January 8th - Daily Disney History

1926 - Actor Kerwin Mathews is born in Seattle, Washington. He plays composer Johann Strauss Jr. in "The Waltz King," a 1963 2-part episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

1936 - Walt Disney is decorated with France's highest award - the Legion of Honor. At a ceremony held on the grounds of his Hyperion Avenue Studio, Jean-Joseph Viala, the French Consul in Los Angeles, pins the medal to Disney's left lapel.

1956 - Due to poor attendance, Disneyland's the Mickey Mouse Club Circus, an attraction running since November 1955, closes. The first major addition to Disneyland, the circus was held in a pink and white striped tent (which was set-up in the area that later will house the Fantasyland Autopia). Capitalizing on the success of the Mickey Mouse Club TV series, the 75-minute circus show featured a cast of well-known Mousketeers in various roles.

1958 - The Disneyland TV series airs episode 88 - which includes portions of Disney's 6th full-length animated film Saludos Amigos (first released in the U.S. in 1943).

1960 - The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs the episode "Swamp Fox: Day of Reckoning," starring Leslie Nielsen as Brigadier General Francis Marion (a.ka. "The Swamp Fox").

1961 - Walt Disney Presents airs "Swamp Fox: A Woman's Courage."

1962 - Disneyland's Chicken Plantation Restaurant - in business since the park's opening day - closes in Frontierland. The space occupied by the restaurant is needed for the construction of New Orleans Square.

1978 - The Wonderful World of Disney airs the episode "Three on the Run".

1981 - Gert Schelvis becomes the 200-millionth Disneyland guest!

1987 - An "interplanetary launch" is held for Disneyland's newest attraction Star Tours from 7pm-midnight in Tomorrowland. The official grand opening will take place the following day.

1996 - At Disneyland Paris, a "Fairy Tale Festival" celebrating the magic of great European storytellers begins. The attraction includes a full-sized gingerbread house and a candy apple tree in Fantasyland, plus a daily wedding ceremony between Princess Aurora and Prince Philip next to the castle. (The special attraction will run until April 4, 1996.)

2001 - Actor Don Brodie - who appears in Disney's 1975 Escape to Witch Mountain and is the voice of Barker in Disney's 1940 Pinocchio - passes away in Los Angeles, California.

2004 - Disneyland welcomes its 500,000,000th guest Bill Trow (from Wentworth Falls, Australia). Trow is accompanied by his wife Ann-Marie and their 5-year-old daughter Aspen.

2004 - The 35th NAACP Image Awards nominations are announced. The Walt Disney Company is nominated for several awards that honor companies who support positive images for people of color in arts and entertainment.

2006 - Adriano Bastos of Sao Paulo, Brazil wins the 13th Annual Walt Disney World Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes, 44 seconds. Bastos is the very first three-time winner in the 13-year history of the Florida marathon.

2007 - After spending about a year on a redesign project, the Walt Disney Company unveils the new Disney.com at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

2007 - Animator, television producer, and film director Iwao Takamoto passes away at age 81 in Los Angeles. Best known for designing the Hanna-Barbera character Scooby-Doo, Takamoto first entered the world of cartoons at Disney in 1947. He worked as an animator on such classics as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Lady and the Tramp.

2007 - New Orleans Square, the final land to be added to Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom, opens to players. (VMK is a free online game run by Disney.)

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