July 19: A True Character

Most Disney World fans will recognize these familiar words:
"Hold on to your hat and glasses... this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness!"
It's the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad safety announcement spoken by actor Dal McKennon - and he was born on this day in 1919.
Born Dallas R. McKennon in LaGrande, Oregon, he was a successful actor, comedian, and prolific voice actor whose career spanned radio, TV, and feature films. Imitating sounds since a youngster, McKennon briefly studied drama in school.
His early credits include the voice of Gumby for Art Clokey's television series Gumby, the voice of Archie Andrews for Filmation's Archie series, and the primary voice of Buzz Buzzard in the Woody Woodpecker cartoons. McKennon even created and hosted his own daily children's TV show in the 1950s. He was also the original voices of all 3 Kellogg's Rice Krispies characters - Snap, Crackle, and Pop.
But Disney fans may recognize his voice (and his face) from countless appearances in films and park attractions. His association with Disney started with the 1955 Lady and the Tramp as he showed his versatility voicing 4 different characters: Toughy, Pedro, Professor, and Hyena.
Mckennon also voiced Owl in Sleeping Beauty, had a bit part in Son of Flubber (playing a juror), voiced Fox in Mary Poppins, was the voice of the Bees in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, voiced Bear in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, played a farmer in The Cat from Outer Space, and played 'Saloon Man 1' in the comedy Hot Lead and Cold Feet.
Fans of early Disneyland may remember McKennon as the narrator of the now retired Mine Train thru Nature's Wonderland. Epcot fans know him as the voice of Benjamin Franklin in The American Adventure, an Audio-Animatronics stage show. He can also be heard as the voice of Zeke in The Country Bear Jamboree. Haunted Mansion fans may not realize it is McKennon's voice you hear as the deaf old man who is unable to decipher the mummy muttering through his bandages - "What's that? Louder!"
McKennon was also a major contributor to Disneyland Records. He appeared on numerous recordings over a period of 15 years beginning with the 1957 Stories of Uncle Remus.
Later in life, McKennon also sailed one night a week on board The Queen of the West riverboat (which sailed from Portland, Oregon on 7-day cruises). He provided entertainment telling tales while sporting a white beard, prospector's hat, and overalls. "Dal looked like he had just left a yard sale at the Gabby Hayes estate," explained Jim Coston (a professional banjoist who worked aboard the riverboat with McKennon).
He continued to work well into 2001 voicing the claymation character Gumby (one of his first and best-known voices).
His unique film career also included working with director Alfred Hitchcock (in The Birds) and Elvis Presley (in Clambake). Although easily identifiable on-screen, McKennon had the special ability to bend his voice in endless variations.
He passed away just 5 days short of his 90th birthday in 2009.

Click HERE for more July 19 Disney history.

July 17: Dateline Disneyland

On this day in 1955 Disneyland in Anaheim, California had its grand opening (also known as the International Press Preview). Although invited guests entered the park at 2:00pm, it wasn't until 4:30 that the park was seen by millions on television. Dateline Disneyland (which aired on ABC-TV) was mainly hosted by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan. Shooting a live opening of a theme park had never been done before and Walt Disney himself was understandably a tiny bit anxious (live multi-site broadcasts were unheard of at the time).
Most Disney fans know Walt's famous words - "To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here, age relives fond memories of the past. And here, youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."
But here are a few quotes that may give you an insight into the sometimes chaotic broadcast on that hot July day:
Art Linkletter - "This is not so much a show, as it is a special event. The rehearsal went about the way you'd expect a rehearsal to go if you were covering three volcanoes all erupting at the same time, and you didn't expect any of them. So, from time to time, if I say, "We take you now by camera to the snapping crocodiles in Adventureland," and instead, somebody pushes the wrong button, and we catch Irene Dunne adjusting her bustle on the Mark Twain, don't be too surprised; it's all in fun, and that's what we're here for."
Walt Disney: (reading the dedication plaque for Tomorrowland) "A vista into a world of wondrous ideas, signifying man's achievements..." (He stops reading suddenly and turns to an off-camera technician) "I thought I got a signal."
The 90-minute black & white broadcast may have been a bit bumpy at times, but it served its purpose ... everyone knew about a place called Disneyland.

To learn more about Disneyland's grand debut click HERE
and
click HERE for more July 17 Disney history.

