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September 13

Posted on September 13, 2012 by disneydetail

September 13, 1920 – Performer and Disney Legend Wally Boag is Born

“My longest job before the Golden Horseshoe Revue was 54 weeks. And to think it all began with a two-week contract I signed with Walt Disney when the park opened.”

On September 13, 1920, longtime Disneyland performer Wallace Vincent Boag was born in Portland, Oregon. A trained dancer, Boag was teaching his own dance classes at 16, but had turned his attention to honing his comedic skills at age 19. Boag performed at prestigious venues at a young age, including Radio City Music Hall, the Palladium in London, and the Tivoli Theater in Australia. In 1945, Boag was signed with MGM Studios, appearing in such films as Without Love and The Thrill of Romance.

His chance to work with the Disney Studios began in 1955, when a friend told him about auditions for a routine in the new Disneyland Park known as the “Golden Horseshoe Revue.” Boag won a role in the show, and soon became a favorite of Walt’s. While performing the Revue, Boag would also make appearances on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” “Disneyland,” and “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color,” particularly in an episode of the latter program celebrating the Revue’s 10,000th performance in 1962. Boag also appeared in Disney films, including The Absent-Minded Professor and The Love Bug; in addition to these, Boag provided the voice of Jose the parrot in the Enchanted Tiki Room. In 1971, Boag left California to open the Diamond Horseshoe Revue at Walt Disney World, but returned to Disneyland where he remained until his retirement on January 28, 1982. He was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1995, and passed away on June 3, 2011.

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September 11

Posted on September 11, 2012 by disneydetail

September 11, 1892 – Voice Actor, Story Man, and Disney Legend Pinto Colvig is Born

“[Goofy is] the epitome of all the hicks in the world and the easiest to portray. I guess that’s because I’m a corn-fed hick myself.”

On September 11, 1892, Vance DeBar “Pinto” Colvig was born in Jacksonville, Oregon. The youngest of seven children and a self-professed class clown, Colvig spent his youth performing with carnivals and vaudeville acts. He enrolled in Oregon State College in 1911, taking every spring off to perform with the circus. He quit school in 1913 to join the circus full-time. In 1921, he headed to Hollywood, scoring a job with Mack Sennett, Hollywood’s king of comedy at the time.

In 1930, he came to work at the Walt Disney Studios as a story man, but is well-known and regarded for his vocal range, which was used for several characters, including the Practical Pig in The Three Little Pigs, the grasshopper in The Grasshopper and the Ants (he also wrote the song “The World Owes Me a Living,” with the song now closely tied to Goofy), and his most well-known role, Goofy. Colvig also had two roles in the feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Grumpy and Sleepy. After the release of Snow White, Colvig and Disney had a falling out, which led to Colvig heading to work at Max Fleischer’s studio in Miami. In 1941, he came back to Disney, voicing Goofy for the rest of his time there. Colvig died in 1967, and was honored as a Disney Legend in 1993.

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September 3

Posted on September 3, 2012 by disneydetail

September 3, 1905 – Eric Larson, Disney Legend and Member of Disney’s Nine Old Men, is Born

“No one was more concerned with passing on the Disney legacy than Eric.” – Animator Andreas Deja

On September 3, 1905, animator Eric Larson was born in Cleveland, Utah. After graduating with a journalism major from the University of Utah, he traveled to Los Angeles in 1933, and worked on a radio program called “The Trail of the Viking.” At the same time, he sent some sketches to the Walt Disney Studios, and was soon hired as an assistant animator. He worked on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the “Whistle While You Work” segment), Pinocchio (Figaro), Fantasia (“The Pastoral Symphony”), Dumbo, Bambi (the title character), Cinderella (Cinderella and Prince Charming), Alice in Wonderland (Alice, Dinah, The Cheshire Cat, The Caterpillar, The Queen of Hearts, and the Flamingo), Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp (Peg and the pound puppies), Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians (Pongo, Perdita, Colonel, and Tibbs), and The Jungle Book (the Vultures), as well as several shorts, including The Three Little Pigs.

In the 1970s, Larson helped start a recruitment training program to teach a new generation of animators the Disney style of animation. Many famous names went through this program, including Brad Bird, Don Bluth, Tim Burton, Andreas Deja, Mark Henn, Glen Keane, John Lasseter, Burny Mattinson, and Joe Ranft. This program came at a crucial time when the older animators were retiring, and new blood was needed to help revive the studios. Larson continued to contribute to projects at the studio during the 1980s, and retired in 1986, after working for Disney for 52 years. Larson passed away on October 25, 1988, and was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1989.

