1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Circus Day. The Ted
DeWayne Troupe performs with assistance from the Mouseketeers.
(DeWayne will act as the coordinator for the Disneyland Circus that will run from November thru December
of 1955.) Also debuting is the animated short I'm No Fool With a Bicycle hosted by Jiminy Cricket. It is the
first of a series of educational cartoons produced especially for the Mickey Mouse Club.
2004:
Studio executive Richard Berger, who is credited with starting Disney's Touchstone Films subsidiary, passes away at age 64. The entertainment management veteran was originally tapped by Disney in 1983, when the company formed a separate subsidiary to handle motion picture and
television production.
1925:
Walt Disney's 24th Alice comedy film Alice Rattled by Rats is completed.
Featuring Margie Gay as Alice, the short will be released November 15.
1927:
Walt Disney watches the Warner Brothers preview of The Jazz Singer (one of the first films to feature sound) at the Warner Theatre in New York City. Walt realizes that he needs to add audio to his cartoons.
1963:
Actress Elisabeth Shue, Dr. Cynthia Lair of Epcot's Body Wars
attraction, is born in Wilmington, Delaware. (Body Wars was a motion
simulator attraction at the Wonders of Life pavilion from 1989-2007.) Shue starred in
Touchstone's 1987 comedy Adventures in Babysitting, co-starred in Touchstone's
1988 romantic comedy Cocktail, and narrated Walt Disney Pictures' 2002 Tuck
Everlasting. (Movie fans will recognize her from such feature films as The Karate Kid,
Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III, and Leaving Las Vegas.)
The TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs part 2 of "The Horse Without a Head."
1969:
Good Time Jazz Records releases Firehouse Five Plus Two - Twenty
Years Later. The Dixieland group (first formed in 1949) is led by trombonist and Disney
animator Ward Kimball. Tracks include such favorites as "Walk Right In," "Mame ," "Hello,
Dolly! ," and "Stranger on the Shore."
1998:
Disney's 101 Dalmatians Christmas is released direct-to-video.
2003:
The Wayne Brady Show tapes at Epcot.
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) awards Hilary Duff with
her first platinum certification for album shipments of 1 million units. Her debut
album Metamorphosis was released in August 2003 on Buena Vista Records/Hollywood Records.
1992:
Walt Disney World announces plans to build three resorts - with sports, music, and wilderness themes - that will offer over 4,500 rooms.
The Florida resort also plans to build a new water theme park.
Disney World built the Fairy Tale
Wedding Pavilion so that
Cinderella Castle is perfectly
framed in two views: through
the window behind the altar
where the couple is married,
and through a hedge archway
outside the chapel.
2001:
Disney's House of Mouse debuts the episode "Clarabelle's Big Secret."
Today is Mad Hatter Day
Although the "10/6" appears to be the price of the
Mad Hatter's hat, some believe Mad Hatter Day is celebrated on 10/6 in honor of that very number!
1987:
Lady and the Tramp (originally released to theaters in 1955) becomes the seventh "Walt Disney Classic" to be released on video.
OCTOBER 6
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
OCTOBER 06
Elisabeth Shue born
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1983:
Walt Disney Pictures' Never Cry Wolf, a drama film adaption of the Farley Mowat autobiographical book of the same name, premieres in Canada. To be released in the U.S.
the following day, the film stars Charles Martin, Brian Dennehy, and Zachary Ittimangnaq.
2009:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs debuts on Blu-ray - kicking off
Disney's new Diamond Collection DVD/Blu-ray line.
1989:
A state-of-the-art Disneyland marquee is unveiled in Anaheim. The new sign is 50
percent taller than its predecessor, which had stood at the Disneyland parking entrance on Harbor Boulevard
since 1958.
Touchstone Pictures releases the crime thriller An Innocent Man. Tom Selleck plays
James Rainwood, an airline mechanic sent to prison when framed by crooked police officers.
Actress Bette Davis passes away at age 81 in France. With a career spanning 60 years and 100 acting credits, she is regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history. Her Disney credits include the science fiction-adventure Return from Witch Mountain (1978) as Letha Wedge, and the supernatural horror The Watcher in the Woods (1980) as Mrs. Aylwood.
2002:
A media event for the opening of A Bug's Land takes place at Disney's California
Adventure (although part of the land has been in operation since 2001). Designed
especially for younger kids, the area (inspired by the Disney/Pixar movie) features such attraction as Flik's Flyers, Tuck and Roll's Drive'Em Buggies, and Heimlich's Chew Chew Train. A Bug's Land will officially open to the public the following day. An outside area containing the "It's Tough to Be a Bug!" theater, has already been in operation since February 8, 2001 (the opening of DCA). A Bug's Land will close in September 2018 and become the site for Avengers Campus (starting in June 2021).
