This Day in Disney History: FEB 24

2005:

Singabration (a song & dance event that includes 750 students performing on the Forecourt of Cinderella's Castle) kicks off at Walt Disney World.

Star Wars filmmaker Geroge Lucas visits the

Disney-MGM Studios in Florida.

It is reported that the Florida Board of Governors has appointed

Walt Disney World Resort President Al Weiss to the

University of Central Florida board of trustees.

1786:

Writer and linguist Wilhelm Carl Grimm is born in Hanau, Germany. (He and his brother Jacob will be the first to write down such classic folktales as Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty.)

1939:

Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon The Practical Pig

(featuring the Three Little Pigs) is released.

1940:

Florida-born actress Frances Langford records the song

"When You Wish Upon a Star." (The release of Disney's Pinocchio prompts the successful singer-actress to record her own version of the tune.)

1950:

Disney's first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

(originally released in the U.S. in 1937) is released in West Germany.

1955:

Steve Jobs, one of the leading figures in the computer industry, is born to an

American mother and Syrian father in San Francisco, California. A co-founder

& CEO of Apple Computer, Jobs bought Lucasfilm's computer graphics

division in the mid-1980s and turned it into Pixar Animation Studios.

1956:

The Disney short Chips Ahoy, featuring Donald Duck and

Chip 'n' Dale, is released. It is Disney's first short release of 1956.

1957:

The LP record Firehouse Five Plus Two - Firehouse Five Plus Two Goes to Sea is released on the Good Time Jazz label. The Dixieland group features animators Ward Kimball (on trombone) & Frank Thomas (on piano), and songwriter George Bruns (on tuba).

1960:

Disney's Kidnapped, starring Peter Finch, Peter O'Toole, and James MacArthur

is released. It is based on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic.

1963:

The TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color

airs part 2 of "Banner in the Sky."

1969:

Disney's Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day is nominated for an Academy Award.

1975:

Disney's Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too is nominated for an Academy Award.

1999:

Disney's The Lion King wins Best Musical Show Album at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which are announced at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.

2001:

The animated series Disney's House of Mouse airs episode 6 "Timon & Pumbaa."

2003:

It is reported that baggage searches at Walt Disney World parks (which

began after September 11, 2001) may continue for a long time. Disney

has begun building a permanent bag check area at the Magic Kingdom

to take the place of the folding tables now being used.

2004:

Today is the last day for Walt Disney World guests to

view "75 InspEARations" (a tribute to Mickey Mouse).

The statues will begin a U.S. tour in May.

The ABC-TV comedy series According to Jim airs part 1 of

"When You Wish To Be A Star," an episode filmed aboard the Disney Magic. It is the first time ever an entertainment program

has been filmed aboard either of the premier

Disney Cruise Line ships.

2006:

Comedic actor Don Knotts passes away at age 81 in Beverly Hills, California. Best known to fans of TV's The Andy Griffith Show as the loveable but nerdy Deputy Barney Fife, Knotts was a five-time Emmy winner. His Disney voice credits include Chicken Little (as Mayor Turkey Lurkey) and 101 Dalmations: The Series (as the dog catcher). Knotts also appeared in the Disney live-action features The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again,

No Deposit, No Return and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.

Actor Dennis Weaver passes away in Colorado at age 81. Best known for his TV roles in Gunsmoke and McCloud, Weaver was the voice of Abner in Disney's 2004 animated feature Home on the Range. He also appeared in the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color "Gallegher Goes West" series

(which aired in 1966).

1943:

Master Disney animator Vladimir "Bill" Tytla resigns from the Disney

Studios. His perception that he is unwelcomed at the Studio, has been given

less challenging work, his wife's three-year long illness with tuberculosis, and

a desire to live on his Connecticut farm has led him to this decision.

FEBRUARY 24

1985:

The Disney Clothiers shop opens in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World.

Get your Disney tickets at Maple Leaf Tickets!

1951:

Actress Debra Jo Rupp is born in Glendale, California. Best known from the hit TV series That '70s Show, her Disney credits include Air Buddies and Teacher's Pet.

Actors Dennis Weaver and Clint Howard played father and son on the 1967 television series Gentle Ben. Weaver went on to voice the character of Abner in the 2004 Home on the Range and Howard went on to supply the voice of Roo in the 1974 Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!.