2005:
Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store on Hollywood Boulevard, adjacent
to the historic El Capitan Theatre, begins serving the public the same day
Herbie: Fully Loaded is generally released. A sports-comedy film directed by Angela Robinson
and produced by Robert Simonds for Walt Disney Pictures, Herbie: Fully Loaded stars Lindsay Lohan as the
youngest member of an automobile-racing family, Justin Long as her best friend and mechanic, Michael Keaton
as her father, Breckin Meyer as her brother, and Matt Dillon as a competing racer. The film features the Aly & AJ
re-make of "Walking on Sunshine" (originally a hit for Katrina & The Waves). It is the sixth and final installment of the Herbie franchise, following the television film The Love Bug (1997) and the only theatrical Herbie film since Herbie Goes Bananas (1980).
1917:
Walt Disney's older brother Roy O. Disney enlists in the
U.S. Navy along with his friend Mitch Francis. Roy will first be
assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station outside of Chicago, and
eventually be transferred to Charleston, South Carolina - where he will be
responsible for transporting material between New York and France.
(Roy will later marry Mitch's sister Edna!)
1916:
Character actor & singer Richard Eastham is born in Opelousas, Louisiana. His Disney credits include the live-action features That Darn Cat! and Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus. (A familiar face on television, Eastham's credits include episodes of Dallas, The Waltons, Barnaby Jones and Perry Mason.)
1949:
Disney re-releases Dumbo in theaters for the second time.
Actress Meryl Streep is born in Summit, New Jersey. Often described as the "best actress of her
generation," her Disney/Miramax credits include Before and After (1996), Marvin's Room (1996), Disneynature's Wings of Life (2013), Into the Woods (2014), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). (Known for her versatility and accents, Streep has appeared in such hit films as The Deer Hunter, Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie's Choice, and The Bridges of Madison County.)
1955:
Disney's Lady and the Tramp, the studio's first feature-length cartoon produced in CinemaScope, is generally released. Directed by Clyde Geronomi, Wilfred Jackson, & Hamilton Luske,
the film features the voices of Peggy Lee (who has also co-written the music), Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, and Bill
Thompson. A romantic tale of a sheltered uptown Cocker Spaniel dog and a streetwise downtown Mutt, the idea for the
film comes from a short story by Ward Greene entitled "Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog."
1970:
The Walt Disney Archives is established on the studio lot in Burbank,
California - with help from David R. Smith - and charged with recording
and preserving the history of Disney. Smith's connection with Disney dates back to 1967 when, as a
librarian at UCLA, he compiled an extensive bibliography on Walt Disney, spending over a year researching all
Disney publications and productions.
1976:
Terra McNair, a member of Disney Channel's The All New Mickey
Mouse Club (for seasons 4-5) is born in San Jose, California.
1977:
Disney's 23rd animated feature film The Rescuers is released in U.S. theaters. Two mice,
of the Rescue Aid Society, search for a little girl kidnapped by unscrupulous treasure hunters. The movie features
the voices of Bob Newhart (as Bernard), Eva Gabor (as Miss Bianca), Joe Flynn (as Mr. Snoops), and Geraldine
Page (as Madame Medusa). The song "Someone's Waiting For You," written by Carol Connors (lyrics), Ayn Robbins
(lyrics), & Sammy Fain (music), will be nominated for an Academy Award.
Also released along with The Rescuers is the live-action short A Tale of Two Critters, about a bear cub and a
raccoon who become fast friends when they're swept away down a river, away from their families.
1985:
Videopolis - a high-tech nightclub style outdoor entertainment
venue - opens in Disneyland's Fantasyland.
Actress Lindsay Ridgeway, who portrays the little girl in the Tower of Terror
pre-show video, is born in Riverside, California. Seven-years-old at the time the short was filmed, three years later Ridgeway was cast in the Disney movie of the same name. Fans of the ABC-TV series Boy Meets World will remember her as younger sister Morgan (for the last 5 seasons of the show's run). In 2017, she revived that role for one episode of the spin-off series "Girl Meets World." In 1992 she played Alice on the TV special "Disney's
Christmas Fantasy on Ice."
