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.
Disney Channel airs the Hannah Montana episode "Money For
Nothing, Guilt For Free" for the first time.
A Mickey Mouse balloon
was first added to
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
in New York City 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 the Disney-MGM attraction 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").