2011:
The day after the passing of Steve Jobs, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger
has both the U.S. and Disney flags fly half staff (mast) for a week in observance
of the passing of the Apple Founder and Disney board member.
1971:
Although opened since October 1, Walt Disney World's Sunshine Pavilion is
officially dedicated on this day. Songstress Anita Bryant sings "The Orange Bird Song" and "Orange
Tree" with Governor of Florida Reubin Askew pressing a button on an orange to formally open the $3 million
dollar Tropical Serenade at Sunshine Pavilion attraction. (In 1997 the attraction will close for a major refurbishment
and reopen on April 5, 1998 as The Enchanted Tiki Room…Under New Management.)
October Preview Month
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October 06
1993:
Premier Cruise Lines announces it is dropping the appearance of Disney characters from its cruise ships as of April 1, 1994. In May 1994, Disney will announces
plans to start the Disney cruise venture.
2014:
It is announced that Memento Mori, the Haunted Mansion-themed merchandise
shop, is officially open in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom Park, Florida.
2015:
Former Disney child actor Kevin Corcoran passes away at age 66 at a hospital in
Burbank, California. A Disney Legend, he was 7 when he began playing the irrepressible Moochie in the
"Spin and Marty" serials on The Mickey Mouse Club. Corcoran's Disney film credits include The Shaggy Dog,
Old Yeller, Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks With a Circus, Pollyanna, and Swiss Family Robinson. In his late teens,
he quit acting and went on to a career behind the camera.
2016:
Walt Disney World closes at 5 p.m. due to the threat of approaching
Hurricane Matthew. The closure affects theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, miniature golf
courses, and ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. WDW will remain closed through Friday, October 7.
2017:
The seventh season of the ABC fantasy-drama Once Upon a Time premieres with
the episode "Hyperion Heights". This season marks a significant change for the series, as it was announced at the end of the sixth season that the majority of the main cast members would not be returning in such capacity for season 7.
1973:
Actor Ioan Gruffudd is born in Llwydcoed, Aberdare, Wales. He portrayed Kevin Shepherd in Disney's 102 Dalmatians.and Lancelot in Touchstone's 2004 King Arthur. First coming to attention for his role as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in Titanic, Marvel fans know him as Mister Fantastic in Fantastic 4 (2005) and its sequel (2007).
1995:
Hollywood Pictures releases the crime thriller Dead Presidents. Soldier Anthony Curtis returns
to his Bronx home after a nightmarish tour of duty in Vietnam. But the nightmare continues for Anthony and his friends as they suffer the indignities of trying to find steady work and provide for their families in a flagging economy. In desperation, they hook up with a drug addict and a small-time crook to pull off a bank heist that will give them all a chance for a better life. The cast includes Larenz Tate, Keith David, and Chris Tucker.
2019:
Actor and comedian Rip Taylor passes away at age 84 in Los Angeles, California.
Known for his exuberance and flamboyant personality, including his habit of showering himself (and others) with confetti, his Disney credits include The Emperor's New School, an episode of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp. His zany shtick and over-the-top delivery made him a
television and nightclub mainstay for more than six decades.
Sadly on this same day, Karen Pendleton, one of the original Mouseketeers on The Mickey Mouse Club passes away at age 73 in California, after suffering a heart attack.
Among the youngest of the kids on the show, Pendleton was known for her shoulder-length blond curls and for being paired with fellow Mouseketeer Cubby O'Brien in the show's sweet closing number, "Alma Mater" ("Now it's time to
say goodbye to all our company …"). Pendleton worked on the Disney series throughout its four-year run (1955-59)
on ABC. She was one of only nine kids that appeared on the program during its entire original airing. Although
retired from show business, she took part in many Mickey Mouse Club reunion shows and parades at Disneyland
and at fan shows and conventions.
1975:
Actor Henry Calvin, best known for his role as the Spanish soldier Sergeant Demetrio Lopez Garcia on Walt Disney's live-action television series Zorro (1957–1959), passes away at age 57 in Dallas, Texas. His film credits included Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960) and Babes in Toyland (1961). Calvin sang the children's song "Never Smile at a Crocodile" for Disneyland Records, a recording that was later reissued as part of a Peter Pan soundtrack CD. He also sang "We Won't Be Happy Till
We Get It" with Ray Bolger and "Slowly He Sank To The Bottom of the Sea" on the Babes in Toyland soundtrack.
1991:
Actor, rapper, and dancer Roshon Fegan is born in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his role as Ty Blue on the Disney Channel original series Shake It Up and for his role as Sander Loyer in the Disney Channel movie franchise Camp Rock. Fegan was featured on the 14th season of the ABC show Dancing with the Stars.