1988:
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (distributed by Touchstone Pictures) is generally released the day after its NY City premiere. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced
by Steven Spielberg, it is a joint venture between Walt Disney Pictures and Amblin Entertainment.
Down-on-his-luck private eye Eddie Valiant (played by Bob Hoskins) gets hired by cartoon producer R.K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern) to investigate a scandal involving Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner), the sultry wife of Maroon's biggest star, Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer). But when Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), Jessica's alleged paramour and the owner of Toontown, is found murdered, the villainous Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) vows to catch and destroy Roger.
1997:
Disney's Hercules has its California premiere at Cal Arts in Los Angeles.
It will be generally released June 27.
2001:
Disney's animated feature Atlantis: The Lost Empire is released in Columbia. A young
adventurer named Milo Thatch joins an intrepid group of explorers to find the mysterious lost continent of Atlantis.
The Disney Channel debuts the Lizzie McGuire episode "Lizzie's Nightmares."
2004:
Walt Disney Records releases The Cheetah Girls Special Edition, the soundtrack from the Disney Channel Original Movie.
Six classic Disney tunes are chosen as part of The American Film Institute's top
100 songs. Broadcast on CBS-TV,
AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs is hosted by John Travolta.
Disney is represented in the list with -
"When You Wish Upon A Star" (from Pinocchio) at #7
"Some Day My Prince Will Come" (from Snow White) at #19
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (from Mary Poppins) at #36
"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" (from Song of the South) at #47
"Beauty and the Beast" (from Beauty and the Beast) at #62
"Hakuna Matata" (from The Lion King) at #99.
Hollywood Records releases It's About Time, the fourth solo album by R&B singer Morris Day.
2006:
The first of two special on-line Disney auction charity events (to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation) begin. Packages to bid on include a private boat ride with a Walt Disney Imagineer on Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland and two tickets to the July 6, 2006 sold out
Pirates of the Caribbean: A Moonlit Voyage event. (The second auction begins July 6.)
Virgnia Davis, who starred in Walt Disney's early Alice Comedies, appears in
person at the Hollywood Heritage Museum in Hollywood, California.
In Florida, Radio Disney hosts The Disney Channel's So Hot Summer Concert featuring Hannah Montana. Miley Cyrus of the Disney Channel hit show performs twice as Hannah at Disney World's Typhoon Lagoon.
Actor, voice actor, impressionist, comedian and screenwriter
Paul Frees (born on this day in
1920) is probably best known to Disney fans as the Haunted Mansion's "Ghost Host."
But did you know he supplied the ending narration for the 1970 20th Century Fox feature Beneath the Planet of the Apes?
2007:
Epcot's newly-updated American Adventure debuts. It now includes
moments from 9-11-2001, current military operations, and other
recent events.
A Red Carpet Premiere for Ratatouille takes place at the
Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California.
Disney-MGM Studios celebrates the 30th anniversary of Star Wars
with the fourth (and final) Star Wars Weekends for 2007. Celebrity
guests for the next 3 days include Anthony Daniels and Bonnie Piesse.
She's from the leash and license set ... he's footloose and collar free!
Two tiny heroes, one big adventure!
JUNE
A comedy with great taste.
2008:
Award-winning comedian-actor George Carlin passes away at age 71 in Los
Angeles, California. Carlin was the voice of Fillmore the VW bus in Disney/Pixar's Cars and Zugor the
old hermit ape in Disney's Tarzan II. Known for his raunchy, but insightful humor, Carlin was best known for
his routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television."
"Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?" -George Carlin
JUNE 22
1920:
Disney Legend Paul Frees, one of the most successful
voice actors of all time, is born Solomon Hersh Frees in
Chicago, Illinois. His large body of Disney work includes Goofy's
Freeway Troubles, The Absent-Minded Professor, and the voice of Ludwig
Von Drake for many TV episodes of Disney's anthology series. Frees' park
attraction credits include Adventures in Innerspace, Pirates of the
Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion as the famous Ghost Host. (Frees
also voiced both John and George for the 1960s cartoon series based on
The Beatles, characters for The Flintstones, and the Burgermeister for the
1970 TV holiday special "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town.")
JUNE 22
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
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1971:
Disney releases the live-action feature film Scandalous John starring Brian Keith,
Alfonso Arau, Michele Carey, Harry Morgan, and John Ritter. A crotchety old ranch owner named
John McCanless fights to be able to live his life the way he wants to, regardless of the law.
