2004:
Disney releases Around the World in 80 Days and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (a special 3-disc gift set) to DVD. Also released is the audio CD Walt Disney Records Presents Superstar Hits.
Walt Disney Records releases The Incredibles Soundtrack featuring music by Michael Giancchino.
1832:
Kepple Disney (Walt's paternal grandfather) is born to
Arundel Elias Disney and Maria Swan in Ireland.
1889:
European publisher (of the monthly magazine "Topolino") and Disney Legend Arnoldo Mondadori is born in the village of Poggio Rusco, Italy.
1903:
A production of Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights Dream opens the New
Amsterdam Theater at 214 West 42nd Street in the heart of Times Square in
New York City. It is the largest theater at this time in the state. (During the Depression years, the New
Amsterdam will be converted to a movie house. New York State will later purchase the theater in 1992 and
subsequently lease it to Disney for $29 million in 1993.)
1924:
Bard's Hollywood Theater previews the Alice Comedy film Alice the Piper starring Virginia Davis. (The short will be released the following month.)
1951:
Disney releases the Donald Duck short Out of Scale. Directed by Jack
Hannah, Chip 'n' Dale make themselves at home in Donald's model train set!
1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Anything Can Happen Day.
The Disneyland television series airs part 1 of
"The Story of Robin Hood," a live-action movie first released in 1952.
1963:
The Dapper Dans sing with Julie Andrews and Wally Boag at a special Disneyland press-only event on the Golden Horseshoe stage to promote next year's release of Mary Poppins.
1966:
During pre-operative X-rays for upcoming surgery for an old polo injury to Walt
Disney’s neck, doctors at St. Joseph Medical Center (located across the street from
the Disney Studios) discover a malignant cancerous tumor that has spread to his
entire left lung. Disney has been complaining of shortness of breath, and pain in his left leg and neck.
Although immediate surgery is advised, Walt leaves the hospital to attend to studio business for a few days.
1986:
In New York City, a 12-by-16-inch celluloid, from Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is purchased for $30,800.
Popular voice over actor Paul Frees, known for his Haunted Mansion narration,
passes away in California. He also voiced several pirates in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and Disney's Professor Ludwig Von Drake in eighteen episodes of the Disney anthology television series.
Born in 1920, he began his acting career in 1942 and remained active for over 40 years. During that time, Frees
was involved in more than 250 films, cartoons and TV appearances; like many voice actors, his appearances were
often uncredited. (In TV commercials, Frees voiced the Pillsbury Doughboy and the elf who calls out to the Jolly
Green Giant!) He will be named a Disney Legend in 2006.
Disney's TV film Ask Max - about a 12-year-old genius inventor - first airs.
1992:
At Disneyland, the Mission to Mars attraction in Tomorrowland closes.
The space will remain unused until it officially reopens as a restaurant, Redd Rockett's Pizza Port
in Disneyland's New Tomorrowland on May 22, 1998.
1997:
The Atlanta Journal Constitution runs an article about the "Save Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" website and its attempt to stop Walt Disney World from replacing the classic attraction. (The site was posted October 23, just one day after the Orlando Sentinel ran an article announcing Disney's plans.)
The Wonderful World of Disney airs "Rodger & Hammersteins Cinderella" on ABC-TV.
Cinderella (Brandy) chafes under the cruelty of her wicked stepmother (Bernadette Peters) and her evil stepsisters, Calliope (Veanne Cox) and Minerva (Natalie Desselle), until her Fairy Godmother (Whitney Houston) steps in to change her life for one unforgettable night. At the ball, she falls for handsome Prince Christopher (Paolo Montalban), whose parents, King Maximillian (Victor Garber) and Queen Constantina (Whoopi Goldberg), are anxious for him to find a suitable wife. The cast also includes Jason Alexander as the Prince's valet Lionel. The first multi-racial television performance of "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella," this makes Brandy the first African-American to ever play Cinderella (it is also her film debut). Later nominated for 7 Emmy Awards, the film will win for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program. (Songwriters Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II originally wrote Cinderella as a musical exclusively for television starring Julie Andrews, which aired in 1957.)
