2005:
Pooh's Heffalump Halloween (an all-new original movie) is released
direct to DVD and VHS. Produced by DisneyToon Studios, it features the characters
from Winnie the Pooh franchise and the sequel to Pooh's Heffalump Movie. Roo and his new friend Lumpy set out to search for the Gobloon, a creature that has the ability to grant wishes. Unfortunately, if the Gobloon catches them first, Roo and Lumpy will be turned into jaggerdy lanterns! The voice cast includes
Nikita Hopkins & Jimmy Bennett as Roo, Kyle Stanger as Lumpy the Heffalump, Jim Cummings as Winnie-the-Pooh, & Tigger, Peter Cullen as Eeyore, and John Fiedler as Piglet. The film marks Fiedler's final appearance as Piglet, as he died two months and a half before the film's release. He had passed on before completing his voice work, so Travis Oates was brought in to finish the remaining scenes and will later become Piglet's new official voice actor.
1925:
Legendary jazz singer-songwriter Mel Tormé, best known for co-writing "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)," is born in Chicago, Illinois. He wrote the song "County Fair" for Disney's 1948 live-action "So Dear to My Heart" and performed in the early days at Disneyland's Carnation Plaza. in July 1972 he performed a 13-day engagement at the Top of the World, a venue once located atop Walt Disney World's Contemporary Resort. In 1996 he recorded and released "A&E: An Evening With Mel Tormé Live From the Disney Institute."
1941:
Walt Disney's father Elias passes away in Los Angeles, California at
the age of 82. Walt is currently in South America in the middle of a 10-week trip.
1942:
Original Mouseketeer Judy Harriet Spiegelman is born in Los
Angeles, California. A veteran performer with over 8 years of experience before
becoming a Mouseketeer, she will be signed to a 7-year contract with the Disney Studios.
1977:
Conductor Leopold Stokowski passes away in his house in Hampshire,
England, at age 95. In 1940, Stokowski made the famous film Fantasia together with Walt
Disney, in which cartoon figures move in ballet-like sequences to classical music. Stokowski was
also a transcriber of music originally written in other forms. He arranged many of J.S. Bach's
keyboard and instrumental works, as well as songs and cantata movements. Probably his best
known work is the "Toccata and Fugue in D minor," (originally composed for organ) which serves
as the opening piece in Disney's Fantasia.
1979:
Animator Don Bluth quits Disney and takes a third of the top artists with
him. (Often controversial, Bluth will become Disney's most serious rival since Max Fleischer!)
1981:
The TV series Disney's Wonderful World airs for the last time on NBC. Starting
on September 26, the series will be called simply Walt Disney and air on CBS.
1997:
The Themed Entertainment Association presents its 1997 THEA Awards at the
Beverly Hills Hotel. Among the winners is Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean.
One Saturday Morning, a two-hour ABC Saturday morning show (airing various
episodes of animated series along with various short segments) first airs. Debuting
as part of One Saturday Morning are two new series from Disney: Pepper Ann and Recess. Pepper Ann
focuses on a quirky 12-year-old girl (voiced by Kathleen Wilhoite) with an eternal quest to be cool. Recess
follows a small group of fourth-graders at Third Street Elementary School and their interactions with teachers
and other students.
Muppets Tonight, an updated version of The Muppet Show, debuts on Disney
Channel. It is the second season for the series, as the first 10 episodes aired on ABC-TV in 1996.
1999:
Members of Disney's stage show The Lion King perform "Can You
Feel the Love Tonight" on ABC-TV's Good Morning America.
The thirty-sixth episode of Disney's Recess, "Hustler's Apprentice/The Spy
Who Came in From the Playground" premieres on UPN and in syndication.
2001:
Disney World enters what they call "Level 5 Hurricane Preparedness" as tropical
storm Gabrielle threatens Florida.
Out of respect for the victim's of the September 11th terrorists attack, Disney
World's New Year's Eve celebration (held nightly at Pleasure Island) is again
canceled.
Actress Dorothy McGuire, known for her roles in many live-action Disney films
such as Summer Magic, Swiss Family Robinson, and Old Yeller, passes at the
age of 85 in Los Angeles, California. (Film fans will remember McGuire for her roles in such
classics as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Spiral Staircase, and Gentlemen's Agreement.)
Singer-actress Maya Days steps into the role of Aida for the first time in Disney's
Broadway musical Aida. She is the second actress to portray the lead character.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It! premieres at Disney's California Adventure.
2002:
The Lizzie McGuire episode "Movin' On Up" debuts on Disney Channel.
