoleon and Samantha, starring Michael Douglas, Will Geer, Johnny Whitaker and Jodie Foster (in her feature film debut), is released. The film centers on two young children and a pet lion (a former circus performer) who go on a perilous mountain trek to stay with a recluse friend.
Two runaways and a guardian lion lost in the wilderness... AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE!
| ||||
1997:
ABC-TV airs the animated Disney series Nightmare Ned for the last time with the episodes "Dentist," and "Lucky Abe (One Cent Ned)."
1963:
The Disney finance department opens a new account labeled "Music and Lyrics for Pepsi-Cola Exhibit." Discussions about music for the Pepsi-Cola Pavilion (for the 1964/65 New York World's Fair) had revolved around the idea of children from many nations singing their respective national anthems. Walt Disney himself has suggested the Sherman Brothers write one simple tune that can be sung by all the children. The tune has to be simple and catchy, but also has to have enough variety so as not to become redundant over the
course of the ride. (The Sherman Brothers will come up "It's A Small World.")
1930:
The Fox Midland Theater chain officially launches the Mickey Mouse Club.
A weekly event for all boys and girls, the club will meet on Saturday mornings all across the USA.
2012:
The Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit has its grand opening at the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, with former first lady Nancy Reagan. The exhibit
marks the unique relationship that the former president and the Walt Disney Company had, starting with
Disneyland's grand opening in 1955, which featured Reagan as the master of ceremonies. Examples of the exhibit
range from Reagan's appearances at the theme parks to his likeness featured in the Hall of Presidents.
(The exhibit opens to the public Friday June 6 and will run for nine months.)
July05
The Spirit of Mickey released
"We are deeply honored to share this exhibit with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the countless visitors who can now
explore and appreciate the legacies of both extraordinary men." -Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company
2015:
Imagineer, sculptor & Disney Legend Blaine Gibson passes away at age 97 in
Montecito, California. He created hundreds of sculptures from which Audio-Animatronics figures
and bronzes were produced for exhibits in the 1964-65 New York World's Fair and Disney theme parks
around the world. Among his contributions: Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Pirates of the Caribbean,
the Haunted Mansion, and the Enchanted Tiki Room. Gibson also sculpted nearly all the presidents for the
Hall of Presidents at WDW and the Partners Statue (found in the "hub" of the Magic Kingdom at Disneyland,
Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland, and at Walt Disney Studio in Burbank, California).
1929:
Katherine Marie Helmond, a film, theater, and television actress and director, is born
in Galveston, Texas. She voiced Lizzie, a 1924 Ford Model T Coupe, in the Cars film trilogy by Disney/Pixar between 2006 and 2017. Over her five decades of television acting, Helmond was known for her roles on the sitcoms "Soap" (1977-1981), "Who's the Boss?" (1984–1992), and 14 episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996-2004). Winner of two Golden Globe awards, Helmond passed at age 89 in February 2019.
1990:
Blossom, a sitcom television series debuts as a pilot preview on NBC. (It will officially premiere as a mid-season replacement on January 3, 1991, and air until May 22, 1995.) The show stars Mayim Bialik as Blossom Russo, a teenager living with her musician father (Ted Wass) and two elder brothers (Joey Lawrence & Michael Stoyanov). Blossom's fast talking best friend Six Lemeure (Jenna von Oÿ) also plays a significant part in her life. Co-produced by Touchstone Television, the series is distributed by Buena Vista Television.
2011:
Gordon Tootoosis an Aboriginal Canadian actor of Cree and Stoney descent, passes away at age 69 in Saskatchewan, Canada. A descendant of Yellow Mud Blanket, brother of the famous Cree leader Pitikwahanapiwiyin, Tootoosis supplied the voice of Kekata for the Disney animated film Pocahontas (1995).
1980:
Choreographer and dance instructor Charles Klapow is born in Queensland, Australia.
First brought on board by choreographer Kenny Ortega to help choreograph High School Musical (2006), Ortega became a mentor to Klapow as they quickly developed a working chemistry together. Klapow later worked on the film's sequels, High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year. He can be seen in all High School Musical movies as a dancer and member of the school basketball team as well. He went on to choreograph the stage and ice tours. He also choreographed Cheetah Girls 2 and The Cheetah Girls.
2014:
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration premieres at the Premiere Theater in the Streets of America section of Disney's Hollywood Studios. A musical show based on Disney's 2013 animated film Frozen and the songs from the film, it will later move to the Hyperion Theater in Echo Lake.
"David Hilberman was inadvertently, almost accidentally, a pivotal figure in animation history, Because of his politics in organizing the Disney strike and his artistic vision in co-founding UPA, he became a major factor in changing forever how the Hollywood cartoon was made and what it looked like." -industry historian John Canemaker
1965:
Actress Kathryn Erbe is born in Newton, Massachusetts. Best known for her television role as Alexandra Eames on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," her film credits include Touchstone's 1991 comedy "What About Bob?" as Anna Marvin and Disney's 1994 sports film "D2: The Mighty Ducks" as Michele MacKay.
2021:
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival comes to an end. Making up for lost time (due to the pandemic) the event ran for over a full month later than was intended.