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August 25

Posted on August 25, 2012 by disneydetail

August 25, 1931 – Disney Legend Regis Philbin is Born

Image Credit: businessinsider.com

“I got to say, it really is quite an honor. I don’t even know I deserve this.” – Philbin on being named a Disney Legend

On August 25, 1931, media personality Regis Philbin was born in New York City. After high school, he graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1953 with a degree in sociology. After serving in the United States Navy, Philbin began his career in television, working as a page, stagehand, sports newswriter, and a substitute anchor. Philbin got his big break on ABC’s The Joey Bishop Show in 1967, and stayed on until 1969. He began to work with Kathie Lee Gifford on WABC-TV’s The Morning Show, which was picked up for national syndication by Buena Vista Television and renamed Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.

Philbin is best known for being the host of the 1999 breakout hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, with his popular catchphrase “Is that your final answer?” He was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001 for his work on the show. Along with his work with the Disney-owned ABC network, Philbin has also hosted the Disney Christmas Parade. In 2011, Philbin was honored as a Disney Legend.

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June 22

Posted on June 22, 2012 by disneydetail

June 22, 1970 – Dave Smith Hired as the First Disney Archivist

“I wrote a proposal to set up the Walt Disney Archives, offered my services, and soon, they were accepted.” – Dave Smith

On June 22, 1970, Dave Smith was the first Disney Archivist hired to set up the Walt Disney Archives. The archives were conceived after Walt’s death, when people began to realize that the knowledge and history the current staff had would soon disappear and nothing was being done to preserve the history. Smith was then working at UCLA, compiling a Disney bibliography, which he calls “the right place at the right time.” He began to collect the oldest materials that were in the most danger of being lost, as well as gathering materials that were scattered all around the company. One of these places where many pieces of work were stored was known as the Morgue. After an animated film was completed, the drawings, cels, and other pieces of work had to be placed somewhere, so they were sent to the rooms beneath the Ink & Paint building. In this case, morgue was not a derogatory term, but was borrowed from the newspaper term where artists could go study “back issues” or old artistic products for inspiration.

 

The Archives were built to help the future employees of the Walt Disney Company keep in touch with its roots. “It did not take long for…employees to realize that they could call the Archives and quickly get answers to whatever questions they might have about Disney in general or about the legacy of their own department,” Smith wrote in an article for the D23 publication, which is sponsored by the Archives. Historical items continue to make their way to the archives, with items from retired attractions in the park to props from recent live action films, to any pieces of work from animated films making their way into the collection. Smith worked for the archives for forty years, retiring on June 24, 2010. Smith still works with the D23 publication, answering a variety of questions from Disney fans.

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June 12

Posted on June 12, 2012 by disneydetail

June 12, 1928 – Disney Legend and Songwriter Richard M. Sherman is Born

“I was all of seventeen in a terrible, terrible depression, and I decided to take a walk. And as I walked, I was hearing music, and I was wondering, ‘Where is this music coming from?’ And I realized it was coming from my own head. So I darted back to the apartment where we had a little piano, and started picking it out on the piano. There was this feeling I had. I’d never done that before…and my father said, ‘What are you doing here? What is this?’ and I said, ‘This is something I felt, I had to say it. This is what I feel.’” – Richard M. Sherman

Born on June 12, 1928, Richard M. Sherman was the youngest son of Rosa and Al Sherman, the latter a songwriter in what was known as “Tin Pan Alley,” an area in New York City that published popular music that dominated the market from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. The Shermans moved to Beverly Hills, California, in 1937. Richard’s interest in music developed in school, where he studied several instruments, including the flute, the clarinet, the piccolo, and the piano.

In 1958, Richard teamed up with his brother Robert, writing the song “Tall Paul” for Disney star Annette Funicello. It was a top-ten hit, eventually peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which caught the attention of Walt Disney. He contacted the Sherman Brothers and hired them to write for the Disney Studios as staff songwriters. The brothers wrote several songs for Disneyland, including their most well-known song “it’s a small world (after all).” They reached their greatest success with the film Mary Poppins, writing the hits “Feed the Birds,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and the Oscar winning “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” The brothers worked for Walt Disney until his death in 1966, and left the company in 1982 after writing songs for Epcot.

