1969:
The historic Apollo 11 moon landing is televised on
Disneyland's Tomorrowland Stage. Neil Armstrong
(who in July 2005 will take part in the re-opening
of Disneyland's Space Mountain) becomes the very first human to
set foot on the moon. Buzz Aldrin, the Lunar Module pilot, becomes the second
human on the lunar surface. (He will be the inspiration for the Pixar character Buzz
Lightyear.) Also playing a key role in the lunar landing is Stephen Bales, a member of
mission control at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He was inspired to become an
aeronautical engineer by a 1950s Disney television show that predicted how men might
travel to and explore the moon.
1890:
Actress Verna Felton, best-known for
providing many female voices in numerous
Disney animated films (as well as voicing
Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law Pearl
Slaghoople for Hanna-Barbera) is born
in Salinas, California. Starting her career on stage
and radio, Felton's distinctive husky voice and no-nonsense attitude helped her
become one of the premier character actresses in film and television. Fans of I Love
Lucy, may recall Felton for her guest appearances in 1953. Her son, actor Lee Millar, provided the voice of Jim Dear in Lady and the Tramp. (Sadly Felton died of a
stroke on the evening of December 14, 1966, only hours before the death of Walt
Disney early the following morning.)
2000:
Artist, author and illustrator Eyvind Earle, known
for his beautiful background paintings for such
Disney animated films as Sleeping Beauty, Peter
Pan and Lady and the Tramp, passes away at
age 84. He also created the look of the Academy Award-
winning Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom and designed five murals
for Disneyland. (Although much of his work was not exhibited in his
lifetime, today such museums as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York and the Rahr West Art Museum in Wisconsin have
purchased Earle's works for their permanent collections.)
1923:
Journalist-turned-publicist and Disney Legend Charlie Ridgway is born in Chicago, Illinois. Earning his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his career writing and editing news for radio and newspapers in 1947.As a news reporter he wrote some of the first articles about Disneyland - before & after its opening. (Ridgway was at the park's grand debut in 1955!) Starting as a Disney employee in 1963 he helped promote more than 150 major press events for Disney theme parks, during which time he became director of press and publicity for Walt Disney World. After more than 30 years with Disney, Ridgway retired in 1994. Inducted a Disney Legend in 1999, his book "Spinning Disney's World" was published in 2007. He passed away at his Florida home on December 24, 2016.
1955:
The Tomorrowland Boats (later named the Phantom Boats) debuts in Disneyland's Tomorrowland Lagoon. The attraction features 14 brightly painted
gas-powered fiberglass boats. (Poor mechanical design will cause the ride to be the park's first permanent attraction to close.)
1981:
TIME magazine runs an article titled
"The Great Era of Walt Disney" in this week's issue.
1985:
Seven-year-old Virgil Waytes, Jr. of Virginia becomes the 200,000,000th guest at Walt Disney World! He is presented with a commemorative plaque and a lifetime Disney pass for his family.
"For 70 years I've painted paintings, and I'm constantly
and everlastingly overwhelmed at the stupendous
infinity of creation ... Art is the search for truth."
-Eyvind Earle
1975:
Actor Jason Raize is born Jason Raize Rothenberg in Oneonta, New York. Although he appeared in the national tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar" at age 19, he is best remembered as the original adult Simba in the 1997 Broadway stage musical production of "The Lion King" (for 3 years). Raize also voiced Denahi, the middle brother, in the 2003 Disney animated feature "Brother Bear." In mid-2000, Raize and Jessica Simpson starred in a Disney Channel special called "Jessica Simpson and Jason Raize in Concert." The concert was filmed in Disneyland and featured Raize's songs "I Can Make it Without You," "You Win Again," "Lovin' You Lovin' Me," "Run Away Girl," and "NYC." His recording of "It Was You" can be heard on the soundtrack of Disney's television film "Stepsister from Planet Weird." Sadly he passed at age 28 in New South Wales, Australia, in February 2004.
