2003:
Disney's Finding Nemo is released to DVD in a
2-disc Collector's Edition and to VHS.
"Goodbye (Part 1)," the first new episode of the Touchstone/ABC sitcom
8 Simple Rules, since the sudden death of actor John Ritter, airs.
In its second season, the first 3 episodes had already been filmed prior to Ritter's sudden death on
September 11, 2003.
1895:
Ben Sharpsteen, Disney Legend, animator, and the co-director of many Disney films
including Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo, is born in Tacoma, Washington.
James Patton "Jack" King, an animator and short film director, is born in Birmingham, Alabama. Relocating to the West Coast of the U.S., he joined the Disney studio in June 1929 as an animator.
King's credits include several Silly Symphony and Donald Duck animated shorts.
2005:
Chicken Little opens in theaters. A computer-generated imagery animated film, it was created in-house at Walt Disney Feature Animation's main headquarters in Burbank, California. Loosely based on the fable "The Sky Is Falling," the film's voice cast includes Zach Braff (as Chicken Little), Joan Cusack (as Abigail "Abby" Mallard/The Ugly Duckling), Steve Zahn (as Runt of the Litter), Garry Marshall (as Buck "Ace" Cluck), Don Knotts (as Turkey Lurkey), Fred Willard (as Melvin), Catherine O'Hara (as Tina), Amy Sedaris (as Foxy Loxy), Wallace Shawn (as Principal Fetchit), Patrick Warburton (as Alien Cop), and Adam West (as Ace). The 46th Disney animated feature film, Chicken Little is directed by Mark Dindal from a screenplay by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Ron Anderson, based on a story by Mark Kennedy and Dindal. The film is dedicated to Disney artist and writer Joe Grant, who died before the film's release. In its opening weekend, Chicken Little will debut at #1, being the first Disney animated film to do so since Dinosaur. (Chicken Little is actually Disney's second adaptation of the fable, as a propaganda cartoon short was made during World War II.)
1916:
Legendary newsman Walter Cronkite, the second voice of Epcot's Spaceship Earth, is
born in St. Joseph, Missouri. He also appeared in the 1981 TV special Walt Disney: One Man's Dream
and the 1989 broadcast of the opening of Disney-MGM Studios. Cronkite appeared and narrated Back To
Neverland a film about animation featuring Robin Williams and Disney’s Animators that was originally shown in
Disney-MGM Studios at Disney World. To promote TRON’s 1982 release, Cronkite recorded a segment about the
film’s cutting-edge special effects for his science-related summer series Universe. (Best known as anchorman for
the CBS Evening News for 19 years, Cronkite was often cited as "the most trusted man in America.")
1918:
Actor Art Carney, best known for his role of Ed Norton on TV's classic sitcom The
Honeymooners, is born in Mount Vernon, New York. His Disney credits include the
1976 TV special Christmas in Disneyland and the 1985 Disney Channel Premiere Film The Blue Yonder.
Red Cross volunteer Walt Disney returns to Camp Scott after recuperating at home
from influenza. (An influenza epidemic will soon spread throughout the world.) Camp Scott is a Red Cross
training facility located near the University of Chicago. Upon arrival though, Walt is sent by train to Camp King in Connecticut, to await transport to France. He will be part of Company A of the Automotive and Mechanical
Section. (The world war will end before Walt ever reaches France.)
1938:
Disney's Donald Duck cartoon Donald's Golf Game is released. Directed by Jack King, Donald needs silence to concentrate on his golf game, but his nephews (who have been pressed into duty as caddies) have noisy plans of their own!
1940:
Daisy Duck makes her first appearance in print in the
Donald Duck Sunday strip - drawn by Al Taliaferro.
1949:
Disney releases the Pluto short Sheep Dog. Pluto must protect his sheep against hungry coyotes!
1955:
The Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Talent Round-Up Day.
Also shown is the first episode of The Adventures of Spin and Marty serial.
1962:
The NBC-TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs part 2 of "Sammy, the Way-Out Seal."
1983:
Disney's Five Mile Creek (a live-action television series about a stagecoach line in
the wilds of 19th Century Australia) debuts on the Disney Channel with two
episodes - "Making Tracks" and "Horses for Courses."
1990:
The American Teacher Awards is first aired on Disney Channel.
Animator William "Hicks" Lokey passes away at age 86 in California. He worked at Walt Disney Productions (1940–41), where he provided character animation for the "Pink Elephants on Parade" segment in Dumbo and "The Dance of the Hours" in Fantasia. He spent the rest of his career at Hanna-Barbera.
