1966:
The television series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs "Disneyland Around the Seasons." As this is the first episode to air after the December 15th death of Walt Disney, a portion of Walt’s narrative is substituted by a brief tribute from Dick Van Dyke and NBC newsman Chet Huntley. Walt takes viewers on a tour of Disneyland to point out some of the newest additions to the park, including New Orleans Square, It's a Small World and Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. The episode also features Bob Cummings, Ronald Reagan and Paul Frees. (Weekly guest hosts will preside over the show for the remainder of the 1966-67 season.)
1888:
Actress Gladys Cooper, Aunt Mary Drexel in Disney's 1967 live-action feature The Happiest Millionaire, is born in London, England. (She is probably best known to movie fans for her role of Mrs. Higgins in the classic My Fair Lady.)
1933:
During a ceremony at the studio in which he is receiving an award from
The Parents Magazine, Walt Disney gets word that his pregnant wife Lilly is
about to deliver. He dashes off to the hospital and arrives just in time to see
Diane Marie Disney born!
1941:
Walt Disney is called to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Treasury Department and the IRS. He is asked to provide a film to promote paying taxes - to be completed by the end of February 1942.
1950:
Film/animation historian, writer, producer and television celebrity Leonard Maltin is
born in New York City. He is the author of The Disney Films (first published in 1973), appears as a
speaker at Disney conventions, and hosts many of Walt Disney Treasures DVD releases (a collectible line of
DVDs in which he spearheaded in 2001).
1959:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "Texas John Slaughter: Range War at Tombstone," the 9th of a 17-part miniseries starring Tom Tryon.
1960:
Walt Disney Presents airs two segments on this evening: "Escape to Paradise" and
"Water Birds." Viewers travel behind the scenes of Disney's newest feature Swiss Family Robinson (which
premiered December 10), hosted by the film's stars John Mills, Dorothy McGuire and Janet Munro. The second
portion of the episode features the 1952 award-winning True-Life Adventure Water Birds.
The Parade of Toys - led by Walt Disney himself - debuts at Disneyland.
1979:
The Walt Disney Productions live-action filmThe Black Hole,
featuring Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Ernest
Borgnine, and Robert Forster premieres in London. A research
vessel in the year 2130 finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist,
on the edge of a black hole. (It will be released in the U.S. three days later.)
1980:
Pop star Christina Maria Aguilera, a member of Disney Channel's
The All New Mickey Mouse Club, is born in Staten Island, New York.
1991:
Jim Henson Productions and Buena Vista Home Video (part
of the Disney family) sign a worldwide distribution deal.
(The Jim Henson Company traces its origins to the founding of Muppets, Inc. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets.)
1998:
McDonald's opens a french fry stand inside Disneyland,
housed inside a covered wagon in Frontierland.
2000:
Nick Stewart (also known as Nicodemus Stewart), the voice of Brer Bear in Disney's
1946 Song of the South & the Splash Mountain park attractions, dies at the age of 90.
2002:
The Lion King Day is celebrated in Dearborn, Michigan to honor the metro-Detroit premiere of Disney's The Lion King and the great success of the IMAX Theatre at the Henry Ford Museum.
2003:
The Disney Company is nominated for multiple Golden Globe Awards.
They include Miramax Films' Civil War epic Cold Mountain with 8 nominations, and a nomination each for
Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and Freaky Friday.
2004:
Body Wars, Cranium Command and The Making of Me
reopen at Epcot for the holiday season.
Disney Cruise Line sets sail on its first 10-night holiday cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida.
"Mother was a true partner with my father. She traveled with him around the world to visit colleagues. When they came to Burbank, she'd cook them chicken dinner at our home. After serving in her kitchen, she usually encouraged them to help wash the dishes after eating. She was good friends with many Disney employees; she had a unique gift for understanding people."
-Roy E. Disney (son of Roy O. Disney)
1971:
The St. Petersburg High School Green Devil Band performs at Walt Disney World. This makes them the first guest high school marching band to ever play at the new Florida theme park.
In the evening, Walt Disney World's very first Candlelight Processional is held. The processional travels down Main Street to the Cinderella Castle forecourt where a performance featuring 1200 carolers from across Florida takes place. Film star Rock Hudson narrates the Christmas story while Frederick Fennell (often referred to as the most famous band conductor since John Philip Sousa) conducts the orchestra.
A second performance will take place the following evening.
1984:
Edna Francis Disney, mother of Roy E. Disney, passes at the age of 94. Married to Roy O. Disney in 1923, she provided enthusiastic support and sound counsel to her business-genius husband as he helped grow his brother's creative venture from a humble storefront in Hollywood to an entertainment empire.
The Adventures of André and Wally B., an animated short made by the Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Project, debuts at SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques). Running at just 2 minutes, it is directed by Alvy Ray Smith (future co-founder of Pixar) and animated by John Lasseter (future director and chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios).
Often regarded as Disney's answer to Star Wars, The Black Hole cost the studio $20 million to produce - making it (at the time) the most expensive picture ever produced by the company. Although not well-received by critics, it
earned $36 million at the
US box office!
2006:
A performance of High School Musical: The Concert is taped at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. It will be released on CD and DVD in May 2007.
1953:
Disney's animated Peter Pan is released in Finland and France.
2008:
The premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' Bedtime Stories takes place at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California. The adventure comedy stars Adam Sandler as Skeeter Bronson, a hotel handyman whose life is changed forever when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to mysteriously come true.
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DECEMBER 18
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THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
DECEMBER 18
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Bedtime Stories premieres
1942:
Disney's Donald Duck short Bellboy Donald, directed by Jack King is released.
Donald struggles with his self-control as he deals with rude hotel guests!
DEC
2009:
The Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln attraction returns to Disneyland.
Using first-time technology, Lincoln’s head is electronic, allowing the robot to make more realistic facial movements.
Also on this day, Disney announces that "Captain EO," the 3D film starring the late "King of Pop" Michael Jackson, will be returning to Disneyland for a limited time starting in February 2010. The 17-minute film will return to its original home at the theater inside Tomorrowland, replacing "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience."
Down at Disney World, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is held for the last
and 19th time this season.
1996:
Disney's Miramax Films releases Marvin's Room, starring Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton and Robert DeNiro. Scenes from the film were shot at
Disney-MGM Studios.
1992:
Actress Bridgit Mendler, Teddy Duncan on the Disney Channel Original Series Good Luck Charlie, is born in Washington, D.C. She also guest starred in Disney Channel Original Series' JONAS, played Juliet Van Heusen on Wizards of Waverly Place and starred in Lemonade Mouth.
What if the stories you told came to life?
1812:
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, known as the Brothers Grimm, publish the first volume of the first edition of Children's and Household Tales (today known as Grimm's Fairy Tales). Among the 86 stories ... Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Snow White.
1937:
Songwriter Joel Hirschhorn is born in the Bronx, New York. His Disney credits include "I'd Like to Be You for a Day" first heard in the 1976 Freaky Friday and "Candle on the Water" as well as all of the songs from the 1977 Pete's Dragon, co-written with Al Kasha. (During a successful career, Hirschhorn won the Academy Award for Best Song (along with Kasha) on two occasions - "The Morning After" from The Poseidon Adventure and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno.)
1943:
Keith Richards, musician, songwriter, and founding member of the rock band the Rolling Stones, is born in Dartford, Kent, England. First portraying Captain William Teague, the father of Captain Jack Sparrow in a cameo in the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Richards returned to the role for the 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
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