Disney Channel debuts a new episode of Muppets Tonight with guest star Paula Abdul. This episode was shot as part of the first season - which aired on ABC-TV.
1999:
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa formally announces that an agreement has been
reached with the Walt Disney Company on building a Disneyland park in Hong Kong.
2001:
Disney's animated feature Monsters, Inc. (featuring the voices of John
Goodman and Billy Crystal) opens. It is the fourth feature collaboration between
The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Studios (but the first film Pixar has released not directed
by John Lasseter). Two monsters who work at a power plant that powers the monster world
with children's screams, encounter a little girl named Boo who accidentally enters the monster
world. Also released with Monsters, Inc. is the Pixar short For the Birds (which first debuted in
2000). This marks the first time John Lasseter serves as an Executive Producer.
In a ceremony held at Disney's California Adventure, Disneyland Resort Cast Member Matt Ebeling (a Manager in Catering and Convention services) is selected as the
newest Disneyland Resort Ambassador. Matt replaces out-going Ambassadors Eddie Garcia and Doina Roman-Osborn.
Disney's River Country, the first water park at the Walt Disney World Resort, closes.
Positioned on the shore of Bay Lake near Discovery Island, River Country featured a rustic wilderness theme,
complete with rocks and man-made boulders. First opening in June 1976, Disney has decided to close it due in
part to Florida Laws prohibiting the use of natural bodies of water for water park use.
2002:
As part of its grand opening weekend, the new Borders in Spokane, Washington, hosts Disney Day.
Beauty and the Beast Special Edition, an enhanced version of the 1991 blockbuster animated feature, is released on DVD.
2006:
Disney's Division II Tip-Off Classic kicks off for 5 days
at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida.
Disney Legend Paul Frees (the
voice of the Haunted Mansion's
Ghost Host) was often called upon
in the 1950s and 1960s to "re-loop"
the dialogue of other actors, often
to correct for foreign
accents, lack of English
proficiency, or poor
line readings by non-
professionals.
1954:
LOOK magazine gives readers "Your First View of Disneyland." The article reports that "bulldozers are piling up miniature mountains for a new product of Walt Disney's fertile imagination - a fabulous playground called Disneyland."
1795:
James K. Polk, the eleventh United States President,
is born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Under
Polk, the U.S. grew by more than a million square miles, adding territory
that is now the states of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho,
Washington, much of New Mexico, and portions of Wyoming, Montana,
and Colorado. Visit Polk and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents.
1865:
Warren G. Harding, the twenty-ninth United States President, is born in Ohio. Visit him and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's Hall of Presidents.
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1989:
Walt Disney World announces plans to build the Dixie Landings Resort.
Dixie Landings will open in 1992 (and become known as Port Orleans Riverside in 2001).
2008:
Approximately 5.5 million viewers watch the third-season debut of Disney Channel's Hanna Montana.
1975:
Actor, musician & voice actor Danny Cooksey is born in Moore, Oklahoma. He supplied
the voices of Disney's Dave the Barbarian, Emperor Stanley for the Meet the Robinsons video game, and Jake for episodes of Kim Possible. (TV fans may recall a young Cooksey for his role of Sam on the hit sitcom
Diff'rent Strokes for 3 years.)
NOVEMBER 2
In Memory of Paul Frees (1920-1986)
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
NOVEMBER 2
New Amsterdam Theater opens
N
O
V
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"He was a great talent. One take and that’s all it took for Paul. He’d come up with things that you can’t write. He’d get the flavor of it." -Imagineer Xavier Atencio on Paul Frees
| ||||
"I don't know much about Americanism, but it's a damn good word with which to carry an election." -Warren Harding
2007:
Disney Channel debuts the fourth episode of Wizard
of Waverly Place - "New Employee."
