1960:
is born in Pasadena, California. Upon graduating from the California Institute of
the Arts, Ranft began his career at Disney where he worked on such features as The Lion King, Beauty
and the Beast, The Rescuers Down Under, and Oliver & Company. In 1992 he joined Pixar and worked on
the first two Toy Story films, as well as A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and Cars. Ranft also supplied
the speaking voices for such characters as Lenny the binoculars in Toy Story, Heimlich the caterpillar in A Bug's
Life, Wheezy the penguin in Toy Story 2 and Jacques the shrimp in Finding Nemo.
(Sadly a car accident in August 2005 cut short his life.)
1969:
Disney's film The Love Bug, starring Dean Jones, Michele Lee, Buddy
Hackett, and Joe Flynn is generally released. Directed by Robert Stevenson, The Love
Bug had debuted last December 1968. A race car driver becomes a champion driving a Volkswagen
Beetle who has a mind of its own! (The film will be the highest grossing in the U.S. during 1969, and lead
to three sequels and a limited TV series. The movie will also enhance the Volkswagen Beetle's image.)
2005:
Walt Disney Company directors choose President Robert A. Iger to succeed Chief Executive Michael Eisner
(who will remain at the post until September 30).
Walt Disney World's Typhoon Lagoon reopens with the new attraction the
Crush 'n' Gusher water coaster (which will have an official debut 2 days later).
1928:
On a train ride back to California from New York City (with his wife Lillian) Walt Disney
sends his brother and business partner Roy a Western Union telegram that reads:
LEAVING TONITE STOPPING OVER KC ARRIVE HOME SUNDAY MORNING SEVEN
THIRTY DON'T WORRY EVERYTHING OK WILL GIVE DETAILS WHEN ARRIVE
This is in reference to the fact that although the Disney brothers have probably lost their animated creation Oswald the
Rabbit to Charles Mintz (a ruthless producer who Walt had been in negotiations with while in NY City) ...
Walt has a new idea for an animated mouse character.
1936:
The Tulsa Tribune quotes writer Thornton Wilder as telling a lecture audience, "The two presiding geniuses of the movies are Walt Disney and Charlie Chaplin."
1937:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Woodland Cafe is released.
The first cels for Snow White and Seven Dwarfs are sent to the camera department.
1947:
At the 19th Annual Academy Awards (held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles),
the Walt Disney Studio Sound Department wins an Oscar for innovations in locating
noise in sound tracks. Although nominated for Short Subjects, Cartoon - Disney's Squatter's Rights loses to
MGM's The Cat Concerto. (It is the first time the awards are opened to the general public.)
1959:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "Highway to Trouble."
2001:
A 1,500-acre spread of the Disney Wilderness Preserve in Polk County, Florida continues to burn after a power line falls and ignites some brush. The fire affects land donated by the Walt Disney Company to The Nature Conservancy, a non-profit environmental group that is attempting to return some of the pastureland there to its original swamp condition.
2002:
Disney's Broadway show Beauty and the Beast gives its
3,225th performance, making it the tenth longest-running
Broadway show of all time.
2000:
The Omnimover vehicles are removed from the closed Horizons attraction in Epcot.
Since the beginning of this month, the building has been emptied in preparation for demolition. (Mission: SPACE
will take its place.)
Film and musical theatre actor and singer Rex Everhart passes away at age 79 in Branford, Connecticut. He provided the voice of Maurice, Belle's father, in the 1991 musical animated Disney film, Beauty and the Beast.
1900:
Writer & animator Ted Sears is born in Massachusetts (though raised
in New York City). In 1931, Walt Disney hired Sears (away from the Max Fleischer organization) to a
long term contract not as an animator but as a senior writer - the Disney company's first. In the twenty-seven
years that followed, Sears' credits included Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Sleeping Beauty, and the
Disneyland television series. He also co-wrote narration for many of Disney's nature films, such as The
Vanishing Prairie and The Living Desert, with Winston Hibler.
2007:
Hannah Montana kicks off the new D*Concert Series on
Disney XD. The three month concert series will feature
artists such as High School Musical and the Cheetah Girls.
President Harry S Truman
refused to ride Dumbo the
Flying Elephant at
Disneyland because
elephants are a Republican
Party symbol ... and Truman was a Democrat.
1940:
Disney's Pinocchio is released in Argentina.
1930:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon Cannibal Capers, directed by Burt Gillett,
is released.
MARCH 13
MARCH 13
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
Joe Ranft born
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2009:
Disney's live-action Race to Witch Mountain (a "modern re-imagining" of the 1975
Escape to Witch Mountain) is released. Directed by Andy Fickman, the film stars Dwayne Johnson,
Anna Sophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, and Carla Gugino. Making a cameo appearance as a train driver whose
locomotive crashes after it gets caught in "alien crossfire" is Disney chairman Dick Cook. The role is a nod to the fact
that Cook started his career with the company as a monorail and steam locomotive driver at Disneyland in 1970!
A new illuminated "Paradise Pier" sign on the California Screamin' roller coaster
greets guests of Disney's California Adventure for the first time. The sign, installed last night,
reflects the "vintage Disney" themeing that is part of the park's makeover.
The Love Bug released
Mr. Thorndyke: "What part of Ireland did you say your mother came from?"