Richard playing one of his compositions in the documentary The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story

The brothers worked on many projects outside of Disney, including the songs for the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Charlotte’s Web, as well as the hit song “You’re Sixteen,” notable for being a Top Ten hit twice, first by Johnny Burnette in 1960 and Ringo Starr in 1973. Although the brothers had their greatest successes as a team, individually they have contributed greatly to the fields of music and literature. Richard released a CD in 2010 called “Forgotten Dreams,” a compilation of his piano compositions. One of his compositions, titled, “Make Way for Tomorrow Today,” was used in the movie Iron Man 2. The brothers were honored in 1990 as Disney Legends, and were awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2008. As Richard once put it, “We both really didn’t necessarily want to be songwriters. What I wanted to be was a great symphonic composer.” The brothers’ life story was chronicled in the 2009 documentary The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story, which told the tale of how they ended up bound together and delighted the children of the world with their fantastical songs.

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June 10

Posted on June 10, 2012 by disneydetail

June 10, 1949 – Birth of Disney Legend Kevin “Moochie” Corcoran

“…kids in the audience related more to Corcoran, who created a character who was part All-American boy and part hellion.” – Film Writer Donald Liebenson.

Born on June 10, 1949, in Santa Monica, California, Kevin Anthony Corcoran began his acting career at the tender age of two. In 1956, Corcoran auditioned for a serial on the Mickey Mouse Club called “Adventures in Dairyland,” and won the role of a character named Moochie, a nickname that would stick with him throughout his career at Disney. He was then cast specially by Walt in the sequel serial, “The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty,” as well as “The New Adventures of Spin and Marty.”

Corcoran also appeared in several popular Disney films, with his only starring role as Toby in Toby Tyler, a film about an orphan who runs away to join the circus. He played supporting roles in Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Pollyanna, Swiss Family Robinson, Babes in Toyland, Bon Voyage!, Savage Sam, and A Tiger Walks. Corcoran played the younger brother to actor Tommy Kirk in five Disney films, including Swiss Family Robinson and The Shaggy Dog. Corcoran also voiced Goliath II in the short film of the same name, and was featured in several Disney mini-series and serials, such as Daniel Boone, The Mooncussers, and Johnny Shiloh. After the 1964 film A Tiger Walks, Corcoran mostly retired from acting and attended California State University, getting a degree in theater arts.

Corcoran returned to Disney after college, using his skills behind the camera instead of as an actor, and working as an assistant director and producer on several projects, including Pete’s Dragon. He has also worked as a first assistant director for many television series outside of Disney, including Quantum Leap and Murder She Wrote, also acting as an assistant producer and director on the latter series. Corcoran was inducted as a Disney Legend on October 9, 2006, alongside Tim Considine, David Stollery, and Tommy Kirk.

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May 19

Posted on May 19, 2012 by disneydetail

May 19, 1906 – Birth of Disney Legend, Sound Effects Wizard, and Voice of Mickey Mouse, Jimmy MacDonald

“Jimmy was Walt’s major sound effects man. You name it. All the gags that you hear in the old cartoons, that’s Jimmy. The train in Dumbo, Jimmy. He built these things…he was a genius at it. And [there was] nobody better.” – Wayne Allwine

On May 19, 1908, John James MacDonald was born in Monks Coppenhall, Cheshire, in the United Kingdom. When he was six months old, his family immigrated to the United States. MacDonald loved music, and as an adult, he was a musician on the Dollar Steam Ship Lines, which led to a job at the Disney Studios in 1934 recording music for a Disney film. MacDonald soon became the head of the sound effects department. Wayne Allwine, who worked with MacDonald in the sound effects department, remarked that “…it was as a musician on the recording sessions for the early cartoons that Walt heard Jimmy, saw that he had more gadgets, as he called them, than anybody else in town, and hired him to come in and do his sounds, as he called them, for the cartoons.”

MacDonald (R) with apprentice and replacement for the voice of Mickey Mouse, Wayne Allwine (L)

In 1947, Walt Disney was becoming busier, and his voice was getting hoarse from his smoking, so he asked MacDonald to begin voicing Mickey, which began with the film Fun and Fancy Free. “And Jimmy said, ‘I was down here working one day, and Walt called me into his office and said, ‘Can you do Mickey?’” Allwine explained in an interview with Leonard Maltin. “And Jim said, ‘I don’t know, Walt. I never tried.’ He said, ‘Let’s hear ya.’ And Jimmy did a few lines, and Walt said, ‘That’s fine. From now on, call Jimmy. I’m too busy.’” Allwine described MacDonald’s Mickey: “Jimmy’s Mickey was interesting. Jimmy was a bass. Nice deep voice. And for him to do Mickey, he had to really work at it, and you can hear a texture in Jimmy’s Mickey that you don’t hear in Walt’s.” The only time in MacDonald’s career as Mickey that Walt once again resumed the role was when voicing the intros to the Mickey Mouse Club. MacDonald voiced the character on a regular basis until 1953, which turned into a recurring role until 1977, as he was having a rough job keeping the falsetto as he got older.  His sound effects assistant, Wayne Allwine, was picked as his replacement, and in 1977, MacDonald retired from the Walt Disney studios.