1991:
the Disney Studios as a precision machinist in 1939. A 50-year veteran of the Disney Company, Broggie's
mechanical ability touched many Disneyland and World's Fair attractions. Broggie built everything from steam
engine trains to electronic robots that could sing and dance.
1994:
The first Walt Disney Gallery opens at MainPlace in Santa Ana, California.
2001:
The staff of Disney Magazine don their Mary Poppins outfits for the East
Coast premiere of the film's sing-along at the Northampton Film Festival.
The sixty-fourth episode of Disney's Recess, "Kurst the Not So Bad/League
of Randalls" premieres on UPN and in syndication.
2002:
The ABC Soap Opera Bistro at Disney's California Adventure (opened since February 2001) closes.
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2006:
Disney: The Music Behind The Magic - a 2-day event including seminars and
rare artifacts - begins at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington.
The design of Walt Disney World's
is based on
California's
Del Coronado Hotel
(pictured right) -
the largest beach
resort on the North American
Pacific Coast!
1950:
Actor John Vickery, the original Scar in Disney's Broadway musical The Lion King, is born in Alameda, California. (Sci-fi fans know him for his Star Trek role of Rusot.)
1944:
Linda Gary, one of the most popular voice-over artists in the modern era of animation, is
born in California. Among her credits are Disney's Darkwing Duck, DuckTales and TaleSpin. (The bulk of Gary's work was with the Filmation Studio -
voicing characters in several TV series such as Web Woman and The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!)
This time the sky really is falling.
2004:
It is reported that Brooke Tansley, who started her run in Disney's Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast on September 14th,
will continue as Belle through May 1. Tansley was originally scheduled to depart in January.
The Hollywood Holly-Day Parade debuts at Disney-MGM Studios.
NOVEMBER 4
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
NOVEMBER 4
N
O
V
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1982:
Walt Disney World Eyes & Ears reports on a new resort -
Cypress Point Lodge will be a medium-sized hotel facility, located on the south shore of Bay Lake near our Fort
Wilderness Campground Resort. Encompassing 550 rooms and 50 log cabins on the beach, Cypress Point Lodge
will offer a romantic notion of a turn-of-the-century hunting lodge secluded in a deep forest. Neither the trees
nor the buildings dominate the entire area; but blend together in a natural harmony.. One can almost hear the
crackling fireplace and feel the large wooden beams offer a haven of security and comfort.
This hotel will never be built ... but years later the Wilderness Lodge will.
Chicken Little opens
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"Can Do Machine Works / Mechanical Wonders / Live Steam Engines / Magical Illusions / Cameras / Roger Broggie, Shopmaster / Advisor to the Magic Makers"
-Roger Broggie's Disneyland window on Main Street USA
Walter Cronkite born
2009:
It is reported that The Walt Disney Company has gotten the green light from
Chinese authorities to build one of its theme parks in Shanghai.
A Christmas Carol, the soundtrack for the 2009 film of the same name, is released
on Walt Disney Records. The music has been composed by Alan Silvestri and orchestrated by William Ross, Conrad Pope and John Ashton Thomas.
"Walt and I shared the same hometown of Kansas City, and went to the same elementary school. Although a generation separated us, he
became an early hero of mine. There were many who saw a resemblance betwen us. Not that he would have approved, by an means, but I
once impersonated him." -Walter Cronkite
Today is Use Your Common Sense Day
1879:
Will Rogers, a cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, social
commentator and motion picture actor, is born William Penn
Adair Rogers in what is today Oklahoma.
Rogers loved the sport of polo, and it was on the polo fields of Hollywood where he met
and became friends with Walt Disney. Before making Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
Disney considered a production of Rip Van Winkle that would have had a live-action Will
Rogers interacting with animated characters. Disney even went as far as sending
animators, including Grim Natwick, Art Babbitt, and Bill Tytla, to Rogers' Santa Monica ranch to sketch
him in action. Disney was also planning on using a caricature of Rogers in the 1936 animated short Mickey’s Polo
Team. Unfortunately, Rogers died tragically in an airplane accident in August 1935 at the age of 55, resulting in his
caricature being removed.
Many years later, the character of Will Rogers was considered for one of 3 Audio-Animatronic hosts for the Epcot
attraction, The American Adventure. Along with Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain, Rogers would have been the
spokesman for the 20th century (or 1900s) portion of the show. Imagineers designed an Audio-Animatronics
figure that can actually spin a rope and Will Rogers Jr., the son of Rogers, supplied the voice of his famous
father! Unfortunately Rogers was dropped as a host before The American Adventure premiered, but he does appear
briefly in the "Early 20th Century" segment of the show (pictured above).