1947:
The Hughes H-4 Hercules, also known as "Spruce Goose" a prototype heavy
transport aircraft designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft Company, makes its first
and only flight. (Built from wood because of wartime raw material restrictions on the use of aluminum, it is
nicknamed the "Spruce Goose" by its critics.) On this day, near Long Beach, California, the heavy transport flying
boat lifts off with Howard Hughes (one of the wealthiest people in the world) at the controls. It is the largest flying
boat ever built, and has the largest wingspan and height of any aircraft in history. In 1980, the Spruce Goose
was acquired by the California Aero Club, who leased it to the Wrather Corporation and put the aircraft on
display in a large dome adjacent to the Queen Mary exhibit in Long Beach, California. Eight years later, The
Walt Disney Company acquired both attractions and the associated real estate from Wrather (when the
Disneyland Hotel was purchased)! No longer wanting to operate the domed exhibit, Disney gave up the Flying
Boat which eventually found a permanent home (thanks to the Aero Club of Southern California) at
The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in Oregon.
Today is All Souls Day
2010:
Volume II issue IV of D23's magazine Disney twenty-
three premieres with stunning collectible covers and
an exclusive sneak peek at TRON: Legacy.
2011:
Cameron Mathison (best known for his role on ABC-TV's All My Children) makes his
Broadway debut in a cameo role in Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
Mathison's performance will be shown as a part of a special Good Morning America segment celebrating the 5th anniversary of Mary Poppins on Broadway.
2012:
Wreck-It Ralph is generally released in the U.S. and Canada.
The 52nd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film features
the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Lynch. The film
tells the story of Ralph - an arcade game villain, who rebels against his role and dreams of becoming a hero. He travels between games in the arcade, and ultimately must eliminate a
dire threat that could affect the entire arcade, and one that Ralph himself inadvertently started. Wreck-It Ralph is among 21 films officially submitted for consideration
in the Animated Feature Film category for next February’s 85th Academy Awards.
Playing in front of Wreck-It Ralph is the short Paperman. A black-and-white computer-cel animated romantic comedy, it is directed by John Kahrs. After meeting the gal of his dreams on a commuter train, an office worker uses a fleet of paper airplanes to get her attention after spying her again in a skyscraper window. (It will go on to win both the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 85th Academy Awards and the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject at the 40th Annie Awards.)
November 2
2018:
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, produced by Walt Disney Pictures, is released
in U.S. theaters. A retelling of E. T. A. Hoffmann's short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" and Marius Petipa's "The Nutcracker," it stars stars Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy, Eugenio Derbez, Matthew Macfadyen, Richard E. Grant, Misty Copeland, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman.
1913:
Actor and producer Burt Lancaster is born in Manhattan, New York. Initially known for playing "tough guys," he appeared in the 1986 Touchstone Pictures comedy Tough Guys (alongside Kirk Douglas). Nominated
four times for Academy Awards, Lancaster achieved success with complex and challenging roles in such films as
From Here to Eternity, Judgment at Nuremberg, and Birdman of Alcatraz.
1998:
Child actor Vincent Winter passes away at age 50 in England. He appeared in the Disney films Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog (1961), Almost Angels (1962), The Horse Without a Head (1963), and The Three Lives of Thomasina (1964). As an adult, he worked in the film industry behind the scenes as a production manager.
2014:
Remember... Dreams Come True, a fireworks display at Disneyland (first created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the park) which ran from 2005-2009, closes for
a second time. Reopened since January 2010, the show featured fireworks, lower level pyrotechnics, isopar flame effects, projection mapping, lasers, searchlights, and lighting set to the soundtracks of some of Disneyland's most famous rides and shows.
Larry Latham, an animator, artist, producer, and director passes away at age 61 in Tennessee. Best known as a producer and director on 15 episodes of Disney's animated series TaleSpin (which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for the pilot episode), his credits also included Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Bonkers, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, and DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp.
1995:
Actor Gil Lamb passes away at age 91 in Riverside, California. Appearing in more than 60 films and television shows between 1935 and 1980, his Disney credits include The Ugly Dachshund (1966), The
Gnome-Mobile (1967), Blackbeard's Ghost (1968), The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968), The Love Bug
(1968), and The Boatniks (1970).
1942:
Actress Stefanie Powers is born in Hollywood, California. Best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on
the mystery television series Hart to Hart (1979–1984), she also appeared in two Disney live-action films. Powers played Kate Fairchild in the 1970 The Boatniks, and Nicole Harris in the 1974 Herbie Rides Again.