MacDonald passed away in his home at the age of 84 in 1991, and was named as a Disney Legend in 1993. In a rare treat, the Disney Studios had recorded all of the sound effects MacDonald had created, and used them for the television show, House of Mouse; MacDonald’s sound effects legacy continues to last thanks to the preservation efforts of the Foley sessions.

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May 17

Posted on May 17, 2012 by disneydetail

May 17, 1950 – Disney Legend and Lyricist Howard Ashman is Born

“Howard is referred to by Roy Disney as another Walt, which shocked me when I was interviewing him, because of all people, why would Roy say this about Howard Ashman? But he was, to us and our generation, he was a Walt Disney type.” – Don Hahn

Howard Elliott Ashman was born on May 17, 1950, in Baltimore, Maryland. An early lover of theater, Ashman joined the Children’s Theater Association at age nine and remained there until he left for college in 1967. Although Ashman loved acting, in college he discovered his love of writing and directing. After school, he became the artistic director of the WPA Theater in New York, and met writing partner Alan Menken while working on a musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. The two had a major success with the show Little Shop of Horrors, and Ashman won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics.

David Geffen was key in bringing Ashman and Menken to the Disney Studios. When Ashman came to Disney, he was offered three projects: an adaptation of Tina Turner’s autobiography, a live action version of The Thief of Baghdad (which would later become Aladdin), and The Little Mermaid, which he chose to work on. At the film’s crew meeting, Ashman said, “When I was approached with the opportunity to work for Disney, period, I leapt at the – I said, ‘What about animation? What about working in that department?’ That’s what I really wanted to do.” It was Ashman’s idea to make Sebastian the crab a Jamaican crab, which brought a whole different musical style to Disney animation. Ashman also brought in Jodi Benson as the voice of Ariel. He and Alan Menken won the Academy Award for Best Song for “Under the Sea.”

Ashman and Menken (L) winning the Academy Award for “Under the Sea”

In 1988, Ashman found that he was HIV positive, but continued to work for Disney on Beauty and the Beast. Disney allowed Ashman to work in New York, and he was instrumental in many aspects of the film, from the casting to some of the characterizations. The staff showed the film to the New York press, which responded with great reviews. After the showing, the staff rushed down to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan, where they saw Ashman wearing a Beauty and the Beast sweatshirt. Don Hahn recalled, “Before we left I bent over and whispered, ‘Beauty and the Beast is going to be a great success. Who’d have thought it?’ I said. And Howard lit up and whispered, ‘I would have.’”

Howard Ashman died on March 14, 1991, at the age of 40, from complications with AIDS. He never saw the completed film. The Disney animators honored Ashman at the end with a tribute at the end credits: To our friend, Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice, and a beast his soul. We will be forever grateful. Howard Ashman: 1950 – 1991. Ashman was awarded an Academy Award posthumously for the song “Beauty and the Beast.” He was also named as a Disney Legend in 2001.“Howard Ashman was the key to much of our success,” said Peter Schneider. “He was a great storyteller, he knew how to lyrically be funny…[Howard and Alan] really shaped what these movies were to become.”

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May 7

Posted on May 7, 2012 by disneydetail

May 7, 1917 – Actor and Disney Legend David Tomlinson is Born

“…Walt said, ‘Very good, let’s see if we can get him.’ And that’s how it was – it was as simple as that. We knew he had the right personality.” – Richard M. Sherman on casting David Tomlinson.

Although David Tomlinson had a prominent career in England, he will always be known to generations of children as Mr. Banks in the film Mary Poppins. Tomlinson was born on May 7, 1917, in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. He began his acting career with amateur stage productions, progressing to a film debut in 1940’s Quiet Wedding. He briefly left acting to serve in the RAF in World War II, but came back after the war ended, although he did not leave behind his love of flying, continuing to pilot planes, much to the chagrin of his neighbors.

Tomlinson was asked to play the part of George Banks in Mary Poppins after many of the members of staff had watched his films. Before the film, he had never sung before, but a bit of polishing soon had him singing on screen like a professional. This role would become his most well known, particularly for the character’s change of heart and song “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.” Tomlinson would go on to star in two other films for the Disney Studios: The Love Bug as the evil Thorndyke, and the professor of magical arts Emelius Brown in Bedknobs and Broomsticks alongside Angela Lansbury. Tomlinson died at the age of 83 in 2000, and was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2002.

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