1770:
German composer and virtuoso pianist Ludwig van Beethoven is baptized.
(The exact date of his birth is not known but experts believe his family may have celebrated his birthday on
December 16.) Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, the Pastoral Symphony will be used in Disney's 1940 Fantasia.
2004:
Disney Channel and Toon Disney Channel are launched in India on Star (India's most widely viewed network).
It is announced that Victoria & Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa has been awarded a AAA Five Diamond rating for the fifth consecutive year.
Disney Channel premieres "Double Vision," the 50th episode of That's So Raven.
1894:
Arthur Fiedler, conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 50 years, is born in Boston, Massachusetts. In October 1971, he will conduct the World Symphony Orchestra at the formal dedication of Walt Disney World. His record album Salute to Disney: Arthur Fiedler/The Boston Pops will be released in 1973.
1931:
Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon The Ugly Duckling
(based on the popular Hans Christian Anderson story) is released.
1932:
Disney's 8-minute black & white Christmas-theme Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Good Deed is released.
1936:
Actor/pop star Tommy Steele is born Thomas William Hicks in London, England.
He plays the role of Johnny Lawless in Disney's 1967 live-action feature The Happiest Millionaire.
(Widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock 'n' roll star, Steele is also known to American audiences for
his role in the 1968 musical Finian's Rainbow.)
1943:
Disney's cartoon short Chicken Little is released.
1946:
Walt Disney returns home to California after a trip that has taken him from
Atlanta (for the premiere of Song of the South) to New York (where he
boarded the Queen Elizabeth) to England and finally Ireland.
1961:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs
"Backstage Party." It promotes the new Babes in Toyland film.
Meanwhile over at Disneyland the Babes in Toyland Exhibit opens on Main Street.
1969:
Disney's 1940 Fantasia is re-released in theaters. It will become immensely
popular with teenagers and college students and for the first time turn a profit.
(It was only after the film's 1963 re-release that Walt learned that Fantasia had finally covered its cost!)
1971:
Roy O. Disney (Walt's brother & the builder of Walt Disney World) decides not to attend the Disneyland Christmas Parade with his wife, son and grandchildren. Although he is not feeling well, he insists that they go on without him. (Sadly he will slip into a coma and 3 days later pass away.)
1977:
Disneyland's "Very Merry Christmas Parade" debuts.
1990:
Honey I Shrunk the Audience Movie Set Adventure opens in the backlot annex area of Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World.
Actress Ashley Edner, the voice of Young Kiara in Disney's 1998
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, is born in Downey, California.
1994:
In Florida, Planet Hollywood opens at 1506 E. Buena Vista Drive, adjacent
to Disney's Pleasure Island at Walt Disney World.
1999:
Disney's animated feature film Fantasia/2000 debuts
at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Western entertainer and Disney Legend Rex Allen (known for his work on many Disney films and theme park attractions) dies in Tucson, Arizona.
2003:
The Disney films Freaky Friday, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of
the Black Pearl, Finding Nemo, and Brother Bear are all nominated
for SATELLITE Awards (given by The International Press Academy).
1966:
Roy Disney announces to Disney management and the Imagineering team that the company will continue to be run according to Walt's wishes. (Walt Disney passed away two days ago.) He states that Walt's first name will be added to the title of the Florida theme park project.
There has been a long-standing
urban legend that after his death,
Walt Disney was cryopreserved so he could be revived at a later date.
This is not true. Mr. Disney was cremated on December 17, 1966
and his ashes were later interred
at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
"It is our intention to make a new version of Fantasia every year. Its pattern is very flexible and fun to work with-not really a concert, not a vaudeville or a revue, but a grand mixture of comedy, fantasy, ballet, drama, impressionism, color, sound and epic fury." -Walt Disney, 1941
DEC
2007:
The Disney MGM Studios logo on the animation courtyard archway is removed. The
Disney MGM Studios will be named Disney’s Hollywood Studios in January 2008.
1935:
Actor George Lindsey, the voice of Lafayette the Basset Hound in Disney's 1970 The AristoCats, is born in Alabama. Lindsey's Disney credits also include an episode of the 1982 TV series Herbie, The Love Bug, and the feature films The Rescuers (as the voice of Rabbit) and Snowball Express (playing the role of Double L. Dingman). Fans of classic TV know Lindsey as
Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show.
1986:
The Disney Channel airs "Vows from the Deep," the 78th
and final episode of The Edison Twins.
DECEMBER 17
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DECEMBER 17
1976:
Walt Disney Productions releases The Shaggy D.A. - a sequel to the 1959 The Shaggy
Dog. Wilby Daniels (the focus of the 1959 film) is now an adult (played by Dean Jones) who is a successful
attorney. Unfortunately for Wilby, he can still transform into an English sheepdog! The film's all-star comic cast
includes Tim Conway, Suzanne Pleshette, Keenan Wynn, Jo Anne Worley, Dick Van Patten, and Vic Tayback.
The only candidate with a LAW DEGREE and a PEDIGREE!
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Walt's name added to Florida project