1996:
The campy and glamorous Mistress of the Dark, Elvira, hosts a wild
Friday the 13th party at Disney-MGM Studios.
Latin Rhythm Nights kicks off with Marc Anthony at
Pleasure Island, Florida.
Hollywood Pictures (in association with Caravan Pictures) releases the thriller
The Rich Man's Wife. Josie Potenza becomes a suspect when her husband is murdered and the investigating detectives are suspicious of her alibi. The film stars Halle Berry, Peter Greene, and Clive Owen.
Disney World recycles
over 1 million pounds of
scrap metal and 1.5
million pounds of wooden
pallets
each year.
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2007:
Disney World's Haunted Mansion reopens after a summer
refurbishment ... just in time for the Halloween season.
1929:
A special afternoon event takes place at the Fox Dome Theater in Ocean Park,
California. Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks, and Carl Stalling (Disney's musical director) give a live presentation
on how the Mickey Mouse shorts are created.
1991:
The Walt Disney Company acquires Discover - a science magazine. The
monthly publication was originally launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. Disney will later sell
Discover in October 2005 to Bob Guccione Jr.
1916:
British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter Roald Dahl is born in Wales.
His most popular books include "The Twits," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and "James and the Giant Peach."
First published in the USA in 1961, "James and the Giant Peach" was released as a film by Walt Disney Pictures in
1996. Dahl also received posthumous songwriting credits for the soundtrack of Tim Burton's 2005 film adaptation of
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as several songs written by Dahl for the novel were used in the film, set to music
composed by Danny Elfman. (Dahl's book Revolting Rhymes features a rewritten version of Snow White. His Snow
White is a savvy young woman who steals the magic mirror to help the dwarfs gamble on winning horses!)
SEPTEMBER 13
Today is Uncle Sam Day in the USA
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
SEPTEMBER 13
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2009:
The fourth and final day of the first D23 Expo takes place at
the Anaheim Convention Center in California. Among this day's 17
events - "The Making of Toy Story Mania!," a glimpse of what the future holds for
Disney/Pixar, a Silver Banjo Barbecue Panel with David and Ron DeFore - sons
of film & TV star Don DeFore, "From Annette to Miley: How Disney Pop Changed
the World," and a sneak peek at what's in store for Toy Story 3.
"Music can be all things to all persons. It is like a great dynamic sun in the center of a solar system which
sends out its rays and inspiration in every direction .... music makes us feel that the heavens open and a
divine voice calls. Something in our souls responds and understands." -Leopold Stokowski
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WDW Haunted Mansion re-opens
2010:
Disneyland employees take part in Minnie's Moonlit Madness. An annual fundraiser, the
event pits four-person teams of Disney employees, their family members and friends against each other in a
trivia game and scavenger hunt.
1939:
Actor Richard Dawson Kiel, best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in
two James Bond movies; The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979), is born
in Detroit, Michigan. He lampooned the role with a tongue-in-cheek cameo in Disney's 1999 Inspector Gadget.
Kiel later supplied the voice of Vladamir for Disney's 2010 animated feature Tangled.
1920:
Entertainer and Disney Legend Wallace Vincent Boag is born in
Portland, Oregon. In 1955, a friend told Boag about auditions for Disneyland's
Golden Horseshoe Revue. "Wally" won the role of Pecos Bill and quickly became one
of Walt's favorite comedic actors and an important part of Disneyland's live entertainment.
Both Boag and The Golden Horseshoe Revue are cited in The Guinness Book of World
Records for having the greatest number of performances of any theatrical presentation. At Disneyland, Boag also
provided the voice of the Audio-Animatronics parrot, Jose, in the Enchanted Tiki Room, and later, opened the
Diamond Horseshoe Revue at Walt Disney World in 1971. He also appeared in such live-action 1960s films as
The Love Bug and Son of Flubber. (Boag's performances have influenced many performers and comedians, most
notably Steve Martin, who studied Boag's humor and timing while working at Disneyland as a teenager!)
2011:
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is held for the very time this
season at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World. The family-friendly after-hours event
(from 7PM-midnight) offers loads of treats, character meet and greets and special entertainment unique to
the party. Mickey's annual Halloween bash is scheduled for 22 more selected nights through November 1.
September 13
"I can’t believe I’m a Disneyland Oldtimer...it seems like only yesterday, or maybe last week, that I couldn’t
get to the stage door of the Golden Horseshoe because they were still laying asphalt." -Wally Boag
2013:
Disney's Hollywood Studios celebrates Friday the 13th with the Unleash the
Villains event. Part of Disney's Limited Time Magic promotion, it includes a dance party hosted by Hades
(the ancient Greek god of the underworld), a meet-and-greet for villains around the park's
Echo Lake and "Villainy in the Skies" fireworks.
