1955:
Disneyland airs the episode "Behind the True-Life Cameras: Olympic Elk,"
the making of the films Secrets of Life and The African Lion, on ABC-TV.
1959:
Stand-up comedian, impressionist, and television/voice actor Dave Coulier is
born in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Most famous for the role of Joey Gladstone on the sitcom
Full House, his Disney Channel credits include The Thirteenth Year and The Even Stevens Movie. His
ABC-TV credits include both the series America's Funniest People and The World's Funniest Videos.
2004:
AOL Music First View hosts the online premiere of Clay Aiken's "Proud Of Your
Boy" music video. The song was originally composed for Aladdin and was recovered from the Disney
vault for the film's 2-disc special edition DVD (to be released October 5).
Hollywood Records releases This Is My Time, the third album by singer/actress
Raven-Symoné (of Disney Channel's That's So Raven).
The hot days of summer are behind us and each day
is shorter than the last.
1945:
Disney's Goofy short Hockey Homicide, directed by Jack Kinney, premieres.
Fans clobber each other while rooting for their favorite hockey teams.
1947:
Walt Disney appears on a live radio broadcast of The Edgar Bergen-
Charlie McCarthy Show. Walt promotes his newest animated picture, Fun and Fancy
Free - which features Bergen, in live-action sequences, as the narrator of the Mickey and the
Beanstalk segment. (Bergen is an actor and popular radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.)
1951:
Disney's Pluto cartoon Cold Turkey is released. Directed by Charles Nichols, Pluto and
Milton the cat feud over a roast turkey they plan on cooking.
1996:
IllumiNations 25, a new show to celebrate Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary,
debuts at Epcot (although it will have an official premiere in October).
1998:
Infoseek and Walt Disney announce that their Internet portal site will be called
GO NETWORK. The companies expect to launch it before December. (A portal site
is an all-purpose Web page from which users can get onto the Internet as well as take advantage of
functions such as e-mail and chat groups.)
2001:
Marceline, Missouri, the small mid-western town that Walt Disney used as his model
for Main Street USA hosts his 100th birthday celebration starting today.
A spokesman confirms that the Bass family of Texas has sold a sizeable chunk, 135
million shares, of their stake in the Walt Disney Company. The sale generates about
$2 billion at about $15 a share.
650 Walt Disney World volunteer Cast Members do their part in
support of a multi-network two-hour TV broadcast to benefit victims
of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Disney World reservations phone system is used as part
of the network to take calls of people wanting to donate money. More than 40,000 calls are received by Disney
staffers alone, helping contribute to the 150 million dollars collected.
The Proud Family, an animated sitcom, premieres on Disney Channel as does the
Lizzie McGuire episode "The Untitled Stan Jansen Project".
Share a Dream Come True Parade has a soft opening at the Magic Kingdom park in
Walt Disney World. Part of the 100 Years of Magic Celebration, it will officially debut on October 1. It will later
be renamed Disney Dreams Come True Parade in 2006, and Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade in 2009.
2002:
The city of Marceline, Missouri, hosts the 4th annual Walt Disney's Hometown Toonfest.
Actress Isabella Blake-Thomas is born in London, England. She appeared in 2 episodes of ABC's Once Upon a Time.
1909:
Ruth Patricia Shellhorn is born in Los Angeles, California. By 1955 she was a landscape
architect working in South Pasadena. Some three months before the opening of Disneyland, Walt asked her to
contribute her talents to his new theme park. She served as liaison between the Disney Studios and the hired
designers and was responsible for Town Square, Main Street, the Plaza, and eventually other areas of the park
including Frontierland.
1904:
Science fiction writer Alexander H. Key is born in La Plata, Maryland. His 1968 novel
Escape to Witch Mountain was adapted into a film of the same name by Walt Disney Productions in 1975. The film
was followed by two sequels, the theatrically released Return from Witch Mountain (1978) and the 60-minute TV
movie Beyond Witch Mountain (1982). As he did in Escape to Witch Mountain, Key often wrote about children with
extraordinary mental abilities; as in his award-winning 1965 novel The Forgotten Door.
Fantasia premiered at the
Broadway Theater in New York
in 1940 ... the same theater
previously known as the
Colony, where Steamboat
Willie had opened in 1928!
1994:
Apple Computer begins sponsorship of EPCOT's Innoventions East.
Disney releases Aladdin on LaserDisc.
1997:
Actress Heather Locklear guest stars on a Disney Channel episode of
Muppets Tonight.