Actress, comedienne and director Judy Greer is born in Detroit, Michigan. She played Jenny Newton in the sci-fi film Tomorrowland, voiced Yuki in the 2003 English dub version of Studio Ghibli's The Cat Returns (a Japanese animated film released through Disney), and portrayed Maggie Lang in both Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp.
1945:
Visual effects supervisor and matte artist Harrison Ellenshaw is born Peter Samuel Ellenshaw in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Son of legendary Disney matte painter Peter Ellenshaw, Harrsion started his career at Walt Disney Studios in the early 1970s. His credits included such live-action films as No Deposit, No Return, Gus, The Shaggy D.A., and Pete's Dragon. He later joined George Lucas's effects studio Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), where he produced many of the matte visual effects backgrounds for the films Star Wars
and The Empire Strikes Back. Harrison then returned to Disney and worked on the 1979 film The Black Hole, for which he and his father were nominated for an Academy Award for their work. This was followed by The Watcher in the Woods, TRON, Captain EO, Dick Tracy, and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. He is currently pursuing his passion for fine art painting. His work has been exhibited at the prestigious Hammer Galleries in New York, as well as galleries in London and San Francisco.
From the Earth to the Moon,
the Space Mountain attraction
in Disneyland Paris, was built
by coaster designers Vekoma
(who also designed
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster).
1969
1995:
The Walt Disney Company signs a 99-year lease with the 42nd Street
Redevelopment Project to manage and operate the New Amsterdam
Theatre (which is in desperate need of restoration) in New York City. Located at 214 West 42nd Street in the heart of Times Square, the theater was built in 1902-1903. After millions of dollars and several years of
work, the theater will officially reopen on April 2, 1997. In November 1997, after the premiere of the animated feature Hercules and a limited engagement of a concert version of King David, Disney's stage version of The Lion King will open. From 2006 to 2013 the New Amsterdam will be home to the musical Mary Poppins.
JULY
JULY 20
Today is Moon Day
JULY 20
THIS SITE MADE
IN THE
USA
 | ||||
| ||||
1951:
The Donald Duck short Lucky Number is released. Directed by Jack Hannah - Donald wins
a car from a sweepstake ticket, but trouble starts when Huey, Dewey, and Louie decide to pick it up for him.
Moon landing televised at Disneyland
"Disneyland is like Alice stepping through the Looking Glass; to step through the portals of
Disneyland will be like entering another world." -Walt Disney
1948:
The Chicago Railroad Fair opens at 10 o'clock on this morning on the lake front in
Burnham Park, Chicago, Illinois. The following month Walt Disney and Ward Kimball will visit the event -
and be greatly influenced by the collection of steam trains and the design and layout of the fair itself.
| ||||
1879:
Joel Chandler Harris publishes "The Story of Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Fox as Told by Uncle
Remus" in the Atlanta Constitution. It is the first of 34 plantation fables that will turn into Uncle Remus:
His Songs and His Sayings in 1880. The stories, mostly collected directly from the African-American oral storytelling
tradition, are revolutionary in their use of dialect, animal personage, and serialized landscape. In 1946, Disney will
produced a film based on the Uncle Remus tales called Song of the South.
101st Donald Duck cartoon
Felton's Disney credits:
Dumbo (1941) -
Elephant Matriarch/Mrs. Jumbo
Cinderella (1950) - Fairy Godmother
Alice in Wonderland (1951) -
Queen of Hearts
Lady and the Tramp (1955) -
Aunt Sarah
Sleeping Beauty (1959) - Flora
Goliath II (1960) - Eloise
The Jungle Book (1967) -
Winifred the Elephant
"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon--July 1969 A.D--We came in peace for all mankind." -plaque left on the surface of the moon
July 20
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
1971:
Actress Sandra Oh is born in Nepean, Ontario, Canada. Best known for her role of Cristina Yang for 10 seasons on the ABC medical drama series Grey's Anatomy (2005–2014), she also supplied voices for American Dragon: Jake Long, The Proud Family, Phineas and Ferb, and Mulan II. Her live-action Disney/Touchstone credits include The Princess Diaries (2001) and Under the Tuscan Sun (2003).
