SEP 14 Disney History

2004:

Disney's Home on the Range is released on DVD.

Actress Brooke Tansley steps into the role of Belle in Disney's Broadway stage show Beauty and the Beast. She is the 14th actress to play the role on Broadway.

2001:

Disneyland turns somber at noon as park guests and

employees stop to remember those lost in the

September 11th terror attacks on this

Day of Prayer and Rememberance.

Michael Eisner addresses several thousand Disney Cast Members gathered around the flag at the Burbank studio. His words include:

"Today I stand here before you without the usual Disney pageantry, but with the usual Disney spirit. I thank you for coming to this plaza to show your support for community and company, your profound sense of compassion, your respect and your unity."

Disney World's "Hurricane Preparedness Plan" enters several phases while a potential major storm works it's way across the Florida region.

All outdoor shows and sporting activities are cancelled. Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground guests are relocated to other Walt Disney World Resort hotels. Later, the nightly New Year's Eve celebration held at Pleasure Island is cancelled again out of respect for the victims of the terrorist attacks.

Today is a Day of Mourning and Commemoration for the victims of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. by the European Union. Disneyland Paris joins the moments of silence organized Europe-wide at noon. For three minutes all attractions close down, the music-broadcast are halted and all Cast Members stop their activities. Guests are informed by an announcement and are asked to join the employees of Disneyland Paris for three minutes of silence to commemorate the victims and express their support.

1928:

Walt Disney (visiting New York) writes a letter to his brother Roy

and animator Ub Iwerks about the next day's recording session for Steamboat Willie. Walt has hired Carl Edouarde - who has led pit orchestras in theaters - to conduct the session. (This first session will be a disaster and Walt will realize that a system to indicate the tempo to which the music should be performed, needs to be developed before it is tried again.)

1955:

The Disneyland television series opens its second season

on ABC with an edited version of the 1941 Dumbo.

Disney's True-Life Adventure The African Lion is released in theaters.

1964:

At the White House, U.S. President

Johnson presents Walt Disney with the

Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest

civil honor. Recipients of the medal are those

who have made outstanding contributions to the

security or national interest of the United States or

to world peace, or those who have made a

significant public or private accomplishment.

Actress Faith Ford, who appears in Disney's 2005 comedy feature The Pacifier, is born in Alexandria, Louisana.

1969:

Disney's long-running weekly television series changes its name (for the

3rd time since its 1954 debut on ABC) to The Wonderful World of Disney.

1980:

The Mickey Mouse Revue, an audio-animatronic indoor stage show located in

Walt Disney World's Fantasyland Theater, closes after nearly 9 years in

operation. (It will be dismantled and shipped to Tokyo Disneyland, making it the

first major Magic Kingdom attraction to leave the Florida park since its opening.)

1984:

Actor Adam Lamberg, David 'Gordo' Gordon on the Disney Channel sitcom Lizzie McGuire, is born in New York City. Lamberg also made a brief appearance in the 2001 film Max Keeble's Big Move.

1985:

Disney's first Saturday morning animated TV shows Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears (on NBC) and Disney's Wuzzles (on CBS) both air.

The Golden Girls, a sitcom produced by Touchstone Television and distributed

by Buena Vista Television, debuts on NBC. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue

McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women who share a Miami, Florida home.

The series will win several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series

twice, during its 7-year run. (All four actresses will be named Disney Legends in 2009.)

1991:

The Main Street Electrical Parade has its final performance at Disney World. This version will be shipped to France to be used at Disneyland Paris.

1993:

The All New Mickey Mouse Club make their recording debut with

the release of their self-titled album MMC. Recorded during the hiatus

of the popular Disney Channel series, MMC features 12 songs and 13 members of the hit show.

1999:

Hurricane Floyd clobbers the Bahamas, toppling power lines and ripping roofs off homes. Meanwhile Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina brace for Floyd (a category 4 hurricane) as people evacuate to the west away from the coast. Even Walt Disney World closes its doors in the afternoon to prepare and ride out the storm. It is the resort's very first unscheduled closing.

2000:

The sounds of salsa, and Latin pop enliven the streets of Downtown Disney Pleasure Island during the sixth annual Latin Rhythm Nights celebration.

2002:

New York's Lion King comes to Dallas at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

All proceeds of this spectacular evening will benefit the children and families of the Ronald

McDonald House of Dallas.

Disney's Fillmore debuts on ABC-TV's morning line-up. The new animated series centers around Safety Patrol Officer Cornelius Fillmore (voiced by actor Orlando Brown).

1937:

Walt Disney screens one thousand feet of his newest animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for RKO executives. They believe the picture will make "plenty of money". (At this time RKO is distributing Disney's cartoons.)

Disneyland's only residents were Owen & Dolly Pope. They were hired in 1951 to put together some livestock for Walt's future park. They first lived in a trailer at the Disney Studio where they raised & trained horses. Three days before Disneyland opened, they moved into the park to run the

Disneyland Pony Farm.

2007:

Walt Disney's Hometown Toonfest kicks off for two days

in Marceline, Missouri.

1997:

The second episode of Muppets Tonight to air on Disney Channel debuts with guest Rick Moranis. (It is the second season of the show - but the first to air on Disney Channel.)

1880:

Earl Hurd, a pioneering American animator and film director, is born in Kansas. Noted for creating and producing the silent Bobby Bumps animated short subject series for early animation producer J.R. Bray's Bray Productions, Hurd also worked at the Walt Disney studio as a storyboard artist.

He helped adapt the story of Snow White for Disney's 1937 animated version.

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