1909:
One of Walt's "Nine Old Men," he started his career, at just 16 years of age, in the art department of the
Oakland Post Enquirer (later called the Oakland Tribune) doing pasteups, layouts and spot cartoons - for $25 a week. Kahl first joined the Walt Disney Studios at age 25 in June 1934. Over the next 42
years he helped bring to life such classics as Pinocchio, Bambi, Song of the South, Alice In
Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, Robin Hood, and The Rescuers.
2005:
Disney's On The Record - a touring musical revue -
begins a series of performances in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Kim Possible Soundtrack, Disney's Karaoke Series: Kim Possible, Radio Disney Jams 7, and Disney's Fairy Tale Wedding Album are all released on Walt Disney Records.
1935:
Disney's 50th Silly Symphony cartoon The Golden Touch (directed by Walt Disney and animated by Norm Ferguson & Fred Moore) is released. Greedy King Midas is granted his wish that everything he touches turns to gold. But his wish turns sour when everyone and everything he loves - including food - turns to gold as well!
1970:
The Wonderful World of Disney presents "Disneyland Showtime," featuring The Osmond Brothers, Kurt Russell, Kids of the Kingdom, The Sound Castle, and The Dapper Dans. The new Haunted Mansion attraction (opened since August 1969) is the setting for this TV overview of the park's musical attractions.
1975:
The Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, an
area of shops along the shores of Lake Buena
Vista at Walt Disney World, officially opens. It
provides the first non-park shopping at Disney World and is
promoted as a "restful shopping atmosphere similar to a New
England seaside village." Among the shops are the Bath
Parlour, Captain’s Tower, Gourmet Pantry, It’s a Small
World After All shop, 2Rs—Read’n & Rite’n, and Posh Pets.
(The area will be renamed Walt Disney World Village in 1977
before being re-christened Disney Village Marketplace in
1989, and finally Downtown Disney Marketplace in 1997.)
Film director, story artist and writer Nathan Greno, best known for co-directing the 2010 animated film Tangled, is born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Hired by Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1996, his credits include Mulan, Brother Bear, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt, and Tangled Ever After.
1987:
The Wonderful World of Disney airs the 1971 Disney feature
"Bedknobs and Broomsticks."
1998:
In Anaheim, California, the Grand Hotel, located just east of Harbor Blvd on
Freedman Way, is imploded at 6:45 a.m. by Controlled Demolition, Incorporated in a
blast that lasts just over twenty seconds. A crowd of about 200 spectators watch from the Santa Ana
freeway's Freedman Way off ramp. Other spectators observe the building's destruction from their rooms in the
Disneyland and Disneyland Pacific Hotels, and even atop the Matterhorn. The Grand was once a first class, 242
room, high-rise hotel across the street from Disneyland. The metal components of the building will be recycled, and
the concrete will be pulverized on-site to form the base of the new Disneyland Pumbaa Parking Lot.
1999:
Elton John appears on TV's The Tonight Show, promoting Disney's Broadway show Aida (which will debut in 2000), for which he has written the music.
"It was a romance from the start.
The minute you know you can
make a drawing move, the static
drawing loses its appeal:
movement is life. Animation
represents the greatest
breakthrough in 20th Century art."
-Disney Legend Wolfgang 'Woolie'
Reitherman (one of Walt's
"Nine Old Men")
1912:
Actor Wilfrid Brambell, who portrayed Willie Bannock in Disney's 1964
The Three Lives of Thomasina and Bill Gaye in Disney's 1962
In Search of the Castaways, is born in Dublin, Ireland.
(Beatle fans know him best as "Paul's grandfather" in A Hard Day's Night.)
MARCH 22
MARCH 22
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
Milt Kahl
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2009:
Typhoon Lagoon, Walt Disney World's 56-acre water park reopens
after being closed for refurbishment.
Disney's 2008 animated Bolt is released to Blu-ray.
1985:
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, a film about an American couple who find a
family of surviving Apatosaurs (Brontosaurus) in Central Africa, is released. It is
Disney's Touchstone Pictures third release and features the music of Jerry Goldsmith. The film stars William
Katt, Sean Young, and Patrick McGoohan.
2006:
The "Happiest Balloon On Earth" takes to the air for the very first time in Pendleton,
Oregon at Wildhorse Resort. The test flight lasts an hour and is captured on video from the ground and a
following helicopter. Celebrating Disneyland's 50th anniversary, the 100-foot tall Mickey-shaped balloon (also
known as "Ear Force One") will officially begin an 11-week tour in Tucson, Arizona on March 30.
Actor and television producer Britt Lomond passes away at age 80 in California. He
played the role of Capitán Monastario in the first season of Disney's Zorro.
