2005:
"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" (hosted by Meredith Vieira) begin taping shows at Walt Disney World.
1628:
Author Charles Perrault is born in Paris, France. His famous tales such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Puss-in-Boots, and Little Red Riding Hood, were mostly adapted from earlier folk tales.
1936:
The New York Times publishes an interview titled "H.G. Wells in
Close Up." (Wells is the author of such science fiction classics as
The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The First Men in the Moon,
and The Time Machine). He refers to Walt Disney as "a genius."
1955:
The Disneyland television series airs part 2 of Disney's 1950 live-action film Treasure Island.
1957:
Academy Award-winning director-writer-producer John Lasseter (of Disney/Pixar's Toy Story films) is born in Hollywood, California. He will work at Disneyland as a Jungle Cruise skipper before starting his career in animation. Today he is the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.
1975:
Chase Hampton, a member of Disney Channel's The All New Mickey Mouse Club, is born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
1999:
Actress and Disney Legend Betty Lou Gerson, who supplied the voice for Cruella De Vil in Disney's 101 Dalmatians, and provided the narration for Cinderella, passes away in Los Angeles, California.
GO Network, an Internet portal site created by Disney and Infoseek, is launched.
2000:
Marc Davis, one of Disney's "Nine Old Men" (a core group of early
animators) passes away in California, just 3 months short of his
87th birthday. He masterminded the designs of heroines and villainesses like
Cinderella and Cruella de Vil. After leaving animation in 1961, Davis had a hand in
designing many attractions for the Disney parks as an Imagineer.
2001:
Downtown Disney, a separate restaurant, shopping and nightclub zone beside
Disneyland's new park, officially opens to the public. This new center links the two
theme parks and the three Disneyland Resort hotels. AMC Theatres also debuts its newest megaplex in
Downtown Disney. The theaters are housed in a 60,000-square-foot building showcasing architectural
features reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood.
Disney and McDonald's start a New Collect-and-Build Happy Meal campaign starring Buzz Lightyear, the interstellar hero from Disney/Pixar's Toy Story and Toy Story 2 movies and an all-new animated television series.
Disney Channel airs a special sneak peek of "Rumors" the very first episode of the new Lizzie McGuire series. Also debuting is Zenon: The
Zequel, a Disney Channel Original Movie starring Kirsten Storms.
2003:
A groundbreaking ceremony takes place in Hong Kong to mark the
official start of the construction phase of a new Disney park.
Brazilian Adriano Bastos clocks the fastest Disney Marathon time in
eight years at the 10th annual Walt Disney World Marathon and
Half Marathon. The 24-year-old finishes the race in 2:18:33 (his
first win in 11 marathons).
2004:
Tokyo Disneyland begins its 20th anniversary celebration with the live show "Remember the Dreams."
It is announced that Disney's Florida animation department
will close ... resulting in 258 jobs lost.
2007:
Disney Channel's newest series Cory in the House (a spinoff of That's So
Raven) premieres. Cory, which marks Disney Channel's first-ever series spinoff, features Raven's Kyle Massey and Rondell Sheridan reprising their roles as son and father Cory and Victor Baxter.
Also debuting is the Disney Channel Movie Jump In! starring Corbin Bleu, best known from the hit High School Musical. (Jump In! will draw 8.17 million viewers, making it the most-watched program in the network’s history!)
2007 Disney Dollars featuring Ariel, Princess Aurora and Cinderella are released at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Disney Stores.
Shareholders are informed that Disney's 2007 Annual Meeting of shareholders, will be held on Thursday, March 8, 2007, at 10 a.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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A young John Lasseter was the second
student to ever be accepted into a
new program for animation at CalArts
(located in Valencia, California). There
he won the Student Academy Awards
for two consecutive years with his
animated films, Lady and the Tramp
and Nitemare. He graduated in 1979,
and later joined Disney, where he
worked for five years. In 1984,
Lasseter left Disney to join Lucasfilm
... which eventually became Pixar!
JANUARY 12
JAN
1987:
The first Cast Premiere for Disneyland's newest attraction Star Tours is held from 7pm-midnight.
2008:
The West End production of Mary Poppins closes after
a run of more than three years.
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JANUARY 12
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
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1927:
Animation artist Ray Aragon is born in Boyle Heights, California. While studying at
Chouinard Art Institute in the mid-1950s, instructor Marc Davis (one of Walt's Nine Old Men) will recommend
Aragon for a job at Disney. He will begin in the layout department on Sleeping Beauty and later work on 101
Dalmatians (before moving on to a diverse career with studios like Hanna-Barbera and Filmation).
Cory in the House debuts
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1891:
Artist, animator & director Hugh Hennesy is born in New Lexington, Ohio. First
joining Disney in 1932, his vast credits include Pinocchio, Fantasia, Saludos Amigos, Melody Time, and
Lady and the Tramp. Hennesy's wife Helen was Disney's very first librarian.
