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1918:
Singer & radio personality Dennis Day is born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty in The Bronx, New York. He can be heard in Disney's 1948 feature Melody Time, narrating and providing all the voices for
"The Legend of Johnny Appleseed" segment.
1928:
Walt Disney's trademark application for "Mickey Mouse"
is filed with the United States Patent Office.
1933:
A 23-year-old artist named Wolfgang Reitherman is hired at the Disney Studios in Hollywood, California. "Woolie" as he will be nicknamed, will start work in June and go on to become one of Walt's legendary "Nine Old Men".
1934:
Disney comic illustrator Luciano Gatto is born in Venice, Italy.
1948:
Disney's Donald's Dream Voice, directed by Jack King, is released. Donald tries his hand at selling brushes door-to-door ... but since nobody can understand him, nobody buys anything!
1954:
The Disney cartoon Pigs is Pigs is released. Narrated by Gary Owens, the short
features the sounds of the Mellomen - a vocal group which includes Thurl
Ravenscroft. (It will be nominated for an Academy Award.)
1961:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "Wonders of the Water World."
1993:
CBS-TV airs the 2nd part of the Disney special
"The Best of Disney Music: A Legacy in Song."
1998:
The new Disneyland Tomorrowland is unveiled
after being given an extreme facelift. Various dedications
will take place over the next 2 days. Among the special guests are legendary astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Wally Schirra.
1999:
Disney Presents: Bill Nye the Science Guy wins a
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Series.
2001:
In Hawaii, Disney turns the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis into a party ship and outdoor movie theater for the premiere of its summer blockbuster, Pearl Harbor. Movie stars mingle with survivors and top military officers as some 2,000 guests gather on the flight deck of one of America's biggest ships for the screening.
2005:
Howard Morris, the voice of Gopher in Disney's Winnie the Pooh features, passes away in Los Angeles, California. Since the early 60s, he has been a main staple of the Hanna-Barbera Productions vocal team, offering hundreds of voices for The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. As a director Morris was responsible for the classic black-and-white pilot of TV's Get Smart.
MAY 21
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1957:
Actor Judge Reinhold - Neil Miller in Disney's live-action features The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause, and The Santa Clause - is born in Wilmington, Delaware. (Movie fans will recognize him from such features as Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Beverly Hills Cop.)
In 1959, Disney purchased the 708-acre Golden Oak Ranch in California (just north of their Burbank studio) to serve as a film location.
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2008:
During the season finale of American Idol, Jordin Sparks, last year’s winner, announces that The American Idol Experience, a theme-park version of the show, will open at Disney Hollywood Studios in January 2009. David Cook, who is voted this season's American Idol, shouts "I'm going to Disney World!" during the celebration following the live announcement. (It is a rare off-field exception for those famous promotional words, which have almost always been uttered by sports figures.)
Disney’s VirtualMagicKingdom.com shuts down at 10 p.m. The free social gaming site, also known as VMK, let players choose and style avatars, chat with other players and play games - all in a virtual theme park environment.
