This Day in Disney History: FEB 08

Through the Disney Harvest program, Walt Disney World donates over 400,000 pounds of food to more than 40 Central

Florida agencies

each year.

2005:

Roy Disney and Stanley Gold make public their withhold vote for all Directors at this year's shareholders meeting (to be held February 11 in Minneapolis).

"Julie Andrews is quite possibly the most regal, elegant person alive."

- Actress Anne Hathaway (co-star of Disney's The Princess Diaries)

1828:

Writer Jules Verne, known for such classic novels as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in Eighty Days, and From Earth to the Moon, is born Jules Gabriel Verne in Nantes, France. His depictions of fantastic technological advances, including space travel and television, will help create the genre of science fiction and influence many - including Walt Disney.

1872:

The first performance in Italy of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida

takes place in his home town of Milan.

1886:

Actor Charles Ruggles is born in Los Angeles, California. His Disney credits include Follow Me, Boys!, The Ugly Dachshund, and Son of Flubber.

(Cartoon fans will remember him as the narrator of the "Aesop's Fables"

segment of the animated The Bullwinkle Show.)

1932:

Composer John Williams, responsible for the Star Wars and Indiana Jones music used in Disney-MGM Studios and Disneyland Paris, is born in New York.

1952:

The Disney animated film Lambert, the Sheepish Lion, featuring the narration of Sterling Holloway, is released. (It will win an Oscar for Best Animation.)

1956:

The Disneyland television series presents "Survival in Nature," narrated by Winston Hibler.

1965:

Julie Andrews receives a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy for her role in Disney's Mary Poppins. Dick Van Dyke is nominated for Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy (also for his role in Mary Poppins), but is edged out by Rex Harrison (for his role in My Fair Lady). Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy goes to My Fair Lady - beating out Mary Poppins. Although the Sherman Brothers are nominated for Best Original Score (for their contributions to Mary Poppins), the Golden Globe is given to Dimitri Tiomkin (for his work on The Fall of the Roman Empire).

1974:

Ringo Starr's single "You're 16" is released. The tune is written by Richard and Robert Sherman (of Disney songwriting fame).

1987:

The TV series The Wonderful World of Disney airs "The Liberators."

1993:

The television sitcom Blossom - starring Mayim Bialik, Joey Lawrence and Ted Wass - airs the episode "Of Mice and Men" ... which takes place at Disneyland!

2001:

Disney's second Anaheim park (and 8th theme park in

the world), California Adventure officially opens along

with its new Grand Californian hotel. California Adventure is the centerpiece of a $1.4-billion expansion of what will now be called the Disneyland Resort. The new park, which has its own distinct identity separate from the 45-year-old Magic Kingdom's, is divided into 3 main theme areas: Paradise Pier (a nostalgic California beachfront amusement section), Hollywood Pictures Backlot (a district inspired by Hollywood Boulevard and the movies), and the Golden State (a more sprawling area devoted to the people, natural beauty and industries of California).

The Grand Californian, a Craftsman-style hotel, resembling a luxury lodge at a Western national park, has 751 rooms. The hotel sits at the edge of the new park and shares its theme celebrating the Golden State.

Michael Eisner's dedication on this day includes these words:

"To all who believe in the power of dreams … Welcome! Disney’s California Adventure opens its golden gates to you. Here we pay tribute to the dreamers of the past … the native people, explorers, immigrants, aviators, entrepreneurs and entertainers who built the Golden State. And we salute a new generation of dreamers who are creating the wonders of tomorrow … from the silver screen to the computer screen … from the fertile farmlands to the far reaches of space. Disney’s California Adventure celebrates the richness and the diversity of California … its land, its people its spirit and above all, the dreams that it continues to inspire."

2002:

Disney World's Downtown Pleasure Island begins its Mardi Gras celebration.

Disneyland officially announces the upcoming additions to Disney's California Adventure in a short ceremony celebrating the park's first birthday. Two new attractions, "A Bug's Land" and the "Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" will be added to the California park.

The Lizzie McGuire episode "First Kiss" debuts on Disney Channel.

2006:

Gordon Goodwin wins a Grammy for Best Instrumental

Arrangement for "The Incredits" a track from The Incredibles Soundtrack. Goodwin, a composer/arranger & consumate jazz musician, is a three-time Emmy Award winner and the leader of Big Phat Band (a Los Angeles based jazz group).

FEBRUARY 8

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1953:

Walt Disney appears as a guest on a one-hour special tribute of Ed Sullivan's hit TV show The Toast of the Town. Sullivan narrates "The Life Story of Walt Disney" with a little help from Donald Duck, as the company celebrates Mickey Mouse’s 25th birthday and the release of Peter Pan. Other guests include animators Ward Kimball and Frank Thomas, Pinto Colvig (the voice of Goofy) and even Walt's secretary Beverly Jordan.

1968:

Disney's live-action feature Blackbeard's Ghost - starring Peter Ustinov, Dean

Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, and Elsa Lanchester - is released. It is based upon

the novel of the same name written by Ben Stahl.

FEBRUARY 8

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2008:

The 35th Annual Annie Awards take place at UCLA’s Royce Hall in California. Pixar’s Ratatouille (which is nominated in 13 categories) takes home 9 awards including Best Animated Feature, Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production (Brad Bird), and Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production (also Brad Bird). Best Music in an Animated Feature Production is given to Michael Giacchino for his contribution to Ratatouille.

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