1978:
Child actor Charlie Korsmo is born in Fargo, North Dakota. His acting roles included The Kid/Dick Tracy, Jr. in the 1990 Dick Tracy, and Siggie, the son of Richard Dreyfuss's character, in the 1991 What About Bob? His handprints appeared in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park. (Korsmo later earned a degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000. He worked for the Environmental Protection Agency, and for the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 2006.)
Recording and performing artist Keaton Simons is born in Los Angeles, California.
His song "And She Was" appears on the soundtrack to Disney's Sky High.
2005:
Actress Alison Fernandez is born in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her role on ABC-TV's Once Upon a Time as Lucy.
Actor and producer Josh Holloway, best known for his roles as James "Sawyer"
Ford on the ABC television series Lost, is born in San Jose, California.
1999:
This Time, the ninth studio album by Los Lobos, is released on Disney's
Hollywood Records.
1967:
Actor Reed Diamond is born in Brooklyn, New York. His Disney/ABC credits include the animated Mighty Ducks (1997), Desperate Housewives (2012), and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014, 2015, 2018).
1962:
Stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, singer, impressionist, producer and screenwriter
Carlos Alazraqui is born in Yonkers, New York. His Disney voice credits include A Bug's Life, Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, Finding Nemo, Toy Story 3, Monsters University, Planes, and Inside Out. His vast Disney television credits include such animated programs as Handy Manny, Mickey and the Roadster Racers, Milo Murphy's Law, Phineas and Ferb, and Sofia the First.
1938:
Actress Diana Rigg is born in Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Best known for her role of Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965–1968), she supplied the voice of Mayor Pink Panda in 3 episodes of the Disney XD series Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero.
1900:
Sylvia Holland, a concept artist, illustrator, and the second woman to become a storyboard artist for Walt Disney Productions, is born in Hampshire, England. Hired by Disney in September 1938, she went on to make contributions to the Pastoral Symphony segment of Fantasia (1940), the Little April Shower
sequence for the 1942 film Bambi, Victory Through Air Power (1943), and the short How to Play Baseball (1942).
Holland was laid off from Disney at the end of WWII, but continued working as an artist until her death in 1974.
1924:
Animator and story artist Tex Henson is born in Dallas, Texas. Beginning his career at Disney in 1944, he is credited with having named Disney's chipmunk duo "Chip 'n' Dale". Henson worked on such films as Song of the South, Pecos Bill, Mickey and the Beanstalk and Peter and the Wolf. (After leaving Disney, Henson moved to Mexico, where he headed up the studio that produced animation for The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, as well as cartoons featuring the characters Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo, and the Trix cereal rabbit.)
1920:
Animator Dick N. Lucas is born in Los Angeles, California. As a character animator, writer and effects animator, his credits included Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, The Aristocats, The Rescuers, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, and The Fox and the Hound.
1994:
"Changing Nature," the seventh episode of the fourth season of the ABC sitcom Dinosaurs, airs as the series finale. The final episode deals with nature being thrown out of balance due to the extinction of a bug species called Bunch Beetles caused by the corrupt company WESAYSO, whom the main character of the series, Earl Sinclair works for. To fix the problem WESAYSO has formed a task force with Earl as chairman in charge of the task force. However, after multiple attempts to fix the problem, Earl only winds up making the problem worse and causes the Ice Age. The television series creators decided to make this finale as a way of ending the series as they knew the show would be canceled when they created season 4. First debuting in April 1991, Dinosaurs was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions and Jim Henson Television in association with Walt Disney Television and distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc.
2022:
The highly anticipated Marvel Avengers Campus opens at Disneyland Paris. The new land allows guests at Walt Disney Studios Park to see their favorite Marvel superheroes and jump into the world of Marvel like never before. The land, which created more than 450 new jobs, feature two new attractions -
SPIDER-MAN W.E.B ADVENTURE and AVENGERS ASSEMBLE: FLIGHT FORCE.