1935:
It is widely believed that producer, director, editor, animator, writer, publisher,
storyboard artist, and all-around fun guy Floyd Norman is born on this day in
California. Growing up in Santa Barbara, he began drawing before he could even walk! Norman's Disney credits
include Sleeping Beauty, Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, Sword in the Stone, The Hunchback of
Notre Dame, Mulan, and Dinosaur. His Pixar credits include Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.
Walt Disney Archives established
1938:
Walt Disney receives an honorary degree from Yale University in New Haven,
Connecticut. Also receiving at the commencement ceremony are Lord Tweedsmuir, the governor
general of Canada, Justice Stanley Reed of the U.S. Supreme Court and German novelist Thomas Mann.
"He has accomplished something that defied all the efforts and experiments of the laboratories in zoology and
biology; he has given impressive significance to the word anima in animated; he has given animals souls. ... His
work has the elements of a great romantic art; the beautiful, the fantastic, the grotesque, all combining in
irresistible and ineffable charm." -Professor of English William Lyon Phelps
2009:
The new Luxo Jr. Audio-Animatronic (the small hopping desk lamp included in
Pixar's corporate logo) premieres at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
1969:
Disneyland by Starlite, a 7-day promotion to get more guests in
the park at night for the extended summer hours, kicks off in
Anaheim. This evening's entertainment features country music
singer/guitarist Roy Clark.
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1990:
Touchstone Pictures release the comedy Betsy's Wedding, written, directed and
starring Alan Alda. Dylan Walsh and Molly Ringwald play Jake and Betsy, a young couple attempting to plan
their intimate wedding. But their nuptial plans go out the window when Betsy's working-class folks feel compelled to
interfere. The cast includes Madeline Kahn, Ally Sheedy, and Joe Pesci.
1968:
Disneyland Cast Members Tom and Janice Nabbe are married. Tom's career started when
he was just 12-years-old - as the park's first Tom Sawyer. (He will transfer to Walt Disney World in Orlando as
part of its opening crew in 1971, and later be named a Disney Legend.)
1978:
Disneyland Grad Nite '78 is held, featuring the live sounds of Papa
Doo Run Run, High Inergy, Rose Royce, and Billy Preston.
Selected Disney credits:
-101 Dalmatians
-Donald in Mathmagic Land
-Goliath II
-Great Moments with Mr.
Lincoln
-Mary Poppins
-Noah's Ark
-Pollyanna
-The Shaggy Dog
-The Ugly Dachshund
"I made my first trip (to the Walt Disney World property) in 1971 as the company’s recently hired
archivist. At that time, Orlando was a sleepy little town — a place you quickly passed through on the
way to Miami." -Dave Smith
2012:
The 3D computer-animated fantasy adventure film Brave is
generally released in U.S. theaters. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios
and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, Brave tells the story of a skilled Scottish archer
named Merida, voiced by Kelly Macdonald, who defies an age-old custom, causing
chaos in her kingdom. It is the first movie ever to use the Dolby Atmos sound format.
Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman and co-directed by Steve Purcell, the
voice cast includes Emma Thompson as Queen Elinor, Billy Connolly as King Fergus,
Julie Walters as The Witch, Craig Ferguson as Lord Macintosh, Steve Purcell as The
Raven/Crow, and John Ratzenberger as Gordon, the guard.
Playing in front of Brave is the Pixar short La Luna, directed and written by Enrico
Casarosa. A young boy reaches for the moon, but doesn't know whether to take the
lead of his father or his grandpa.
A live stage production of Walt Disney's "Summer Magic" is performed in the
William H. Inman Humanities Theater at Walters State Community College in
Morristown, Tennessee. Originally a live-action feature film released in 1963, the musical has been
brought to the stage by director Jerry Maloy. In attendance are Mary Costa, the native Knoxvillian whose voice
was used in the animated feature "Sleeping Beauty," Richard Sherman, who with his brother Robert wrote some
of Disney's most beloved music, and Eddie Hodges, who played Gilly in the original 1963 "Summer Magic."