SEPTEMBER 21
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
SEPTEMBER 21
 | ||||
| ||||
1912:
Animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films
Chuck Jones is born in Spokane, Washington. Best known for his Looney Tunes and Merrie
Melodies shorts for Warner Brothers, Jones actually worked at Disney Studios in 1953. He was teamed up with
Ward Kimball for a four month period of uncredited work on Sleeping Beauty.
"Disney’s was to animation what Griffith was to live action. Almost all the tools were discovered at Disney’s. They were the only ones who
had the money, and who could and did take the time to experiment." -Chuck Jones
1986:
The Golden Girls (a sitcom produced by Disney's Touchstone Television and
distributed by Buena Vista Television) wins 3 Emmy Awards. The show itself wins for
Outstanding Comedy Series, the Outstanding Lead Actress award goes to Betty White, and Barry Fanaro &
Mort Nathan are awarded for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series.
The Golden Girls win Emmys
Chuck Jones born
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SEASON 2 EPISODE 2
2010:
Tinker Bell receives the 2,418th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the same day as
the DVD release of Disney's Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. Tinker Bell first
became a Disney character in the 1953 animated film Peter Pan and was later featured in the opening of the long-
running Disney anthology television series. Tinker Bell joins Kermit the Frog, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow
White and Winnie the Pooh with stars on the Walk of Fame.
Private cabanas open at Castaway Cay, Disney's island in the Bahamas. Each cabana is
furnished with cushioned chairs, lounge chairs, a dining table, a refrigerator, a locked storage unit, outside fresh
water shower and shade on the front deck.
Fans relive some of Pleasure Island’s glory days when former members of Disney’s
Comedy Warehouse perform together at the Orlando Improv Festival. Brian Bradley, Mark
Daniel, Lisa Glaze, Matt Horohoe, Robby Pigott and John Telfer take the stage for "Island Time" - some of the old
set-ups used at the late, lamented Comedy Warehouse (once located at Disney's Pleasure Island, Florida).
A Year Without Rain, the second studio album by American band Selena Gomez & the Scene, is released through Hollywood Records.
2009:
Disney launches the Toy Story Mania! Wii game - the first video game to be based on
a Disney theme park ride.
1969:
NBC-TV airs part 1 of the The Wonderful World of Disney episode My Dog, The Thief.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to IllumiNations 25 - a celebration of the magic that
you, our 25th Anniversary Guests of Honor, have brought to Walt Disney World for 25 magical years. Join
us now as the countries of World Showcase welcome all of you to our worldwide family."
"Even at the time of my introduction to the project in March (1955), there were no buildings started in
Tomorrowland, just one in Frontierland, and only parts of the Main Street section and the Castle were in evidence." -Ruth Shellhorn
September 21 is International Day of Peace ...
... also unofficially known as World Peace Day
2012:
Thousands gather at the Disneyland Resort to witness the historic flyover of the
Space Shuttle Endeavour as it makes its final flight toward its new home in
Southern California. Over the last three days, Endeavour made its way from Kennedy Space Center
in Florida to Los Angeles, bolted to the top of a modified Boeing 747. Walt Disney World guests had caught
a glimpse of the retired space shuttle over the Florida skies on September 19.
September 21
"I called up Walt Disney and asked him if I could come over there for a while. He said,
‘Sure, come on over.’ I was there for four months." -animator Chuck Jones
1943:
Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer, a film and television producer, is born in Detroit,
Michigan. Regarded in the industry as one of the most successful movie producers of all time, his Touchstone
and Disney credits include Remember the Titans, Coyote Ugly, Armageddon, the Pirates of the Caribbean series,
the National Treasure franchise, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Little Rock philanthropist Jennings Osborne, whose losing battle with neighbors over
his 3.2 million-light Christmas display reached the nation's highest court, is born in Arkansas What started as a relatively modest display in 1986 grew to 3.2 million lights in 1993. Arkansas' highest court declared the display a nuisance and ordered Osborne to take the lights down. Undaunted, Osborne strung his lights in Little Rock's downtown River Market District and in dozens of other Arkansas cities. He went on to provide light displays for Walt Disney World and Graceland. The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights lit up Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida starting in 1995. Initially constructed as a gift for his six-year-old daughter, the display became one of the most popular attractions during the park's holiday season.
2014:
Season 2 of Disney Channel's comedy series Liv and Maddie debuts with the
episode "Premiere-a-Rooney."
