2005:
Oscar-winning actor and Disney Legend John Mills, who portrayed Father
Robinson in Disney's 1960 live-action film Swiss Family Robinson, passes
away in England at age 97.
(He is the father of actresses Hayley and Juliet Mills.)
Disneyland Park guests are offered a sneak peek at Walt Disney's Parade
of Dreams. The all-new parade highlights classic Disney stories and
characters that have contributed to Disneyland over the past five decades.
Romano Scarpa, one of the most famous Italian creators of Disney comics,
passes away in Spain at age 77.
1923:
The parents of child actress Virginia Davis sign a contract with Disney's Laugh-O-Gram Films, giving her 5% of receipts from the film, Alice's Wonderland (for which she stars in). Virginia's family will later move from Kansas City, Missouri to Los Angeles so that in the summer of 1924 she can begin working fulltime for Walt.
1928:
Shirley Jane Temple, the popular child star who presented
Seven Dwarfs, is born in Santa Monica, California. First
skyrocketing to fame in the 1934 Bright Eyes, Temple was caricatured in the 1939
Disney animatedshort Autograph Hound. As an adult, she took part in a 1957
Disneyland dedication (pictured right) and later served on the board of directors of
some of the largest enterprises including The Walt Disney Company (1974–75).
Temple was instrumental in securing Del Monte as the sponsor of the Diamond
Horseshoe Revue at WDW's Magic Kingdom.
1957:
The Midget Autopia opens in Disneyland. It is the third (and smallest) Autopia track, following the Tomorrowland Autopia (1955) and the Junior Autopia in Fantasyland (1956). The Midget Autopia, located right next
to the Storybook Land Canal Boats, is for very young guests who are too small to ride the other Autopia attractions.
(It will close in April 1966 and be donated to Walt Disney's boyhood hometown of Marceline, Missouri.)
1961:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "Texas John Slaughter: Frank Clell's in Town,"
the 17th & final episode of a western mini-series starring Tom Tryon.
The series was based on a real-life historical figure (and symbol of the American West) named "Texas John" Slaughter
who was a Civil War veteran, trail-driver, cattleman, Texas Ranger, famed Cochise County Sheriff, professional gambler,
and an Arizona State Representative.
Comedian and actor George Lopez is born in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California. Known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom George Lopez (2002-2007), he also appeared in both Walt Disney Pictures films Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2011).
1969:
Musical cues and various sound effects are recorded at Whitney Studios and
the Walt Disney Productions Recording Stage (both located in California) for Disneyland's much anticipated Haunted Mansion attraction (scheduled for an August debut).
1983:
The Fantasy in the Sky fireworks show debuts at the new Tokyo Disneyland.
1986:
In Florida, a groundbreaking ceremony takes place for Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian Beach Resort. It will open in June 1988.
1993:
At a dedication service, Walker Ranch officially becomes Disney
Wilderness Preserve. Disney and the South Florida Water Management Disrict
had come to an agreement in 1992, allowing Disney to develop on an area in Central Florida
(closer to their theme parks) if Disney would purchase and preserve Walker Ranch, 8,500 acres of
wetlands located about 15 miles south of Disney World. The preserve is home to two endangered
species, the bald eagle and the wood stork, as well as several other threatened species.
Disney will use the Central Florida area to build Celebration, a new city themed
after a typical small American town of the 1940s and '50s. Today the Disney Wilderness Preserve is
owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy.
Touchstone Pictures releases the comedy/drama Indian Summer, featuring the ensemble cast of Alan Arkin, Matt Craven, Diane Lane, Bill Paxton, Elizabeth Perkins,
Kevin Pollak, Sam Raimi, Vincent Spano, and Kimberly Williams.
A group of adults hoping to relive childhood memories gather for a reunion at their former childhood summer camp in Ontario. "Unca" Lou Handler (Arkin), the beloved owner and director of Camp Tamakwa, invites former campers - from the camp's "golden years" two decades ago - back to the camp to announce his retirement. Lou's primary reason for retiring is his inability to connect with a new generation of kids more interested in boomboxes and headphones than in the great outdoors.
2002:
Disney release its 1991 White Fang, 1994 White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf, 1994 Iron Will, and the 1994 Angles in the Outfield all on DVD.
President Bush hosts "movie night" at the White House with
a viewing of Disney's The Rookie (starring Dennis Quaid).
Disney Chairman Michael Eisner is in attendance.
2004:
Walt Disney World confirms that It's A Small World will be closing for almost a
year for improvements. (Disney hopes the boat ride will re-open in March 2005.)
The HBO series From the Earth
to the Moon (Tom Hank's 13-part drama about space
exploration) was in production
at the Disney-MGM Studios in 2
soundstages in 1997.
1943:
Disney releases the Donald Duck short Fall Out - Fall In, directed by Jack King,
to theaters. Donald experiences army life with extended marches and an uncooperative tent.
