1998:
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, housed in the space formerly
occupied by Take Flight, opens at Walt Disney World. Presented by Mattel,
the first interactive dark ride at the Magic Kingdom will have an official opening November 3.
Disney's Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida opens at the Alliance Theater in
Atlanta, Georgia. (In 1999 the title of the musical will be shortened to Aida before coming to Broadway.)
1905:
Character actor and comic cowboy sidekick Andy Devine, the voice of Friar Tuck in Disney's 1973 release Robin Hood, is born in Flagstaff, Arizona. His credits also include episodes of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color TV series. Devine was one of many celebrities who took part in Walt Disney World's three-day opening festivities in October 1971. Known for his distinctive raspy voice, Devine worked in radio, appeared on television (including an episode of The Twilight Zone) and in over 400 films.
1918:
Disney Legend Norman "Stormy" Palmer, one of Walt Disney Studio's most
celebrated film editors, is born in Santa Ana, California. He joined Disney as a
projectionist in 1938, but soon transferred to the Editorial department where he worked on Pinocchio and
Fantasia. Palmer is best be known for his contributions to Disney nature and animal feature films such as The
Living Desert, Grand Canyon, and Water Birds.
1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Talent Round-Up Day with Mouseketeer Cubby bringing his father Hack and brother Warren onstage for a drum set trio! Also shown is the cartoon Two Gun Mickey.
1962:
The NBC-TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs part 2 of "Escapade in Florence."
1971:
The Disney animated and live-action musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks
premieres at the Odeon Theater in Leicester Square in London, England. Based upon the books "The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons" and "Bonfires and Broomsticks" by Mary Norton, the film stars Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson. An apprentice witch, 3 children and a cynical conman search for the missing component to a magic spell useful to the defense of Britain during World War II.
(Bedknobs and Broomsticks will be released in the U.S. two months later.)
1981:
An edited version of the live-action Disney horror film The Watcher in the Woods,
starring Bette Davis, Carroll Baker, David McCallum, and Lynn-Holly Johnson, is
released. Based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall, the story focuses on a teenage girl and her little
sister who become encompassed in a supernatural mystery regarding a missing girl in the woods surrounding their
new home. Originally released in April 1980, the film is known for its notorious rewrites, reshoots, and recuts
(including the film's original opening credits and conclusion) after originally being pulled from theatres.
1990:
The first American Teacher Awards show (created by Disney) is held at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.
Legendary animator Myron "Grim" Natwick passes in Los Angeles, California, at age 100. Best known as the creator of the animated character Betty Boop, he also worked on Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Ferdinand the Bull. Trained in art schools in Chicago, New York and Vienna before becoming an animator in 1921, Natwick was awarded the Winsor McCay Award in 1975.
2000:
Former Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump appears at a special Ryman-Carroll Foundation tribute event at the Disneyland Resort. (Crump began his career in the late 1950s at the Disney Studios in animation, where he worked on Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians, before moving to Walt Disney Imagineering. During his Imagineering career, Rolly worked on early concepts for the Haunted Mansion, as well as the development of various tiki gods and goddesses for The Enchanted Tiki Room.)
2002:
The Travel Channel airs Great Hotels - Disney's Wilderness Lodge for the first time.
The second episode of the show's second season, Great Hotels is hosted by Samantha Brown.
2003:
Disney's The Lion King is released on a 2-disc DVD set. It includes a new animated song (written by Elton John & Tim Rice) and sequence. This is the first time Disney has added a newly animated scene specifically for a DVD.
2004:
It is announced that Andrae Rivas and Rebecca Phelps
have been chosen to be the 2005 Disneyland Resort Ambassadors.
2005:
One week after leaving The Walt Disney Company, Michael Eisner hosts The Charlie Rose Show. His guests are actor John Travolta and his ex-boss-turned-rival, television executive Barry Diller.
2006:
A female giraffe is born at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The calf is the first offspring for her mother, a 9-year-old giraffe named Aibuin.
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About 300 Walt Disney World buses transport guests around the Florida resort, making the Walt Disney World fleet the third largest in Florida behind
Miami and
Jacksonville!
2001:
Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through attraction (opened since April 1957) closes for refurbishment. (Over time, Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through will drop off the refurbishment list ... until 2008 when it suddenly re-opens.)
1967:
Singer/songwriter and actress Toni Braxton, who appeared in both Disney
Broadway shows Beauty and the Beast (as Belle) in 1998 and Aida (as Aida) in 2003,
is born in Severn, Maryland. Her 5-month role in Beauty and the Beast marked the first (and only) time
an African American has played the leading role of Belle on Broadway. During her run in the show Alan Menken
wrote a new song for the musical called "A Change in Me," which was especially written for Braxton and has been
used in the musical ever since. Braxton played the role of Aida on Broadway from June to November 2003. (During
the course of her career, she has won six Grammy Awards and has sold 40 million records worldwide.)
2008:
The world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' Morning Light takes place at the El
Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. The true-life documentary (conceived and co-produced by Roy E.
Disney) opens in theaters October 17, 2008.
A 50th Anniversary Platinum Edtion of Disney's Sleeping Beauty (originally
released in theaters in January 1959) is released as a 2-disc DVD & Blu-ray Disc. This
release makes Sleeping Beauty the first entry in the Platinum Edition line to be released in high definition video.
OCTOBER 7
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THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
OCTOBER 07
Toni Braxton born
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"I can't record in the morning because I sound like Barry White." -Toni Braxton
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"I worked with Grim as his assistant on Snow White. He was a wonderful guy and a very generous man and a very unique talent." -Marc Davis
1963:
A piano guide track is recorded for the Sherman Brothers song "It's A Small World," which is to be used in the upcoming World's Fair in New York. This piano track, played in strict tempo to a metronomic click, along with the written melody line and lyrics, will be copied and sent to Italy, Japan, and Mexico, where the lyrics will be translated, and children will be recorded singing "It's A Small World" in their native language.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks premieres
2010:
Winnie the Pooh makes his digital debut in his first ever puzzle book-based app with the release of the "Winnie the Pooh: What's a Bear to Do?" app, launched this day on the iTunes App Store.
1919:
Disney Legend Betty Taylor is born in Seattle, Washington. Hired by Walt Disney in 1956 (one year after Wally Boag started), Taylor spent the next three decades portraying a singing saloon hostess named Slue-Foot Sue at Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue. Originally a big band singer, she auditioned for the part of Sue at the suggestion of an uncle!
1991:
Today officially starts sales for Disney Vacation Club. A Preview Center, located at Walt Disney World, gives details to guests who wish to "discover a better way to vacation." (The center will later be known as Disney’s Old Key West Resort and the Disney Vacation Club Preview Center will be moved to Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.)
1985:
Danger Bay, a Canadian television series produced in Vancouver, first airs on the Disney Channel. The series centers on the exploits of the Roberts family, led by marine veterinarian Grant "Doc" Roberts, and his two children, Nicole and Jonah.
2011:
Real Steel, a science fiction action film distributed by Touchstone Pictures, is
released in U.S. theaters. Based in part on the 1956 short story "Steel" by Richard Matheson, the
film stars Hugh Jackman as a struggling promoter of robot boxing.
