2001:
Disney's animated Atlantis: The Lost Empire premieres in Hollywood at Disney's
El Capitan Theatre. Set in the year 1914 during the eve of World War I, the film tells the story of a young
linguist named Milo who gains possession of a sacred book which he believes will guide him to the mythical city of
Atlantis. The all-star voice cast includes Michael J. Fox (as Milo James Thatch), Corey Burton (as Gaetan 'The Mole' Moliere), Claudia Christian (as Helga Katrina Sinclair), James Garner (as Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke), Jim
Varney (as Cookie Farnsworth) and Leonard Nimoy (as King Kashekim Nedakh). Atlantis: The Lost Empre will be
generally released in U.S. theaters June 15.
The 2001 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival ends.
1972:
Rod Serling creator & host of the current Night Gallery (and The Twilight Zone which ran from 1959-1964) appears on the cover of TV Guide.
1984:
The Bistro de Paris restaurant in the France Pavilion
at Epcot's World Showcase opens.
1987:
Actress/singer-songwriter Lalaine (Vergara-Paras), who portrayed Miranda
Isabella Sanchez on the Disney Channel sitcom Lizzie McGuire, is born in
Burbank, California. Her credits also include the Disney Channel original movie You Wish and
Disney's TV version of Annie.
Disneyland's Space Mountain is
actually sunk 17 feet into the
ground so it won't dwarf the
Sleeping Beauty Castle.
1989:
The Disney Channel Premiere Film Looking for Miracles debuts. The film is based on the memoir "Looking for Miracles" by A.E. Hotchner - actor Paul Newman's long-time business partner for "Newman's Own" brand and Connecticut next-door neighbor! A teenager’s summer as a camp counselor in 1935 is complicated by his stowaway little brother. Directed by Kevin Sullivan, the cast includes Patricia Phillips (mother), Zachery Bennett (Sullivan), Greg Spottiswood (Ryan), and Joe Flaherty (Arnold Berman).
2007:
At the MTV Movie Awards, Johnny Depp wins Best Performance for his role in
Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Disney's swashbuckling
feature also wins Best Movie.
Army Wives, a new series for Lifetime produced by Mark Gordon Co. and ABC Studios, premieres.
The 2007 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival comes to an end.
JUNE
1949:
The Donald Duck short Winter Storage, featuring Chip 'n' Dale and
directed by Jack Hannah, is released. Winter is coming and the chipmunk
duo's acorn inventory is running low. What better place to stock up than Park Ranger Donald's tree seeding project!
1960:
Disneyland's Puffin Bakery, opened since July 1955, closes on Main Street.
The space will become the Sunkist Citrus House and in 1990 the Blue Ribbon Bakery.
JUNE 3
JUNE 3
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THIS SITE MADE
IN THE
USA
In Memory of Wally Boag (1920-2011)
"My hero, the first comedian I ever saw live, my influence, a man to whom I aspired, has passed on.
Wally Boag." -Steve Martin's Twitter, This Day in Disney History 2011
1980:
Donn Tatum retires as chairman and chief executive officer of Walt Disney
Productions, becoming chairman of the executive committee. On this same day,
Card Walker is elected chairman of Walt Disney Productions.
Walt Disney Productions announces the creation of new divisions: Walt Disney Motion Picture and Television Production Division, Walt Disney Outdoor Recreation Division
(with Dick Nunis being named president), and Walt Disney Marketing Division.
2009:
Disneyland treats guests to a preview of a new fireworks show called "Magical."
The nighttime presentation features 750 discreet digital-control channels, Disney Air Launch system (which
creates less ground-level smoke than the former system using black powder) and the addition of six high-beam
lights shooting up behind the castle. "Magical" will officially begin its summer run June 12.
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2006:
The Wonderful World of Disney airs Pixar's 20th Anniversary Special hosted by John
Ratzenberger on ABC-TV. The special is directed, written and executive produced by Leslie Iwerks
(daughter of Don Iwerks and granddaughter of Ub Iwerks).
1996:
Disney's Hollywood Pictures premieres The Rock an action film starring Sean
Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Ed Harris. As much of the story primarily takes place on Alcatraz
Island (a small island in the San Francisco Bay area that once served as a lighthouse, a military fortification,
a military prison, and a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison) the film's grand debut actually takes place
on Alcatraz Island (today an historical site). The Rock will be generally released June 7.
The 3rd Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival ends.
2010:
at age 76. The Emmy-winning actress was best known for her role on the hit series The Golden Girls
(a Touchstone Television production which ran for 8 years starting in 1985).
2005:
Disney-MGM hosts the third (of 6) Star Wars Weekends. Celebrity guests include Warwick Davis and Don Bies.
2011:
Disneyland officially launched Star Tours – The Adventures Continue with a gala
ceremony in Tomorrowland. (The force is now strong on both coasts as Star Tours opened at
Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida just a few weeks ago.)
The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure makes it official public debut on this same day at Disney
California Adventure. (Another Little Mermaid-themed attraction at Magic Kingdom Park in Florida will debut in
a few years when the Fantasyland expansion at Walt Disney World Resort is completed.)
