NOV 26 Disney History

2005:

Disney Legend and pioneering film distribtution executive Irving Ludwig passes away at his home in Santa Monica, California. He is 95. His 40-year career with Disney began in 1940 when he was hired to manage the road-show engagements of Fantasia. Ludwig later served as president of Buena Vista Distribution.

1864:

Charles L. Dodgson (whose pen name is Lewis Carroll) sends a handwritten

manuscript to 12-year-old Alice Liddel. The manuscript, titled "Alice's Adventures

Underground" is an early Christmas present. The manuscript will later be renamed

and published as "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass."

1937:

Disney's Pluto cartoon Pluto's Quin-Puplets is released.

1938:

Tragedy strikes when Walt's mother, Flora Disney, dies of asphyxiation caused

by a defective furnace in the house in Los Angeles that Walt and Roy had built

for their parents less than a month earlier. She is 70 years old.

1946:

Disney animator Woolie Reitherman (one of Disney's "Nine Old Men") weds Janie McMillan at Ermita Presbyterian Church in Manila.

1961:

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs

"Holiday for Henpecked Husbands."

1967:

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs part 1 of "The Monkey's Uncle."

1971:

The Orlando Evening Star runs the front page headline:

"Monster Crowd Too Much For Mickey DISNEY GATES CLOSED"

Traffic-choking crowds jam Walt Disney World to capacity on this day

after Thanksgiving. Shortly before noon it is announced that the Florida

park must close its gates to outside visitors!

1972:

The Wonderful World of Disney airs part 1 of "Chander, the Black Leopard of Ceylon."

1976:

Disney airs The Moonspinners and Prowlers of the Everglades as a TV special.

1987:

Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 50-millionth guest!

1997:

Disney's Flubber (starring Robin Williams) is released.

1998:

Thanksgiving Day

Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving airs on ABC-TV.

2001:

The Walt Disney Company reiterates its commitment to support

U.S. troops at home and abroad, and assist in the nation's relief

and rebuilding programs. (Disney has become a USO World

Sponsor providing more than $1 million financial aid.)

2003:

Disney's feature The Haunted Mansion opens in theaters. The movie stars Eddie Murphy as real estate agent Jim Evers.

2004:

The popular Disney World holiday event the Candlelight Processional is performed

at Epcot for the first time this season as Holidays Around the World begins.

The Disney/Pixar animated feature The Incredibles is released in the United Kingdom

and the Republic of Ireland.

2006:

The Wonders of Life pavilion including the attractions Body Wars, Cranium

Command, and The Making of Me reopen in Epcot. Closed since January 2005, the pavilion

now opens seasonally.

A Mickey Mouse balloon

was first added to

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City

back in 1934.

1951:

MGM releases the comedy Grounds for Marriage featuring Van Johnson and Kathryn Grayson. Among the musical numbers is one by the Firehouse Five Plus Two (a Dixieland jazz band led by Disney animator Ward Kimball).

1942:

The Warner Brothers romance film Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Peter Lorre, is released. (A scene from this film is represented in Disney's Hollywood Studios' The Great Movie Ride. It is also among the trailers shown in the ride's queue area.)

1933:

Legendary star of stage, screen, television and records, Robert Goulet is born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He is the singing voices of Mikey in Recess: School's Out and Wheezy the Penguin in Toy Story 2 (who sings his own version of "You've Got a Friend In Me").

1986:

The Disney Channel first airs "How to Haunt a Haunted House,"

the 75th episode of The Edison Twins.