2007:
The second season of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana, starring Miley Cyrus,
kicks off with the episode "Me and Rico Down by the School Yard." When Rico (Moises Arias) learns Miley's secret, she offers to pretend to be his girlfriend ... just so Rico won't tell anybody that Miley
is really Hannah Montana!
1996:
Pamela Lyndon (P.L.) Travers, creator of "Mary Poppins," passes away at age 96 in
London, England. Originally from Australia, the 1934 publication of Mary Poppins was Travers' first literary success.
1886:
Actress and vaudeville performer Belle Montrose is born Isabelle Donohue in Illinois.
Described by Milton Berle as "the funniest woman in vaudeville," she appeared on stage with her husband Carroll Abler (stage name: Billy Allen, 1888–1923) in the comedy team of Allen and Montrose (with Allen as the straight man), touring with the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. Montrose's only two film credits were Disney's The
AbsentMinded Professor (1961) as Mrs. Chatsworth, and Son of Flubber (1963) as a mother in a commercial.
She and her husband Carroll Allen were the parents of television celebrity Steve Allen! Montrose passed at age
78 in 1964.
1931:
The Warner Bros. crime drama film The Public Enemy, starring James Cagney
and Jean Harlow, is released. The movie relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal
underworld in prohibition-era urban America.
(A scene from this film is featured in the Disney's attraction The Great Movie Ride.)
"A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns."
-P. L. Travers
1791:
James Buchanan, the fifteenth United States President, is born in a log
cabin at Cove Gap, near Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
The last president to be born in the eighteenth century, to date he is also the only president from the
state of Pennsylvania and the only president to remain a bachelor. Visit Buchanan and all the U.S.
Chief Executives at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents.
APRIL 23
APRIL 23
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
Grand Floridian groundbreaking
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1998:
The day after the debut of Disney's Animal Kingdom, The Orlando Sentinel
runs the story - "What a day in Kingdom" by staff writers
Cory Lancaster, Tim Barker and Lesley Clark.
The house was packed. The lines generally were short. The glitches were few. And the weather was perfect.
Add to that good news from federal investigators and a splendid earnings report announcing a planned stock split.
Could even Disney have scripted a day like this?
The planets seemed in perfect alignment Wednesday as Walt Disney World opened its fourth and largest theme park to
a crowd of thousands, who began arriving at the gates before dawn.
1999:
Pixar animator & writer Joe Ranft (in the middle of a Florida vacation with his family)
visits Walt Disney World. He offers a presentation for Disney Feature Animation Florida and later drops by
the Disney Institute to spend some time with the Animation Team (including instructor Jim Korkis).
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Midget Autopia opens
Cited as one of Central Florida’s best hikes by the Orlando Sentinel, The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve features a 2.5-mile trail that leads to Lake Russell, one of Central Florida’s last remaining undeveloped lakes. The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters
for nature and people.
2010:
Disney Grad Nite kicks off for the first time this season at WDW's Magic Kingdom.
An exclusive annual event for High School Seniors, this weekend's entertainment includes Paramore.
(Disney Grad Nite will continue the following evening and then again on April 30 & May 1.)
2012:
In a presentation to theater owners in Las Vegas, Pixar announces that the studio has added a movie about the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos to its slate. The film, which does not yet have a title or a release date, will be directed by Lee Unkrich (who won an Oscar for Toy Story 3). As part of its presentation at the CinemaCon convention for theater owners, Pixar also shows 30 minutes of its next feature, a princess movie called Brave.
Today is Lost Dog Awareness Day
2015:
The 74th annual Peabody Awards for electronic media are announced by the Peabody
program at the University of Georgia. Children's programming honored include Disney Junior's
preschooler series Doc McStuffins.
Dockside Margaritas opens at Downtown Disney, Walt Disney World. A waterfront
margarita bar, guests can also enjoy live music at this open-air Disney Springs hotspot.
1973:
Film producer and director Derek Frey is born in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Head of Tim
Burton Productions and Lazer Film Productions, he has been a producer on numerous Tim Burton-directed films
including Frankenweenie, Alice in Wonderland, and Dumbo.
1977:
Comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host John Oliver
is born in Erdington, Birmingham, England. First known for his work on The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart as its senior British correspondent from 2006 to 2013, Oliver supplied the voice of Zazu for Disney's 2019 The Lion King. He was also the voice of Wax Sherlock Holmes for a 2012 episode of Gravity Falls.
1962:
Actor John Hannah is born in East Kilbride, Scotland. TV fans of ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. know him as Dr Holden Ratcliffe. Hannah also appeared in 2 episodes of ABC's Alias in 2001.
1956:
Stand-up comedian and actor Kevin Meaney is born in White Plains, New York. He voiced Computer in Disney's 1997 direct-to-video The Brace Little Toaster to the Rescue.
An Emmy Award winner, Meaney was one of the country's most popular stand-up comedians for more
than 25 years. He passed away in 2016.