1949:
Irene Mecchi, a writer for television, movies, newspapers, and Broadway,
is born in San Francisco, California. She began working for Disney in March 1992, when she wrote Recycle Rex, an animated short film which later won the 1994 Environmental Media Award. She is also the
co-screenwriter of such Disney animated movies as The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Fantasia 2000. (Mecchi is the co-writer of the 2018 blockbuster remake of A Star is Born.)
2011:
Season 3 of the ABC-TV sitcom Modern Family kicks off with the episode "Dude Ranch."
ABC debuts the drama series Revenge (inspired by Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel "The Count of Monte Cristo"). Wealth, beauty and status define the people who live in the Hamptons, NY. But one woman seeking revenge could destroy it all. The series stars Madeleine Stowe, Emily VanCamp, Gabriel Mann, and Henry Czerny. (Revenge will run for 4 seasons.)
2016:
Season 8 of the ABC-TV sitcom Modern Family kicks off with the episode
"A Tale of Three Cities."
Season 4 of "The Goldbergs" premieres on ABC with the episode "Breakfast Club." In this tribute to the 1985 film "The Breakfast Club," the Goldberg kids are sent to Saturday detention while Mom Beverly gets her teaching certification but is subsequently demoted to sub-janitor.
ABC kicks off season 3 of the sitcom Black-ish with the episode "VIP."
2005:
Season 2 of the drama series Lost kicks off on ABC with the episode
"Man of Science, Man of Faith." Containing elements of supernatural and science fiction, the
series follows the survivors of a commercial jet airliner flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, after the plane crashes on a mysterious island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean.
1944:
Cinematographer and director of film & television Caleb Deschanel is born Joseph Caleb Deschanel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His Disney cinematographer credits include
National Treasure (2003) and The Lion King (2019). (He is the father of actresses Emily and Zooey Deschanel.)
2006:
Season 3 of the medical drama series Grey's Anatomy premieres on ABC with the episode "Time Has Come Today." Doctor Callie Torres (played by Sara Ramirez) is now a full-time main character (as she had been introduced as a recurring character in season 2). Doctor Mark Sloan (played by Eric Dane) is also a main character (as he had guest starred only in season 2).
1983:
Actress/model Maggie Grace is born in Worthington, Ohio. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series Lost (2004–2006; 2010).
1974:
Legendary actor Walter Brennan, who appeared in such live-action Disney films as
The Gnome-Mobile (1967) and Those Calloways (1965), passes away at age 80 in California. He also appeared in Disney's 1968 The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, portraying Grandpa Bower a Democratic supporter of U.S. President Grover Cleveland. In October 1971, Brennan took part
in Walt Disney World's three-day opening festivities. A three-time Academy Award winning actor, Brennan will
always be remembered as one of the premier character actors in motion picture history.
1950:
Actor, writer and comedian Bill Murray is born in Wilmette, Illinois. His Disney/Touchstone credits include What About Bob? (1991) as Bob Wiley, Ed Wood (1994) as Bunny Breckinridge, Rushmore (1998) as Herman Blume, Cradle Will Rock (1999) as Tommy Crickshaw, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) as Raleigh St. Clair, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) as Steve. Murray also voiced Baloo in the 2016 live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book, in which he also sang a new version of "The Bare Necessities." (Known for his deadpan delivery, Murray first rose to fame on Saturday Night Live before appearing in such comedy films as Caddyshack, Scrooged, and Groundhog Day.)
2020:
Disney's animated series Big Hero 6 kicks off season 3.
1953:
Comics artist and writer François Corteggiani is born in Nice, France. He produced Disney comics for Le Journal de Mickey (a French weekly comics magazine).
2018:
Walt Disney Records releases Disney Junior Music: Nursery Rhymes, Volume 4.
1961:
Actress Nancy Travis is born in New York City. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the ABC television miniseries "Harem" (opposite Omar Sharif). Her breakthrough came in 1987, playing Sylvia Bennington in the Touchstone comedy film "Three Men and a Baby" and its 1990 sequel "Three Men and a Little Lady." In 1997, she portrayed Cassie Slocombe in the comedy "Passed Away," a Hollywood Pictures production. From 2011 to 2021, Travis starred as Vanessa Baxter in the ABC/Fox sitcom "Last Man Standing" (starring Tim Allen). Travis has also appeared in episodes of such ABC shows as "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy." Fans of Hallmark Channel will recognize her from the film "Safe Harbor" and the series "Ride."