1995:
Jennings Osborne's lights arrive on Walt Disney World property for the very first time.
Trucked in from Osborne's home in Arkansas (in four 18-wheel Mayflower Moving Vans), three teams of
technicians will work 'round the clock for three weeks straight to get the lights up along Residential Street at
Disney-MGM Studios. The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights will officially premiere on November 24.
2000:
The sixty-first episode of Disney's Recess, "The Principals of Golf/All the Principal's
Men" premieres on ABC-TV. Martin Mull guests stars as the voice of Principal Paul Prickly in "The
Principals of Golf."
November 4
2014:
The animated comedy adventure Planes: Fire & Rescue lands on Disney Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand
platforms. A follow-up to last year's Planes, the voice cast includes Dane Cook as Dusty Crophopper and Ed Harris as Blade Ranger.
2016:
It is reported that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has received federal permission to
fly drones over its theme parks. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a waiver recently allowing Disney to use drones through November 2020. Disney will fly drones for entertainment purposes, including
fireworks shows.
The film Doctor Strange, produced by Marvel
Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures, is released in the U.S. World premiering
last October in Hong Kong, the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as
neurosurgeon Stephen Strange. After a tragic car accident leaves his
hands permanently impaired, thus destroying his career, famed
neurosurgeon Stephen Strange travels to the farthest corners of the
world to find a cure. He crosses paths with The Ancient One, who
opens up worlds to the doctor he had only dreamed of, teaching him
the secrets of a hidden world of mysticism and alternate
dimensions. The films also stars Tilda Swinton (The Ancient One), Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer), Mads Mikkelsen (kaecilius), Benedict Wong (Wong), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Baron Karl Mordo).
Jean-Jacques Perrey, co-composer of the "Baroque Hoedown," which was made
famous when it was first used for Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade, dies
at age 87 in Switzerland. The French native was an early pioneer of electronic music as one of the first
musicians to use the Moog synthesizer. Perrey's music has been used for versions of the parade at Disney parks
around the world, and it can be heard in parts of the music for Disneyland’s "Paint the Night" parade as well.
On Air, a compilation album by the British rock band Queen, is released in the U.S. by Disney's Hollywood Records as a two disc CD format, a six disc deluxe CD format and a 3LP vinyl release. The various versions feature live recordings of some of the band's biggest hits.
2017:
The Houston Astros are honored with a parade at Walt Disney World.
Days after winning their first-ever World Series, the heroes of the championship team are featured in a
magical celebration at the Magic Kingdom. Outfielder George Springer, second baseman Jose Altuve and
shortstop Carlos Correa are honored in a morning victory parade down Main Street, U.S.A.
2018:
Mickey's 90th Spectacular, a two-hour primetime event celebrating 90 years of
Mickey Mouse, airs on ABC-TV. From the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, the elegant
affair features star-studded musical performances, moving tributes and never-before-seen short films.
1998:
Actress Darcy Rose Byrnes is born in Burbank, California. She is the voice of
Princess Amber on the Disney animated series Sofia the First.
1988:
Touchstone Pictures releases The Good Mother, starring Diane Keaton and directed by Leonard Nimoy. A Boston woman's (Keaton) ex-husband sues for custody of their daughter after an incident over her live-in lover (played by Liam Neeson).
1957:
Animator Norm Ferguson passes away at age 55 in California. A central contributor to Disney's stylistic development in the 1930s, he is most frequently noted for his contribution to the creation of Pluto, one of the studio's best-known and most enduring characters. After starting at the studio in 1929 as a cameraman, Ferguson switched to the animation department and rose rapidly, despite a lack of formal art training. His credits included such features as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, and Peter Pan. Ferguson will posthumously receive the industry's Winsor McCay Award in 1987 and inducted as a Disney Legend in 1999,
1925:
Actress, author, and philanthropist Doris Roberts is born in St. Louis, Missouri. With a career spanning seven decades of television and film, her Disney/ABC credits include Lizzie McGuire, The Middle, Grey's Anatomy, Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension, and Melissa & Joey. (From 1996-2005, she played Raymond Barone's mother, Marie Barone, on the long-running CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.)
2021:
Winnie The Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation opens at at the newly renamed Hundred Acre Wood Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street) in New York City.
Produced by Rockefeller Productions in association with Disney Theatrical Productions, the show features a three-foot-tall Pooh and his very talented puppeteer pal who are joined by Christopher Robin and their Hundred Acre Wood friends (Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Owl and Tigger too!) along with puppeteer counterparts. The musical is scheduled to run through at least the end of January 2022.
