2005:
The Walt Disney Company donates several Disneyland objects to the
Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Among the
donated items are vehicles from two of Disneyland's opening year attractions: "Dumbo the Flying Elephant" and
the "Mad Tea Party."
1902:
In Chicago, Elias and Flora Disney baptize their 6-month old son Walter at St. Paul's. The Disneys are loyal members of the congregation - Flora plays the organ and Elias, a carpenter
by trade, has helped build the church. St. Paul's Congregational Church (first organized in 1900) is at this time located at 2255 North Keeler Avenue, one block east and one block north of Walt Disney’s birthplace.
1917:
Walt Disney graduates from Benton Grammar School in Kansas City, Missouri. (The Disneys moved to Kansas City after their Marceline farm failed.) Walt graduates this day from seventh grade, and surprises his parents by delivering a patriotic speech to his fellow graduates. (Walt will enroll in Chicago's McKinley High School in the fall of 1917. But he will attend high school for only a year before volunteering as a Red Cross ambulance driver and ultimately being sent to France.)
1925:
Actor Charles Tyner, who portrays Merle in Disney's 1977 Pete's Dragon, is born in
Danville, Virginia. (First appearing on Broadway in 1959 with film star Paul Newman in Sweet Bird of
Youth, Tyner's film credits include Cool Hand Luke, The Longest Yard, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles.)
1927:
Legendary funny man - and half the comedy team of Stiller & Meara - Jerry Stiller is born in New York City. His Disney voice credits include The Lion King 1 1/2 as Uncle Max and Teacher's Pet as Pretty Boy. (TV fans know him best from his roles on Seinfeld and The King of Queens.)
1944:
Mouseketeer Don Grady is born Don Agrati in San Francisco,
California. Besides being a member of TV's Mickey Mouse Club in 1957, he has
also written music for game animation for Disney's Lilo and Stitch, Return to Neverland, and The Santa Clause. The actor-turned-award-winning-composer also wrote 56 minutes of original music for the games featured on the limited edition release of Beauty and the Beast DVD-set. (Fans of classic TV will recognize him as Robbie Douglas on the sitcom My Three Sons - for which he appeared on for 11 years along with Fred MacMurray.)
1984:
Donald Duck and Clarence Nash (the voice of Donald) host the opening of a Donald Duck film festival in New York. The festival is in celebration of 50 years since Donald's film debut.
1989:
Today is Party Day on Disney Channel's MMC.
1996:
The MTV Movie Awards are held at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
2001:
Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire opens in Los Angeles and
New York theaters. It will be generally released June 15.
The Disney Channel Original Movie Jett Jackson: The Movie premieres as does the Lizzie McGuire episode "Random Acts of Miranda."
2003:
Disney-MGM Studios' Great Movie Ride reopens after a
lengthy refurbishment.
Arlo Guthrie closes out the 2003 Flower Power Concert series with a final show at Epcot.
2004:
Walt Disney Records releases the soundtrack to the
Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon: Z3.
2006:
Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone kick off 4 days
of performances at Epcot. (On keyboards is the webmaster of This Day in Disney History.)
Disney's El Capitan Theatre (in Hollywood, California) holds a special
midnight screening of the new Disney/Pixar animated feature Cars.
1997:
Walt Disney Records releases the soundtrack to Mary Poppins. This CD
is part of Walt Disney Records' Classic Soundtrack series.
The Walt Disney Studios
in Burbank, California,
is the only major film/animation studio not
to run backlot tours.
1951:
Disney's Donald Duck short Test Pilot Donald (also featuring Chip 'n' Dale) is released. Dale dreams of flying and finds a perfect opportunity when Donald's remote control airplane gets stuck in a tree. It is the 100th Donald Duck cartoon short.
1962:
McDonnell Douglas (a major American aerospace manufacturer) begins sponsorship of Disneyland's Rocket to the Moon attraction. The rocket's familiar TWA logo (in place since 1955) has been replaced with blue vertical stripes and large red upper-case letters spelling "DOUGLAS."
1956:
Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase is released. Based on a true story from the American
Civil War, the movie stars Fess Parker, Jeffrey Hunter, Jeff York, and John Lupton. Parker plays James J.
Andrews, a spy who leads a band of Union soldiers into the South in an attempt to destroy the railway system.
2007:
A pre-release screening of Ratatouille takes place at Pixar Animation
Studios. At $250 per ticket, the proceeds go to the Emery Ed Fund.
Disney Channel debuts a weekly program called Road To High School Musical 2.
The series, which will lead up to the premiere of High School Musical 2, offers viewers a behind-the-
scenes look into the production of the sequel.
Disney-MGM Studios celebrates the 30th anniversary of Star Wars with the
second of four Star Wars Weekends. Celebrity guests for the next 3 days include Ray Park and
Daniel Logan.
JUNE
1969:
Actor J.P. Manoux - best known to Disney Channel fans as both Curits the caveman & Vice Principal Neil Hackett on the series Phil of the Future - is born in California.
He also appears in the 2008 adventure-comedy-sci-fi Disney Channel Original Movie Minutemen. Manoux's TV voice credits include The Emperor's New School and The Replacements.
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JUNE 8
JUNE 8
THIS SITE MADE
IN THE
USA
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Designed primarily by Kem Weber under the supervision of Walt & Roy Disney, the Burbank Disney Studio buildings are the only studios to survive from the Golden Age of film.
Mouseketeer Don Grady born
"Never go for the punch line. There might be something funnier on the way." -Jerry Stiller
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2010:
The Disney animated short Tick Tock Tale premieres at the Annecy Animation Film Festival. Directed and written by Dean Wellins - amidst an old London clock shop, a small, quirky mantle clock comes to the aide of the store's more expensive clocks when a thief breaks in and threatens to steal them away.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, the eponymous third studio album by American rock band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, is released on Hollywood Records.
The album is the band's first release since the inclusion of two new members, rhythm guitarist Benny Yurco and bassist Catherine Popper.
2011:
It is announced that Victoria & Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa has been awarded the AAA Five-Diamond Award, the highest AAA honor for a restaurant.