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"Milt was a fantastic animator and perhaps my closest friend at the studio." -Marc Davis
"He (Milt Kahl) would talk about work ethic and if he saw you were trying hard, it didn't even matter if you kind of stunk, if you were really trying your hardest ... he didn't like lazy people." -animator Brad Bird
"Animation requires a pretty good draftsman because you've got to turn things, to be able to draw well enough to turn things at every angle. You have to understand movement, which in itself is quite a study." -Milt Kahl
1947:
Voice actor and impressionist Tony Pope is born near Cleveland, Ohio. He did a parade of
voices for the Little Golden Books-and-Records series and the classic Disney read-alongs. His Disneyland Records
work led to voicing Goofy for eleven years in films & shorts (such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Sport Goofy in Soccermania), theme park rides, and TV cartoons.
MAR
MAR
1972:
Disney releases The Biscuit Eater to theaters. Based on a novel by James H. Street, the film tells the
story of two Georgia boys; Lonnie (played by Johnny Whitaker) and Text (George Spell), who ignore their racial
differences to team up and befriend a feral German Wirehaired Pointer named Moreover. The Biscuit Eater also
features Earl Holliman and Pat Crowley (as Lonnie's parents).
March 22
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
2018:
Frozen The Broadway Musical officially opens at the St. James Theatre in New
York City. The musical features Patti Murin as Anna, Caissie Levy as Elsa, Jelani Alladin as Kristoff,
John Riddle as Hans, and Greg Hildreth as Olaf.
2002:
Sorority Boys, a comedy film directed by Wallace Wolodarsky, about a group of college boys who dress up as girls in order to prove their innocence for a crime they did not commit, is released by Touchstone Pictures. Starring Barry Watson, Michael Rosenbaum, and Harland Williams, it is distributed by Buena Vista Pictures.
1976:
Actress Reese Witherspoon is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. For Disney, she played
Nonnie Parker in the 1993 film A Far Off Place and Mrs. Whatsit in the 2018 feature A Wrinkle in Time.
Best known for her starring roles in Legally Blonde and and Walk the Line, her Touchstone Pictures credits
include Sweet Home Alabama.
1996:
Touchstone Pictures releases the film Little Indian, Big City. A successful Parisian businessman, Stephan Marchado, travels deep into a South American rain forest to obtain a divorce agreement from his wife, Patricia, only to find that he has a young son who has been raised among the natives and given an Indian name, Mimi-Siku. Stephan is coerced into taking the mischievous lad back to Paris, creating a major culture clash that turns Stephan’s well-ordered life upside down. Disney will remake this film in 1997 and call it Jungle 2 Jungle, starring Tim Allen.
1971:
Actor, comedian, writer and producer Keegan-Michael Key is born in Southfield, Michigan. His Disney credits include The Lion King (2019) as the voice of Kamari and Toy Story 4 as the voice of Ducky. Key also appeared in the live-action feature films Tomorrowland and Mr. 3000.
1952:
Sportscaster Bob Costas is born in Queens, New York. Known for his play-by-play and interviews, he voiced an animated car version of himself, Bob Cutlass, in the movies Cars (2006) and Cars 3 (2017).
1994:
The Brian Setzer Orchestra, the first studio album from the swing revival band led by guitarist/singer Brian Setzer, is released on Disney's Hollywood Records. A mix of swing, jump blues, rock, and rockabilly, the 12 tracks include such standards as "Route 66" and "Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" and the new Setzer-penned tunes "Lady Luck" and "Ball and Chain". First formed in 1990 by Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer, BSO will go on to release multiple albums and even take part in the 2005 Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade.
1955:
Actress Lena Olin is born in Stockholm, Sweden. She played the role of Irina Derevko in
27 episodes of ABC's Alias (2002–2006).
2011:
Actress of stage, screen, and television Helen Stenborg passes away at age 86 in New York City. She had a small role in Disney's live action/animated musical fantasy romantic comedy Enchanted (2007).
1931:
Actor, author, and film director William Shatner is born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His Disney voice roles include Kazar, the main antagonist of The Wild, and Jason of the Argonauts in the
Hercules episode "Hercules and the Argonauts." In January 1995, Shatner appeared on the cover of Disney Adventures magazine. (In his seven decades of acting, Shatner has become a cultural icon for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise.)
2021:
Cast members celebrate the grand reopening of Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort.
Disney’s All-Star Movies resort, along with all the other Disney resorts, all shut down last March 2020 during the Covid pandemic.
1913:
Character actor James Westerfield is born in Nashville, Tennessee. He played the role of Police Officer Hanson in the Disney films The Shaggy Dog (1959), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), and Son of Flubber (1963). He later played the role of a sheriff in the western Smith! (1969). (You may recognize him from such feature films as On The Waterfront, Birdman of Alcatraz, and True Grit.)
