AUG 18 Disney History

2004:

Oscar-winning composer Elmer Bernstein, who wrote the music for Disney's The Black Cauldron (and 250 other films and TV shows including The Magnificent Seven and To Kill a Mockingbird) passes away at age 82.

1922:

Actress Shelley Winters - who appears in Disney's 1977 Pete's Dragon as Lena Gogan - is born Shirley Schrift in an apartment on Newstead Ave. in St. Louis, Missouri.

1930:

The Mickey Mouse cartoon short The Chain Gang is completed. It features the debut of Pluto (though he is not yet named). The film will be released September 5.

1931:

Disney's 7-minute black & white Mickey Mouse cartoon Blue Rhythm is

released. Mickey plays an orchestra leader in this take off of popular music man Ted Lewis.

1943:

Actor-comedian Martin Mull is born in Chicago, Illinois. He is the voice of Governor Kevin for the Disney animated television series 'Teamo Supremo.

1956:

Emmy Award-winning composer John Cardon Debney, whose music can be

heard throughout the Disney theme parks and in the feature Chicken Little, is

born in Burbank, California. John is the son of Disney Studios producer Louis Debney.

1957:

Comedian/actor Denis Leary - the voice of Francis in Disney's 1998 A Bug's Life - is born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Leary is the star and co-creator of the television show Rescue Me.

1986:

Crockett's Tavern opens in Walt Disney World's Fort Wilderness. Part of Trail's

End Restaurant, it is located at the northern end of the campgrounds.

1989:

Disney's live-action film Cheetah - starring Keith Coogan - is released. (Movie fans may recall Coogan from his appearances in such films as Toy Soldiers and Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead.)

2002:

The 5th Anniversary Disney Institute Animation Event - Drawn to Be Bad (a 6-day

event featuring workshops and visiting artist presentations) begins at Disney World.

2006:

High School Musical (which has been a huge sleeper hit for Disney

Channel) is performed at a kids' summer camp in the Catskill Mountains for

the very first time. The world premiere is held at a 300-seat theater near the town of

Liberty, New York, for proud parents, fellow campers and a few Disney representatives. Stagedoor Manor

summer camp won the license to mount the premiere because it has a record of working with Disney and

other producers on ''junior'' versions of musicals (such as Aida) that are licensed to high schools.

Winnie's Hometown Festival, an annual event celebrating the real-life bear who

inspired A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh, kicks off for three days in White River,

Ontario.

"The Great American Concert: Walt Disney’s Fantasia with Fireworks" is performed

at the Hollywood Bowl in California. The concert marks only the second time that excerpts from

Fantasia has been screened with a live orchestral accompaniment.

In 1941, Walt and Lillian Disney

along with sixteen colleagues spent

10 weeks visiting several Latin

American nations to gather story

material for a series of short films

with South American themes. The

result was Saludos Amigos and

The Three Caballeros.

2000:

The Disney Channel Original Movie Quints starring Kimberly J. Brown debuts.

The White River Historical Society and the community of White River hold the 12th Annual Winnie's Hometown Festival in White River, Ontario, Canada. The 3-day festival is a tribute to a black bear cub named Winnie who made an unforgettable contribution to children's literature.

1934:

While on holiday in Hawaii with his wife Lillian, Walt Disney attends a charity event - the opening game of the Army's baseball championship series between teams from Fort Shafter and Wheeler Field. Prior to the game Walt appears at Honolulu's Princess theater at 10 a.m., for the regular meeting of one of the many "Mickey Mouse Clubs" that are popular with children across the U.S.

1938:

Disney's first full length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is released in Australia.

2008:

Jonas Brothers attend the unveiling of their very own wax figures at Madame Tussauds in Washington, D.C.

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