This Day in Disney History: JAN 20

1902:

Actor Leon Ames is born in Portland, Indiana. His Disney credits include the live-action features The Monkey's Uncle,

The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, Son of Flubber, and

The Absent Minded Professor.

1920:

Disney Legend Lucien Adés is born in Constantine, Algeria. He will go on

to pioneer the first "read-along" record albums for Disney Consumer

Products (through his record company, known as Ades Editions) in

France, starting in 1953.

1930:

Buzz Aldrin, the second human to ever step foot on the Moon, is born in Montclair, New Jersey. Over the years the former-astronaut will attend special space-related events at Disney theme parks - including the launch of Epcot's Mission:SPACE in 2003. It is rumored that the character Buzz Lightyear was inspired by Aldrin!

1937:

Actress Dorothy Provine - Ingrid Randall in Disney's 1965

That Darn Cat! - is born in Deadwood, South Dakota.

1963:

The TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs part 1

of "Johnny Shiloh." Set during the American Civil War. actor Kevin Corcoran plays the title role of a Union drummer boy who runs away from home to join his hometown unit, even though he is too young to legally join. The episode also features Brian Keith as Sergeant Gabe Trotter.

2001:

Disney's House of Mouse animated series airs the episode "Unplugged Club."

Michelle Kwan: Princess on Ice airs on ABC-TV. This Disney/Hallmark

presentation also features skaters Dorothy Hamill and Katarina Witt.

2002:

The NFFC, the club for Disneyana Enthusiasts host the Worlds Largest Strictly Disneyana Show and Sale at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Garden Grove (about a mile from Disneyland).

'Teamo Supremo an animated television series created by Disney premieres on television.

2003:

Disney Imagineer David Mumford passes away at age 46. At Disneyland, he worked on Aladdin's Oasis, Star Tours, and the Alice in Wonderland attraction. He began his career as a ride operator at Disneyland's Submarine Voyage and rose through the ranks to the position of WDI Senior Principal Show Set Designer. Mumford also wrote and produced (along with his longtime collaborator, Bruce Gordon) several books on Disney history.

2004:

The David Kent Mumford PARC Foundation Fund is set up to honor and memorialize the magic and goodness of the late Imagineer and author David Mumford. (PARC is an acronym for Pediatric After-hours Referral Clinic. The clinic at Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center, where David was treated, cares for children between the hours of 4PM & 6AM both as an emergency care clinic and patient referral facility during the hours when doctors are not available.)

2005:

Disney's London theatrical production Mary Poppins earns

9 Olivier Award nominations.

Walt Disney World announces that River Country, a water park opened since 1976 and last operated in November 2001,

will remain closed permanently.

At Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida, Expedition Everest's peak is lowered into place, making the new attraction nearly 20 stories high.

Expedition Everest, a roller coaster themed to be an abandoned mountain railway, is expected to open in 2006.

2006:

Some 7.7 million viewers watch the premiere of Disney Channel's

original movie High School Musical.

JANUARY 20

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1995:

The Courtyard by Marriott Hotel opens in Lake Buena Vista at Walt Disney World on the site of the former Howard Johnson Resort Hotel.

"Mickey transcends being just a character; he's a symbol of the magnitude of the entire Disney dynasty. He could have faded with time, but he has been appropriately maintained. That Disney has been able to keep the integrity of its legend, Mickey, throughout all these generations, is a real achievement."

- Space traveler Buzz Aldrin, born This Day in Disney History

1936:

Eighteen-year-old Adriana Caselotti records her first tracks as the voice of

Snow White. (Her father Guido Caselotti - a vocal coach - has been hired by

Walt Disney to help cast parts in Snow White.)

1950:

Disney's Donald Duck short Lion Around, featuring the voice of

Clarence Nash, is released. Donald's nephews use a mountain lion

costume to scare Donald away so they can grab a pie off the

windowsill. Their trick is exposed ... but a short while later, a real

mountain lion comes along!

2007:

Darla K. Anderson is awarded the Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures for her work on the Disney/Pixar Cars. (Anderson also produced Monsters, Inc. and A Bug's Life.)

High School Musical: Around The World premieres on Disney Channel.

Walt Disney personally selected Richard Fleischer (son of his old competitor in animation, Max Fleischer) to direct the live-action

film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.