Roald Dahl Day
2006:
Photographer Yale Joel, an original staff member of Life magazine, passes away
at age 87 in New York City. Known as the "photographer of the impossible," Joel shot the group portrait
of all 1,500 Disney World employees for the iconic October 15, 1971 Life magazine cover. He also had 12 additional
Disney photographs inside the issue, several of kids with characters, including such rarities as Jose Carioca and
Giuseppi Cat. Born in the Bronx borough of New York, Joel began his photography career at 19. After serving as a
combat photographer in the U.S. Army Pictorial Service from 1942 to 1946, he joined the staff of Life. He remained
there until 1972, when he went into advertising and industrial photography.
2015:
Season 3 of Disney Channel's sitcom Liv and Maddie debuts with the episode
"Continued-a-Rooney." Liv returns home after four years of starring on a hit TV show, to share a bedroom with
her identical sister Maddie, a high school basketball phenom. Maddie quickly realizes that it's not easy sharing a small space with a sister who has become accustomed to being in the spotlight. The series stars Dove Cameron as both Liv
and Maddie Rooney.
2019:
The new pedestrian bridge and walkway to Downtown Disney opens in California.
Disneyland Resort guests can now stroll across the 174-foot-long covered bridge over Magic Way for a short walk through Downtown Disney District to reach the Main Entrance esplanade.
The 45th Saturn Awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films and honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other genres belonging to genre fiction in film, television, home media releases, and local theatre productions from March 1, 2018 to July 7, 2019, are held in Avalon Hollywood, Hollywood, California. Among the winners...
-Best Comic-to-Film Motion Picture: Avengers: Endgame
-Best Fantasy Film: Toy Story 4
-Best Actor: Robert Downey Jr. — Avengers: Endgame as Tony Stark / Iron Man
-Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin — Avengers: Infinity War as Thanos
-Best Production Design: Charles Wood — Avengers: Endgame
-Best Editing: Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt — Avengers: Endgame
-Best Music: Marc Shaiman — Mary Poppins Returns
-Best Costume Design: Michael Wilkinson — Aladdin
-Best Make-up: John Blake and Brian Sipe — Avengers: Endgame
-Best Special Effects: Avengers: Endgame
-Best Animated Series on Television: Star Wars Resistance (Disney Channel)
This year's The Visionary Award goes to actor, director and screenwriter Jon Favreau.
1954:
Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. is born in South Bend, Indiana. He portrayed Ethan Banks in the 2007 live-action Enchanted, played the role of Sheriff Gene Dentler in the 2016 live-action Pete's Dragon and supplied the voice of River Scott in the 2017 animated Cars 3.
1965:
Stand-up comedian, writer and actor Jeff Ross is born Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz in New Jersey. He is the voice of Hook Foot for the animated television series Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure.
1900:
Story artist, concept artist, and writer Bianca Majolie is born in Rome, Italy. She came to the United States as an exchange student and attended McKinley High School in Chicago... at the same time as a young Walt Disney (though the two never met). The first woman to become a storyboard artist for Walt Disney Productions (in 1935), her credits include the shorts Elmer Elephant and Woodland Café, and the feature Fantasia. In 1938, she wrote several outlines and provided visual development artwork for early versions of Cinderella and Peter Pan. After her career at Disney, Majolie married American artist Carl Heilborn in 1942.
1937:
Film director, animator, production designer, video game designer, and animation instructor Don Bluth is born in El Paso, Texas. Starting at Disney in 1955 as an assistant to John Lounsbery for
Sleeping Beauty, Bluth left only two years after being hired. Returning to Disney in 1971, he worked on Robin Hood,
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, and The Rescuers, and directed animation on Pete's Dragon. On his 42nd birthday in 1979, Bluth, along with Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, and nine fellow Disney animators, set out to start his own animation studio, Don Bluth Productions. He had success with such animated features as An American Tail and All Dogs Go to Heaven.
1980:
Actor Ben Savage is born in Chicago, Illinois. He played the lead role of Cory Matthews on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World (1993–2000) and its Disney Channel sequel Girl Meets World (2014–2017).
1912:
Character actress Reta Shaw is born in South Paris, Maine. Disney fans recognize her as Tillie Lagerlof in Pollyana (1960), Mrs. Brill in Mary Poppins (1964), and Mrs. Grindley in Escape to Witch Mountain (1975). Known for playing strong, hard-edged, working women in film & television, her long list of credits included such shows as The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and The Andy Griffith Show. She passed at age 69 in 1982.