Mad Buddies, a South African comedy film directed by Gray Hofmey, is released by
Touchstone Pictures. A conniving producer tricks two sworn enemies into starring in a reality television show.
1947:
Actor, comedian, composer, musician, and baseball scout David Lander is born David Leonard Landau in Brooklyn, New York. Best known for his television role of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman on the ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley (from 1976 to 1982), his Disney voice credits included TaleSpin, Recess, A Bug's Life, 101 Dalmatians: The Series, The Little Mermaid series, and Jungle Cubs. Lander was also the voice of Smart Ass, the chief weasel of Judge Doom's Toon Patrol in the 1988 Disney/Amblin film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Lander reprised his role as Smart Ass on the related park ride, but the character was renamed Wiseguy. You may recognize him from appearances in such films and TV shows as 1941, Used Cars, A League of their Own, The Love Boat, Barney Miller, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. A huge Pittsburgh Pirates fan, as a baseball scout he worked for the Anaheim Angels and the Seattle Mariners. Serving as a goodwill ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Lander sadly passed at age 73 in 2020 from that very disease.
June 22
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
2013:
Disney California Adventure hosts the premiere of The Lone Ranger.
About 3,000 fans line more than 1,500 feet of red carpet to greet Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer and
the rest of the cast for the Gore Verbinski-directed blockbuster due out July 3. Held at the park’s Hyperion Theater,
The Lone Ranger brings to the big screen beloved characters from the 1949-1957 TV series, which in turn
was adapted from a 1933 radio show.
2018:
Luke Cage: Season 2 (Original Soundtrack Album) is released by Hollywood Records.
It is produced by rapper Ali Shaheed Muhammad and composer arranger Adrian Younge. It features music used on the second season of the American web television series Luke Cage, which is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name.
The 2018 Radio Disney Music Awards take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood,
California. The ceremony will be shown on Radio Disney and Disney Channel the following night, June 23. Among the winners:
-Best Artist: Shawn Mendes
-Best Group: BTS
-Favorite Social Music Artist: Max & Harvey
-Best New Artist: Bebe Rexha
-Best Crush Song: "Perfect" - Ed Sheeran
-Best Song That Makes You Smile: "DNA" - BTS
-Country Favorite Artist: Kelsea Ballerini
-Breakout Artist of the Year: Camila Cabello
2014:
Captain EO closes at Disneyland. A 3D science fiction film starring Michael Jackson that had originally ran from 1986-1996, the attraction gained popularity after the untimely death of Jackson in June 2009. Captain EO reopened at Disneyland on February 23, 2010.
1941:
Actor Michael Lerner is born in Brooklyn, New York. His credits include Newsies (1992),
My Favorite Martian (1999), and 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2002).
2016:
The 42nd Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy, horror and other genres in film, television, home media releases, and theatre in 2015 and early 2016, are held in Burbank, California. Among the winners...
-Best Science Fiction Film: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
-Best Fantasy Film: Cinderella
-Best Thriller Film: Bridge of Spies
-Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture: Ant-Man
-Best Animated Film: Inside Out
-Best Writing: Lawrence Kasdan, J. J. Abrams, and Michael Arndt – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
-Best Actor: Harrison Ford – Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Han Solo
-Best Supporting Actor: Adam Driver – Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Kylo Ren
-Best Music: John Williams – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
-Best Editing: Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey
-Best Costume Design: Avengers: Age of Ultron – Alexandra Byrne
-Best Make-up: Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Neal Scanlan
-Best Special Effects: Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould
-Best Local Live Stage Production: Tarzan (3D Theatricals)
1960:
Artist, animator, director, story artist and screenwriter Serguei Kouchnerov is born in Rahachow, Belarusian SSR. In 1992, he was hired by Walt Disney Feature Animation as a character animator and came to the United States. His credits include The Lion King video game and Fantasia 2000.
1963:
Award-winning screenwriter Rob Edwards is born in Detroit, Michigan. His writing includes the Disney animated feature films Treasure Planet and The Princess and the Frog.