Sadly on this same day, Disney Legend Wally Boag passes at the age of 90 in
California. Born in Oregon in September 1920, Boag became an important part of Disneyland's live
entertainment in 1955 when he became a leading man at the park's Golden Horseshoe Revue. As Pecos Bill, he
entertained Disneyland park guests five days a week, three times a day, for nearly 27 years. Boag also provided
the voice of the Audio-Animatronics parrot, Jose, in the Enchanted Tiki Room, and opened the Diamond
Horseshoe Revue at Walt Disney World in 1971. (In 1981, he appeared on an episode of The Muppet Show.)
Artist Lee J. Ames passes away in New York. Getting his first job at age 18 with Walt Disney Studios, his short tenure included Fantasia, Donald's Snow Fight, and Bambi. He went on to be an advertising artist, fine artist, cartoonist, designer, animation in-betweener, illustrator, and an artist-in residence at Doubleday (an American book publisher). Ames will be best remembered for his series of 26 "Draw 50" books.
June 3
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
1961:
The King of Swing Benny Goodman returns to Disneyland with his big band for the start of Date Night. Last week Goodman and his band had performed for Memorial Day weekend guests at Disneyland.
2016:
Girl Meets World begins its third season on the Disney Channel. The sitcom (a sequel
to Boy Meets World) had premiered in June 2014. The series follows Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley and
her best friend Maya as they navigate the challenges of junior high school.
1994:
The comedy Renaissance Man, starring Danny DeVito and directed by Penny
Marshall, is released by Touchstone Pictures. After getting canned from his advertising job, down-
and-out divorcé Bill Rago (DeVito) gets a position teaching English at a nearby army base. There, he takes on a
group of underachieving students from poor backgrounds who seem apathetic about their education.
Although frustrated, he finally turns the class around when he begins discussing "Hamlet." However, Sergeant Cass
(played by Gregory Hines), a hardened drill instructor, is skeptical of Bill's teaching methods.
2019:
Today is the final day of the 26th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival which
includes the Garden Rocks Concert Series; with final performances by pianist/bandleader Eddie Palmieri.
2003:
For the Ride Home, the debut album of singer Josh Kelley is released by Hollywood Records.
1928:
Harold P. "Harry" Archinal, the man widely considered to have practically invented Disney's international film distribution business, is born in Brooklyn, New York. He started working for Disney in March 1954 as a clerk in the foreign department at the New York office of the Buena Vista Distribution Company (which was founded by Disney in 1953 to distribute its films). Joining Buena Vista International as Latin America sales supervisor, Archinal became general sales manager for the foreign division and then vice president before eventually being named president of Buena Vista International in 1972. On January 1, 1988, after 33 years with The Walt Disney Company and 16 as president of Buena Vista International, Archinal retired from the Company where he had spent his entire career. After retiring from Disney, he became an executive vice president at Introvision, a special effects firm that applied its unique "Introvision" technique to dozens of Hollywood blockbusters in the 1980s and 1990s, including Disney’s "Adventures in Babysitting" and Columbia’s "Stand By Me." Named a Disney Legend in 2009, Archinal passed away in May 2017 at the age of 88.
2017:
Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer, an animated television series created and executive-produced by Aaron Springer, debuts on Disney XD. Billy Dilley, an eccentric science-obsessed seventh-grader (voiced by Springer), and his lab partners, Zeke (Tom Kenny) and Marsha (Catherine Wayne), get stuck in a bizarre, magical world beneath the earth’s surface during summer break.
2020:
ABC's "The Wonderful World of Disney" presents Up. Winner of two Academy Awards including Best Animated Feature, Disney/Pixar's Up centers on 78-year-old Carl Fredrickson, a retired balloon salesman who is part rascal, part dreamer and ready for his last chance at high-flying excitement. This is the 3rd of 4 consecutive Wednesday presentations of beloved films from the Disney+ library.
2004:
The 3rd (and final season) of the interactive series Stanley debuts on Playhouse Disney.
1951:
Animator Rollin "Ham" Hamilton passes away at age 52 in California. Starting in February 1924 as Walt's first animator, Hamilton worked on many of the Oswald shorts, and nearly all of the Alice Comedies through 1928. He went on to help originate the Warner Bros. cartoon studio with Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising - also former Disney animators.
2002:
The 9th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival comes to an end.
1911:
Actress and screenwriter Ellen Corby is born Ellen Hansen in Racine, Wisconsin. Best known for the role of Esther "Grandma" Walton on the CBS television series The Waltons (for which she won three Emmy Awards), she also appeared in the 1972 Disney live-action adventure drama Napoleon and Samantha as Gertrude.
2021:
Actor and acting coach Ernie Lively passes away at age 74 in California. Best known for his roles in Passenger 57, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, his Disney credits included the TV movie Balloon Farm and the series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as the voice of Maddie's Father. Lively also appeared in episodes of the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show.
(He is the father of actors Blake and Eric Lively.)
1940:
Actor/songwriter-turned-genealogist Hank Jones is born in Oakland, California. His Disney film credits include minor roles in The Cat from Outer Space, The Shaggy D.A., No Deposit, No Return, Herbie Rides Again, The Million Dollar Duck, The Barefoot Executive, and Blackbeard's Ghost.
