Through the Disney Harvest
program, Walt Disney World donates over 400,000
pounds of food to
more than 40
Central Florida
agencies
each year.
2005:
Roy Disney and Stanley Gold make public their withhold vote for all Directors at this year's shareholders meeting (to be held February 11 in Minneapolis).
"Julie Andrews is quite possibly the most regal, elegant person alive."
- Actress Anne Hathaway (co-star of Disney's The Princess Diaries)
1828:
Writer Jules Verne, known for such classic novels as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in Eighty Days, and From Earth to the Moon, is born Jules Gabriel Verne
in Nantes, France. His depictions of fantastic technological advances, including space travel and television, will help create the genre of science fiction and influence many - including Walt Disney.
1872:
The first performance in Italy of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida
takes place in his home town of Milan.
1886:
Actor Charles Ruggles is born in Los Angeles, California. His Disney credits include
Follow Me, Boys!, The Ugly Dachshund, and Son of Flubber. (Cartoon fans will remember him as the narrator of the "Aesop's Fables" segment of the animated The Bullwinkle Show.)
1932:
Composer, conductor & pianist John Williams is born in Floral Park, New York. He has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history including Star Wars and Indiana Jones (whose music can be heard in Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Paris). With 45 Academy Award nominations, Williams is, together with composer Alfred Newman, the second most nominated individual after Walt Disney!
1952:
The Disney 8-minute animated short Lambert, the Sheepish Lion, featuring the narration of Sterling Holloway, is released. Lambert, a lion that is mistakenly left with a flock of sheep by a stork, lives his life thinking he is a sheep - until he is forced to defend the flock from an attack by a wolf!
(The short will win an Oscar for Best Animation.)
1956:
The Disneyland television series airs episode 40 -
"Survival in Nature," narrated by Winston Hibler.
1965:
Julie Andrews receives a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy for her role in Disney's Mary Poppins. Dick Van Dyke is nominated for Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy (also for his role in Mary Poppins), but is edged out by Rex Harrison (for his role in My Fair Lady). Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy goes to My Fair Lady - beating out Mary Poppins. Although the Sherman Brothers are nominated for Best Original Score (for their contributions to Mary Poppins), the Golden Globe is given to Dimitri Tiomkin (for his work on The Fall of the Roman Empire).
1974:
Ringo Starr's single "You're 16" is released. The tune is written by
Richard and Robert Sherman (of Disney songwriting fame).
"A Fare of the Heart" Valentine's Party takes place at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The special evening event features Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Grass Roots, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and Gabriel's Brass.
1987:
The TV series The Wonderful World of Disney airs "The Liberators."
1993:
The television sitcom Blossom - starring Mayim Bialik, Joey Lawrence and Ted Wass - airs the episode "Of Mice and Men" ... which takes place at Disneyland!
2001:
Disney's second Anaheim park (and 8th theme park in
the world), California Adventure officially opens along
with its new Grand Californian hotel. California Adventure is the centerpiece of a $1.4-billion expansion of what will now be called the Disneyland Resort. The new park, which has its own distinct identity separate from the 45-year-old Magic Kingdom's, is divided into 3 main theme areas: Paradise Pier
(a nostalgic California beachfront amusement section), Hollywood Pictures Backlot (a district inspired by Hollywood Boulevard and the movies), and the Golden State (a more sprawling area devoted to the people, natural beauty and industries of California).
The Grand Californian, a Craftsman-style hotel, resembling a luxury lodge at a Western national park, has 751 rooms. The hotel sits at the edge of the new park and shares its theme celebrating the Golden State.
Michael Eisner's dedication on this day includes these words:
"To all who believe in the power of dreams … Welcome! Disney’s California Adventure opens its golden gates to you. Here we pay tribute to the dreamers of the past … the native people, explorers, immigrants, aviators, entrepreneurs and entertainers who built the Golden State. And we salute a new generation of dreamers who are creating the wonders of tomorrow … from the silver screen to the computer screen … from the fertile farmlands to the far reaches of space. Disney’s California Adventure celebrates the richness and the diversity of California … its land, its people its spirit and above all, the dreams that it continues to inspire."
2002:
Disney World's Downtown Pleasure Island begins its Mardi Gras celebration.
Disneyland officially announces the upcoming additions to Disney's California Adventure in a short ceremony celebrating the park's first birthday. Two new attractions, "A Bug's Land" and the "Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" will be added to the California park.
The Lizzie McGuire episode "First Kiss" debuts on Disney Channel.
2006:
Gordon Goodwin wins a Grammy for Best Instrumental
Arrangement for "The Incredits" a track from The Incredibles
Soundtrack. Goodwin, a composer/arranger & consumate jazz musician, is a three-time Emmy
Award winner and the leader of Big Phat Band (a Los Angeles based jazz group).
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1953:
Walt Disney appears as a guest on a one-hour special tribute of Ed
Sullivan's hit TV show The Toast of the Town. Sullivan narrates "The Life Story of Walt Disney" with a little help from Donald Duck, as the company celebrates Mickey Mouse’s 25th birthday and the release of Peter Pan. Other guests include animators Ward Kimball and Frank Thomas, Pinto Colvig (the voice of Goofy) and even Walt's secretary Beverly Jordan.
1968:
Disney's live-action feature Blackbeard's Ghost - starring Peter Ustinov, Dean
Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, and Elsa Lanchester - is released. It is based upon
the novel of the same name written by Ben Stahl.
FEB
2008:
The 35th Annual Annie Awards take place at UCLA’s Royce Hall in California. Pixar’s Ratatouille (which is nominated in 13 categories) takes home 9 awards including Best Animated Feature, Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production (Brad Bird), and Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production (also Brad Bird). Best Music in an Animated Feature Production is given to Michael Giacchino for his contribution to Ratatouille.
1980:
Midnight Madness, a cult comedy film from Walt Disney Productions & starring David Naughton, is released. About a group of college students who participate in an all night puzzle solving race, it features Michael J. Fox in his very first film role. It is rated "PG" - only the second film from the Disney company to receive anything other than a "G" rating.
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FEBRUARY 8
FEBRUARY 08
THIS
SITE MADE
IN THE USA
Blackbeard's Ghost released
Julie Andrews wins Golden Globe
2009:
Disney Channel's newest live-action series Sonny With a Chance (starring Demi Lovato) debuts with back-to-back episodes.
At the 62nd British Academy Film Awards, Wall-E wins for Best Animated Film.
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Best Musical Album For Children goes to "Here Comes The 123s" by They Might Be Giants.
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1967:
Sherie Rene Scott, an actress, singer and writer, is born in Topeka, Kansas. Among her Broadway Disney credits - Amneris in Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, for which she won the Clarence Derwent Award, and the original role of Ursula in The Little Mermaid, for which she received her second Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.
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