Tennessee Steinmetz: "Coney, Ireland."
-The Love Bug
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"Perhaps Ted's greatest talent was his own unique brand of humor. It was warm, gentle humor; there was never a barb in it. And his was the key, to Ted's whole personality. He was the kindest man I ever knew. He lived with laughter and without malice." -Winston Hibler
1953:
Writer Ridley Pearson is born in Glen Cove, New York. Raised in in Riverside, Connecticut, he began writing suspense and thriller novels for an adult audience but later branched out by writing adventure books for children. After his daughter asked him how Peter Pan met Captain Hook, Pearson teamed up with his long-time friend humorist Dave Barry to co-author Peter and the Starcatchers, a prequel to Peter Pan. They later produced two further prequels – Peter and the Shadow Thieves and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon. The first novel was adapted as a play, Peter and the Starcatcher, written by Rick Elice, which premiered on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in early 2012.
Pearson has also written novels set inside Walt Disney World called The Kingdom Keepers, in which five teenagers battle the Overtakers—the evil Disney villains—to keep the parks safe. They include - Book 1: The Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark (2005) which takes place in the Magic Kingdom; Book 2: The Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn (2008) which takes place in the Animal Kingdom; Book 3: The Kingdom Keepers: Disney in Shadow (2010) which takes place in Epcot; Book 4: The Kingdom Keepers: Power Play (2011) which takes place in Disney's Hollywood Studios; Book 5: The Kingdom Keepers: Shell Game (2012) which takes place on the cruise ship—Disney Dream; Book 6: The Kingdom Keepers: Dark Passage (2013) which also takes place on the Disney Dream; and Book 7: The Kingdom Keepers: The Insider (2014) which ends the series in Disneyland. Pearson continued the series with a spin-off The Return: Disney Lands (2015). Pearson has made public appearances in the theme parks and on Disney cruise ships.
MAR
MAR
1944:
Carol Farris, the last performer to play Space Girl at Disneyland, is born in Kansas City,
Missouri. In the early years of Disneyland, there were live performers that were associated with particular areas of the
park. Tomorowland featured Space Man and Space Girl who greeted guests. Farris played Space Girl at Disneyland for
approximately a year and a half until late 1965.
"When I think of my time at Disney not one particular thing stands out, it is all remembered as great fun." -Carol Farris
March 13
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
2015:
Cinderella, a live-action romantic fantasy film
directed by Kenneth Branagh, and distributed
by Walt Disney Pictures, is released. Inspired by
the fairy tale "Cinderella" by Charles Perrault, it borrows
many elements from the 1950 Disney animated film of the
same name. The cast includes Cate Blanchett as the
Stepmother (also known as Lady Tremaine), Lily James as
Cinderella, Richard Madden as the Prince, and Helena
Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother.
Released along with the feature is the animated short
Frozen Fever. A sequel to the 2013 feature film Frozen, it
tells the story of Anna's birthday party.
2016:
Season 3 of the animated series Avengers Assemble kicks off with the episode "Adapting to Change."
1972:
Rapper, actor, writer Common is born Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn in Illinois. He played Coach Cal in the 2012 film The Odd Life of Timothy Green and supplies the voice of Kiburi in the animated series The Lion Guard.
Actress and voice artist Leigh-Allyn Baker is born in Murray, Kentucky. Disney Channel fans recognize her for her role of Amy Duncan on the sitcom Good Luck Charlie. She also appeared in various episodes of Hannah Montana, So Random!, and Dog with a Blog. In 2015 Baker played Liz Morgan in the Disney Channel Original Movie Bad Hair Day. Her Disney television voice credits include Jake and the Never Land Pirates, The 7D, Mickey and the Roadster Racers, and Star vs. the Forces of Evil.
2020:
Stargirl, a drama film based on the novel of the same name by Jerry Spinelli, debuts
on Disney+. The film explores the tense emotions, non-conformity and self-expression of teenagers in high school,
and the exuberance of first love. Directed by Julia Hart, it features Grace VanderWaal as Susan "Stargirl" Caraway.
Walt Disney Records releases Stargirl: Original Soundtrack, featuring composer Rob Simonsen.
The Lights, Motors, Action!: Extreme Stunt Show in Walt Disney Studios Park (known as Moteurs... Action!: Stunt Show Spectacular) closes. Running at Disneyland Paris since March 2002,
it revolved around a series of energetic stunts featuring automobiles (similar to the one that had been running at
Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida).
1956:
Actress Dana Delany is born in New York City. Her ABC credits include the soap opera mystery comedy-drama Desperate Housewives as Katherine, the medical-drama Body of Proof as Doctor Hunt, and the crime-drama Castle as Special Agent Jordan Shaw. Delany also appeared in the 1993 Hollywood Pictures western Tombstone.
2021:
Soul wins Favorite Animated Movie at the 34th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.
1901:
Character actor Paul Fix is born in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Best known for his role on the Western series The Rifleman (1958-1963), he appeared on two episodes of The Magical World of Disney television show. Fix portrayed Vern Padgett in "Secrets of Pirates Inn" (1969) and Cap'n Pierre in "Bayou Boy" (1971). Appearing in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career, his credits include episodes of Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Star Trek, and Barnaby Jones.
