2005:
Ashley Brown, formerly featured in the recent tour of Disney's On the Record, joins the Broadway company of Beauty and the Beast. She
is the 15th actress to portray Belle in the long-running Disney hit.
The Disneyland Opera House hosts this year's Disney Legends program in honor of the park's 50th anniversary. This year's awards mark the first time that an hourly Cast Member is recognized.
1863:
Writer and linguist Jacob Grimm dies in Berlin, Germany. He and his brother Wilhelm were the first to write down such classic tales as Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty.
1878:
Author Upton Sinclair is born in Baltimore, Maryland. His 1936 book The Gnomemobile
was the inspiration for Disney's 1967 musical film The Gnome-Mobile. (Sinclair devoted his writing career to
documenting and criticizing the social and economic conditions of the early twentieth century. He first
achieved popularity with his 1906 muckraking novel The Jungle, which exposed conditions in the U.S. meat
packing industry. Causing a public uproar, his book contributed in part to the passage of the 1906 Pure
Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.)
1925:
Walt Disney's Alice Comedy Alice's Tin Pony, starring Margie Gay, premieres at Warner's Theater in New York City. Alice and her cat Julius are driving a train carrying a large payroll which attracts the attention of villainous Pete the Bear and his gang.
1926:
The Alice Comedy Alice's Monkey Business is released. While big game hunting,
Alice (portrayed by Margie Gay) and Julius find themselves brought into the court of the King Lion.
2001:
It is reported that Disney's extraterrestrial animated feature,
Lilo & Stitch, may get a makeover. The ending scenes have a cute little alien sneaking on board a 747 and taking the jumbo jet for a joy ride through the towers of Honolulu. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001 Disney has asked screenwriters to rewrite the last scenes. They may replace the airplane with a spaceship.
2002:
The second annual Disney's Pin Celebration begins at Epcot.
The Lizzie McGuire episode "Party Over Here" debuts on Disney Channel.
Hilary Duff's sister Haylie appears as Cousin Amy.
Spirited Away, a 2001 Japanese animated film written and directed by famed
animator Hayao Miyazaki, is released in the U.S. through Walt Disney
Pictures. The film centers on a sullen ten-year-old girl in the middle of her family's move to the suburbs
and an awkward wander into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters. (It will win many awards,
including an Oscar for Best Animated Feature - a first for a feature-length Japanese animated film.)
2003:
A "Sneak Peek" at the new Mickey's PhilharMagic takes place for Annual and Premium Annual Passholders at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.
Meanwhile over at Epcot, construction begins on Soarin'.
Walt Disney's Hometown Toonfest takes place in Marceline, Missouri (Walt's boyhood home).
Lilo & Stitch: The Series debuts on ABC-TV.
Disney's California Adventure presents Disney's Fiesta Latina
(a celebration featuring mariachi bands, craft booths and spicy food) for the first of three weekends.
1954:
The hit television series The Milton Berle Show airs an episode featuring
Ward Kimball's Dixieland jazz band The Firehouse Five Plus Two.
Henry Samueli, co-founder and chief technology officer of the Broadcom Corporation and a philanthropist, is born in California. In June 2005 he and his wife Susan will buy the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now called the Anaheim Ducks) from the Walt Disney Company for $75 million.
1911:
Arranger, composer, and actor Frank De Vol is born in Moundsville, West Virginia.
De Vol wrote the scores for many Hollywood movies, including Disney's Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo and Herbie
Goes Bananas. He also composed music for the Disney TV episodes The Ghosts of Buxley Hall and Tales of the
Apple Dumpling Gang. (Nominated for 4 Academy Awards, De Vol wrote arrangements for the studio recordings of
such singers as Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett, and composed TV themes such as Family Affair and The Brady
Bunch. De Vol also played bandleader Happy Kyne on Martin Mull's talk-show parody sitcom, Fernwood 2 Nite -
later titled America 2 Nite.)
1940:
Disney's Donald Duck short Window Cleaners is released. Donald and Pluto are window cleaners on the side of a skyscraper!
2008:
The 10th Annual Walt Disney's Hometown Toonfest
takes place in Marceline, Missouri.
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SEPTEMBER 20
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
SEPTEMBER 20
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"Nearly all my labors have been devoted, either directly or indirectly, to the investigation of our earlier language, poetry and laws. These studies may have appeared to many, and may still appear, useless; to me they have always seemed a noble and earnest task, definitely and inseparably connected with our common fatherland, and calculated to foster the love of it. My principle has always been in these investigations to under-value nothing, but to utilize the small for the illustration of the great, the popular tradition for the elucidation of the written monuments." -Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm
Spirited Away released
Disney Legends inducted
2009:
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awards the 2008-2009 Primetime Emmys for programs and individual achievements on the "61st Primetime Emmy Awards" broadcast on CBS. Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place wins Outstanding Children's Program.
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1989:
The TV sitcom, The Nutt House, co-created by Mel Brooks for
Touchstone/Disney, first airs on NBC. An American variation on the BBC classic "Fawlty
Towers," the series stars Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman. The expensive interior hotel scenes have
been shot at the Disney-MGM Studios. (Unfortunately the series will be canceled after just 6 episodes.)
1946:
Disney's Donald Duck short Lighthouse Keeping is released. Directed by Jack Hannah,
Donald attempts to keep his lighthouse light lit, much to the chagrin of Marblehead the pelican, who is trying to
get some sleep.
1986:
NBC-TV airs the special Disney's Captain EO Grand Opening. Hosted by Patrick Duffy, the 60-minute program telecast from both Disneyland and Disney World, includes such guests as actress Justine Bateman and singers Belinda Carlisle and Robert Palmer.
2010:
The Flame Tree Barbecue at Disney's Animal Kingdom reopens after being closed for refurbishment.
ALICE
Among the Disney treasures on
display at the 2009 D23 Expo -
the actual Volkswagen Beetle
that "played" the role of
Herbie in The Love Bug, the
costume worn by Michael
Jackson as "Captain EO," and a
Nautilus submarine prop from
Disney's feature
20,000
Leagues
Under
the Sea.
1987:
The Golden Girls (a sitcom produced by Disney's Touchstone Television and distributed by Buena Vista Television) wins 3 Emmy Awards. The show itself wins for Outstanding Comedy Series, the Outstanding Lead Actress award goes to Rue McClanahan, and Terry Hughes is awarded for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series.
2011:
Disney CEO Bob Iger and Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Tom Staggs
announce a long-term creative partnership with James Cameron's Lightstorm
Entertainment and Fox Filmed Entertainment to bring the fantasy world of AVATAR
to life at Disney Parks. Cameron and his producing partner Jon Landau and their team at Lightstorm
Entertainment will serve as creative consultants and work side-by-side with Walt Disney Imagineers on the first
AVATAR-themed land in Disney's Animal Kingdom. (Construction is expected to begin by 2013.)
