1743 - Swiss author Johann Wyss is born. His 1812 novel "The Swiss Family Robinson" will be brought to the big screen by Disney as Swiss Family Robinson in 1960.

1914 - Disney animator/director Ward Kimball is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Kimball will become one of Walt's "Nine Old Men" and contribute to such classics as Fantasia, Pinochio, and Dumbo.)

1932 - Administrator and Disney Legend Frank Wells is born in Coronado, California. (In September 1984, he will join The Walt Disney Company as its President and Chief Operating Officer.)

1937 - Disney's short The Country Cousin wins an Oscar (Short Subjects, Cartoon) at the 9th Annual Academy Awards (held at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles).

1943 - Disney's Der Fuehrer's Face wins an Oscar (Short Subjects, Cartoon) at the 15th Academy Awards (held at the Coconut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles). Although Frank Churchill and Edward Plumb are nominated for Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (for their work in Bambi), Max Steiner takes home the Oscar for his contribution to Now Voyager.

1954 - Actress Catherine O'Hara, the voice of Tina in the 2005 animated feature Chicken Little, is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She also supplies the voice of Sally for the 1993 The Nightmare Before Christmas. (You will recognize her from such films as Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, A Mighty Wind, and Home Alone, and the television series SCTV.)

1956 - Walt Disney appears on The Ed Sullivan Show. Walt presents a Look Magazine Award to actor Fess Parker for his Davy Crockett role.

1960 - The ABC-TV series Walt Disney Presents airs the episode "Texas John Slaughter: Geronimo's Revenge."

1962 - The NBC-TV series Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs "Carnival Time."

1972 - Disneyland's version of the Country Bear Jamboree opens in Critter Country. Sponsored by Wonder Bread, the attraction will run until September 2001.

1979 - The Wonderful World of Disney airs the 2-hour "Never A Dull Moment."

1981 - Olivier Award-winning English actress and singer Laura Michelle Kelly is born in England. Kelly's West End musical credits include Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins (in the title role).

1992 - Arthur Harold Babitsky, better known as animator Art Babbitt, passes away at the age of 84. Best known for his work at The Walt Disney Company, Babbitt received over 80 awards as animation director and animator. He is most famous for creating Goofy and worked on such films as The Three Little Pigs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Fantasia.

1994 - Canadian comic actor John Candy dies while on location in Mexico during the filming of Wagons East. A heart attack claims the life of the 44-year-old. The Toronto-born funnyman was the voice of Albatross Wilbur in Disney's 1990 animated film The Rescuers Down Under and co-starred in the 1984 live-action Splash (Touchstone Pictures' first release). Candy had recently recorded a large amount of material for a turkey character named Redfeather, who was to be Pocahontas's sidekick in the Disney feature Pocahontas. Although executives perceived the character to lighten the tone of the film excessively, the turkey was replaced with the characters Meeko and Flit. (Comedy fans will remember Candy from the television series SCTV and such comedy films as Uncle Buck and Spaceballs.)

1999 - In New York City, Sotheby's holds an auction for "The Art of Disney's Mulan."

2000 - ABC-TV airs Mickey Mouse Works. The program features the Donald Duck shorts "Donald's Halloween Scare," & "Donald's Lighthouse," and "How to Take Care of Your Yard" - featuring Goofy.

2003 - "La Vida Mickey 2," a Latin dance party CD, is released.

2003 - To mark the launch of of Disney's Visa Card by Bank One, Walt Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner and Bank One Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon ring the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

2003 - Toy Story is voted #1 in the Top 100 Animated Features of All Time by the Online Film Critics Society. Other Disney films in the top 10 include Fantasia, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. (Founded in 1997, the Online Film Critics Society has been the key force in establishing Internet-based film journalism.)

2004 - It is reported that embattled Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Michael Eisner was stripped of his role as chairman at yesterday's annual shareholders meeting. Disney's board elected former U.S. Senator George Mitchell as the company's new chairman. (Eisner will continues to keep his position as chief executive even though 43 percent of shareholders voted against him in an unprecedented protest.)

2004 - The Walt Disney World Resort and Amerada Hess Corp. enter into a multi-year agreement that includes the operation of three Hess Express service stations on property in Florida. Hess also will become the title sponsor of the Sports Fields venue at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.

2005 - Disney's live-action feature The Pacifier (starring Vin Diesel) is released in theaters.

2005 - Disneyland President Matt Ouimet's "State of the Resort" presentation is held at the Hyperion Theatre in Disney's California Adventure. Special guests include Art Linkletter, who took part in Disneyland's opening day TV broadcast in 1955.

2006 - An article about Gene Simmons of KISS - "The Outrageous Entrepreneur" by Josh Friedman - runs in The L.A. Times. A portion of the article reads: A matinee showing of Walt Disney Co.'s "Pinocchio" helped inspire Simmons to think big, he said."When Jiminy Cricket sang 'When You Wish Upon a Star,' I thought that little bug was singing to me," he said. "I walked out of that movie theater, and he had done more for me than any religious figure ever could. I was empowered. It was electrifying." Simmons also calls himself "Disney without the overhead."

2007 - Dr. Honeydew and his assistant Beaker - characters from The Muppet Show, and Disney's first roving machines - entertain visitors at California Adventure. Disney's newest "living characters initiative" are free ranging and totally independent!

2008 - A re-dedication ceremony is held at Epcot for Spaceship Earth (now presented by Siemens).

2008 - Disney releases the animated classic 101 Dalmatians on a two-disc edition DVD, for a limited time.

2008 - Comedian/actor Frank Caliendo takes a ride aboard Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The star of Frank TV, Caliendo is in the midst of a Walt Disney World vacation with his family & friends.

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