1905:
Erdman Penner, a writer, lyricist and member of the Firehouse Five Plus Two
(a musical group made up of Disney Studio employees) is born in Canada. He
will contribute to such Disney classics as Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,
Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, and Peter Pan.
2003:
Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular opens at the Hyperion Theater
in Disney's California Adventure the day after its official premiere. (Although the live stage show has been in previews since December 2002.)
That's So Raven debuts on Disney Channel with 4 episodes - "Test of
Friendship," "Mother Dearest," "Party Animal," and "Wake Up, Victor." The
new teen comedy series stars Raven as herself, Raven Baxter, an eccentric
and offbeat teenager who has the ability to foresee flashes of the future.
2005:
The Tokyo Disneyland nighttime show
Cinderellabration: Lights of Romance begins performances.
1706:
Statesman, inventor, scientist, printer, and patriot
Benjamin Franklin is born in Boston, Massachusetts.
In 1953 Disney will release the short Ben and Me (adapted from the children's book written by
author/illustrator Robert Lawson). The tale reveals the contributions of a mouse named Amos, to Franklin's
career. Visit Mr. Franklin at Epcot's Audio-Animatronic stage show The American Adventure.
1913:
Disney Legend, Imagineer & artist/color stylist Claude Coats is born in San Francisco, California. His stunning, watercolor background paintings featured in Pinocchio, continue to be heralded by Disney scholars, fans and art collectors for the rich and textured beauty they add to the animated film. His work can also be seen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Cinderella, and Lady and the Tramp. Coats also created the backgrounds for such theme park attraction as Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. (In fact, the Haunted Mansion tombstone which reads: At Peaceful Rest Lies BROTHER CLAUDE PLANTED HERE BENEATH THIS SOD - is in reference to Coats!)
1931:
Actor James Earl Jones, the voice of Mufasa in Disney's The Lion King and its sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, is born in Arkabutla, Missouri. Jones also narrates Disney's American Legends - a 2002 animated home video release. Star Wars fans know him as the voice of Darth Vader!
1932:
The very first color Mickey Mouse Sunday comic strip to be written and drawn by
Floyd Gottfredson is published. First hired as an apprentice animator and in-betweener in December
1929, Gottfredson started working on the four-month-old Mickey Mouse comic strip in April 1930.
1962:
Construction begins on Disneyland's Swiss Family Treehouse. It will open the following November almost 2 years after the December 1960 release of Disney’s adventure movie, Swiss Family Robinson.
Actor Jim Carrey, the star of Disney's 2009 A Christmas Carol, is born in Ontario,
Canada. First known for his performances as multiple characters in the sketch comedy TV show In Living Color,
Carrey plays the role of Ebenezer Scrooge and all 3 Christmas ghosts in Disney's retelling of Dickens famous tale.
1964:
T. H. White, author of "The Sword in the Stone," passes
away aboard a ship in Greece. His 1938 story was the inspiration for the 1963 Disney animated feature The Sword in the Stone.
1976:
The Disney publicity department sponsors a 2-day
Mouseketeer reunion at Disneyland.
1977:
The first New Mickey Mouse Club episode airs on KTTV in Los
Angeles at 5 pm. Besides being produced in color, a major change
in this version from the 1950s series is the daily themes. Monday is Who, What, Why, Where, When and How Day; Tuesday is Let's Go Day; Wednesday is Surprise Day; Thursday is Discovery Day; and Friday is Showtime Day.
1997:
The Department of Justice and the Walt Disney Company sign an agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure services to people who are deaf or hard of hearing at Walt Disney World attractions.
2004:
A gala event is held in the Grand Ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel to celebrate the 90th birthday of animator and Disney Legend Bill Justice. (During his 42 years with Disney, Justice worked on such classics as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi.)
Roy E. Disney appears at the meeting of NFFC -
The Club for Disneyana Enthusiasts in California.
1930:
Walt Disney, accompanied by his wife Lillian, leave for New York City.
Tensions have increased between the Disney Studio and Pat Powers over royalties
from Mickey cartoons. In 1928, Powers had sold Walt a Cinephone system so that he could make sound
cartoons such as Steamboat Willie. Unable to find a distributor for the sound cartoons, Disney released
his cartoons through Powers' Celebrity Pictures company. Walt wants to confront Powers face-to-face in
New York over money he feels he is due.
2007:
It is announced that the Disney Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast will close at the Alfred Lunt-Lynn Fontanne Theatre on July 29th 2007 to make way for Disney's next musical venture - The Little Mermaid.
Michael Eisner, former chairman and CEO of the
Walt Disney Co.,
never saw a Disney film
until he was a grown man.
JANUARY 17
JAN
"I may have invented these bifocals I'm wearing, but I can assure they are not rose-colored. Mr. Twain, the golden age never was the present age, but with human liberty we can fulfill the promise and meaning of America." -Benjamin Franklin (Epcot's The American Adventure)
2008:
A Red Carpet Premiere for Walt Disney Pictures' Hanna Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert takes place at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California. Ustream.TV presents a live broadcast of the event. The Disney Digital 3D film will officially open February 1.
1985:
The 3D film Magic Journeys opens at Tokyo Disneyland in Tomorrowland.
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1927:
Actress, singer and cabaret star Eartha Kitt is born in Columbia, South Carolina. Kitt's distinctive voice can be heard as Yzma in Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, the straight-to-video sequel Kronk's New Groove and the spin-off TV series The Emperor's New School, for which she won an Emmy Award and two Annie Awards for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production.
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JANUARY 17
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
NEW MICKEY MOUSE CLUB DEBUTS
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"A place for everything, everything in its place."
-Benjamin Franklin
"The original Imagineers who had worked with Walt were beginning to retire, and I was the oldest young person there. I was in a
good position. Claude Coats was probably the nicest person I ever met (at Imagineering). He took me under his wing and helped me
develop what became Big Thunder Mountain, the first ride to open without any input from Walt." -Imagineer Tony Baxter
2010:
Disney-Pixar's Up is twice awarded at the 67th Golden Globe Awards.
Director Peter Docter accepts the award for Best Animated Film and composer Michael Giacchino wins for Best Musical Score / Motion Picture.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom welcomes a new female calf when Kendi, an 11-year-old white rhino, gives birth to her third baby. The baby (unamed at this time) is the eighth white rhino born at DAK; her mother, Kendi, was the first.
"A rhino birth is considered to be a significant event since the species was once nearly extinct and is currently endangered." -Jackie Ogden, Ph.D., vice president of Disney’s Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives
