This Day in Disney History: FEB 04

1889:

Walter Catlett, the voice of J. Worthington Foulfellow in the 1940 classic Pinocchio, is born in San Francisco, California. Catlett also portrayed Colonel Plug in the 1956 Disney film Davy Crockett and the River Pirates.

2005:

A racecar sponsored by Disney & Pixar and driven by film legend Paul Newman takes part in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, a motorsport event. Newman is the voice of a 1951 Hudson Hornet in Cars, a Disney/Pixar animated film to be released in 2006.

It is announced that the Walt Disney Company will open a third Disney hotel within Tokyo Disney Resort in 2008. The nine-story high hotel will have about 700 guestrooms and will be larger than either of the park's other two hotels.

1918:

Voice actress Janet Waldo - one of the voices of the grandmother in Disney's Carousel of Progress - is born in Grandview, Washington.

(Cartoon fans know her as the voice of Judy Jetson!)

1922:

Actor William Phipps, the voice of Prince Charming in the 1950 Cinderella, is born.

1932:

Disney Legend Bob Allen is born in Corona, California. He will begin working for Disney in 1955, as a ride operator at Disneyland, and eventually rise through the ranks to become vice president of Walt Disney World.

1938:

Disney's Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs is generally released.

1962:

The NBC-TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color

airs "Fantasy on Skis."

1966:

Disney's animated short Winnie the Pooh and

the Honey Tree is released along with the live-action feature The Ugly Dachshund. Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree is Disney's first animated treatment of the famous children's books written by A.A. Milne. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it features the voices of Sterling Holloway (as Pooh), Wolfgang's son Bruce Reitherman (as Christopher Robin), and Sebastian Cabot (as the narrator). The Ugly Dachshund stars Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette.

1979:

The Wonderful World of Disney airs part 2 of "Shadow of Fear."

1999:

Pixar Animation Studios announces that it has developed

a proprietary laser recording system called PIXARVISION for converting digital computer data into images on motion picture film stock with unprecedented quality. The new system was successfully tested on the 1998 animated hit, A Bug's Life, and will be used to produce Pixar's future animated features including Toy Story 2.

2002:

Super Bowl XXXVI MVP Tom Brady of the New England Patriots appears in a gala parade down Hollywood Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.

2003:

Walt Disney Records releases the CDs"Sing Along With Disney's Princesses"

and "Jungle Book 2: Songs From the Film and Other Jungle Favorites."

2004:

The Disney World special event "This Is Love: A Royal Knight to Remember" takes place at the Magic Kingdom.

2006:

The 33rd Annual Annie Awards are presented at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. Disney's Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch wins for Best Home Entertainment Production. Although Chicken Little is nominated, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit takes home the Annie for Best Animated Feature.

FEBRUARY 4

Get your Disney tickets at Maple Leaf Tickets!

1944:

Musician Jimmy Johnson is born in Sheffield, Alabama. A member of the

legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section that was attached to FAME

Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Johnson's guitar playing can be

heard on records by such legends as Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin.

One of Disney's most unusual albums, The Sounds of Christmas (1973),

was conceived by Johnson. The album had a sound-effects-laden story

on side 1, featuring a small cast and original songs, told, sung and

directed by Disney studio staffer Pete Renaday. The flip side featured the

effects by themselves - reminiscent of the Disney record Chilling,

Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House.

1990:

The Disney television series airs the episode Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration. The special - presented in a series of sketches - features Tony Danza, Michael Eisner, Charles Fleischer, Kelsey Grammar, Woody Harrelson, and Frank Oz.

2007:

At Super Bowl XLI in Miami, Indianapolis Colts' head coach Tony Dungy and

running back Dominic Rhodes take part in the 37th Disney television ad

following their win over the Chicago Bears, 29-17.

1947:

Disney consultant Tim Onosko is born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Known as the go-to guy for the future, Onosko will accurately forecast how technology will alter the entertainment landscape. He will help define Epcot in the 1980s by steering the theme park's designers toward cutting-edge gadgets.

FEBRUARY 4

FEB

The classic 1951 film

The African Queen

helped inspire the design of Disneyland's Jungle Cruise attraction.

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