AUG 24 Disney History

2005:

Aly & AJ, Hollywood Records recording artists, begin a 5-day run at Disneyland. The sister pop duo will perform at the Club Buzz Stage in Tomorrowland 4 times a day.

1914:

Lieutenant Harry Colebourn (a Veterinary Officer) stops at White River

Ontario, Canada, on his way to fight the ongoing war in Europe. There he purchases a

small black female Canadian bear cub (for $20) and names her Winnie, after his home town of Winnipeg. In

October, his regiment will be sent to England (and ultimately France) and Colebourn will leave Winnie in the

care of the London Zoo. Mascots and pets are not uncommon among the Canadian soldiers. (Writer A.A. Milne and his son Christopher will later visit the zoo ... and become fond of the bear - later known as Winnie the Pooh.)

1916:

Voice artist, writer, and actor Hal Smith is born in Petoskey, Michigan. His Disney

voice credits include Philippe the horse in Beauty and the Beast, Owl in in many of the Winnie the Pooh shorts and

feature films, and Goofy in countless TV cartoons. (TV fans will recognize him from his role as Otis Campbell on the

classic series The Andy Griffith Show. One of the most sought after voice actors in the 1960s, Smith was the

original voice of Barney Rubble!)

1942:

Disney's 6th animated feature film Saludos Amigos has its world premiere in Rio De

Janeiro, Brazil. Set in Latin America, the film is made up of four different segments featuring Donald Duck,

Goofy, and José Carioca. It also includes live-action segments showing members of the Disney staff touring South

America and recording their impressions in sketches. (The film's U.S. release the following February will make it

the first Disney animated feature to be shown in South America before it is screened in the USA.)

1958:

Actor Steve Guttenberg, star of the 1997 TV movie Tower of Terror - based on the Disney World attraction - is born in New York. (Film fans will know him from such classics as Diner, Cocoon, and the Police Academy series.)

1974:

Actress Jennifer Lien, the voice of Vitani in Disney's 1998

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, is born in Illinois.

1978:

Trumpeter, bandleader, singer and composer Louis Prima, known

for his memorable contribution to Disney's The Jungle Book,

passes away in a New Orleans nursing home at age 67.

Prima provided the voice of the orangutan King Louie in the Disney

animated feature, and sang the film's hit song, "I Wanna Be Like You." His tombstone will read: "When the end comes I know they'll say just a gigolo and life goes on without me."

1992:

Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 120-millionth guest!

2001:

The Lizzie McGuire episode "Educating Ethan" debuts on Disney Channel.

2002:

Disney's California Adventure hosts the first ever "ABC Primetime Preview Weekend." The 2-day event inaugurates the new ABC-TV fall line-up. Actors John Ritter and Kaley Cuoco (of ABC's new show "8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter") brave a roller coaster ride together.

2006:

It is reported that two white rhinos have taken their first steps on African

soil after being flown into the country from Disney's Animal Kingdom to boost

stocks. (The two bring the number of endangered white hinos in the country to just eight.) They were

released in the Ziwa RhinoSanctuary in Nakasongola district, about 110 miles northwest of Uganda's capital

Kampala after a four-day journey from their home in Florida.

1989:

In Florida, the Ewok Village opens at the entrance to the Star Tours attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park.

Louis Prima (the voice of King

Louie in The Jungle Book) was a

singer, actor, songwriter, and

trumpeter. He actually studied

violin for several years as a child

growing up in New Orleans.

1963:

Film director and writer Kirk Wise is born in San Francisco, California. He will go on to

direct such Disney movies as Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Beauty and the

Beast (along with Gary Trousdale).

1994:

After months of rumors that Jeffrey Katzenberg will exit as chairman

of Walt Disney Studios, the company announces he will step down

in September, at the end of his contract, and that Caravan Pictures

producer Joe Roth will take over.

"I wasn't making it with the violin because I was playing all of the 'long hair' stuff." -Louis Prima

2004:

Actress Brooke Tansley begins rehearsals as the new Belle for Disney's Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast. She will make her debut September 14, taking over the lead role from current Belle Christy Carlson Romano.

1975:

Actor and singer Drew Sarich is born in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1999, Sarich will move to Berlin, Germany to star as Quasimodo in Disney's stage musical Der Glöckner von Notre Dame (for over 580 performances).

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