Happy Anniversary Disneyland!

July 11: Off To Disneyland

On this day in 1956, the Barstow family from Wethersfield, Connecticut left for a week-long California vacation. Many families had taken vacations to the West Coast ... but this one had a few unique Disney twists to it.
The 5-member family won the trip when youngest son Danny won a nation wide contest sponsored by the 3M Scotch Tape Company. The prize included airfare, 4 days worth of Disneyland tickets, and hotel accommodations. Like many proud fathers, Robbins Barstow (an ardent amateur filmmaker) filmed the entire week-long adventure (which also included visits to Knotts Berry Farm & Universal Studios). Pieced together into a 30-minute color amateur documentary (complete with narration and cornball jokes), the film was later titled Disneyland Dream.
Fast forward to December 2008 - Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced the names of 25 important motion pictures to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Among the 25 chosen was Barstow's Disneyland Dream! (Robbins had donated the film, along with 11 other titles in the Robbins Barstow 20th Century Family Home Movie Collection.) Chosen for its historical and cultural significance, Disneyland Dream quickly became a must-see video on the internet.
A few weeks later in January 2009, it was announced that comedian/actor & former Disneyland employee Steve Martin had recognized himself in the Barstow's 1956 film. About 20 minutes into the documentary, a young Martin can be seen selling guidebooks just inside Disneyland's entrance!
Little did the Barstow family know that when they left for their memorable vacation on July 11, 1956 ... they would forever become part of Disney history.

(Update: In March 2010, Disneyland Dream was released to DVD!)

Click HERE for more July 11 Disney History.

July 05: A Dream Is A Wish That Mack Makes

On this day in 1912, Songwriter Hall of Famer Mack David was born in New York City. A versatile lyricist and songwriter, David wrote in just about every conceivable style of popular music for film, TV, and Broadway. Whether you're a Disney fan or an avid movie/TV viewer ... you have heard his music.
Originally wanting to become an attorney, David attended Cornell University and then St. John's University Law School. But when his younger brother Hal showed interest in music as well, it was big brother Mack who advised him to take up a more stable career. But Mack failed to follow his own advice, and instead of following a career in law, began writing songs on Tin Pan Alley. (Hal David went on to have great success too as a lyricist writing many hits with songwriter Burt Bacharach.)
(Tin Pan Alley, a collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the U.S. in the late 19th century and early 20th century, was originally a specific place at West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue.)
In 1945, Mack wrote the words for Duke Ellington's "I'm Just A Lucky So-And-So," and in 1947, had a hit with a novelty tune "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba," written with Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman. The writing team of Livingston, Hoffman & David would continue into the 1960s with great success.
In 1948, David moved to Hollywood, where he became active in film and television. His songs were featured in the score for the Disney animated 1950 feature Cinderella, written with Livingston and Hoffman. These songs included "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes", "The Working Song", "So This is Love," and the film's hit song "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" (which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1950). For Disney's 1951 feature Alice in Wonderland, the same team wrote "The Unbirthday Song."
The nomination for "Bibbidy Bobbidi Boo" was the first of eight Academy Award nominations David would receive and it catapulted his career. His feature film credits went on to include such classics as "The Hanging Tree" (written with Jerry Livingston from The Hanging Tree), "Bachelor in Paradise (written with the legendary Henry Mancini) from Bachelor in Paradise, and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (written with Ernest Gold) from the classic comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
But Mack's music wasn't limited to just film, in 1961 the Shirelles had a hit with his song "Baby, It's You", written with Burt Bacharach (his brother's writing partner). "Baby, It's You" was covered a few years later by The Beatles.
Mack teamed up with Livingston throughout the 1960s and together they wrote for many successful television series, including Caspar the Friendly Ghost, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Bourbon Street Beat and Surfside 6. Even their theme song “This is It” for 1960's The Bugs Bunny Hour became a hit!
After a long and successful career, Mack David was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. Sadly, he passed away on December 30, 1993 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California.

Click HERE for more July 05 Disney History.

July 03: A Famous Oregonian

On this day in 1914, musician George Bruns was born in Sandy, Oregon. A composer of music for film & television, he was nominated for 4 Academy Awards over his lifetime. Although a Disney Legend since 2001 (18 years after his death), his name may only be familiar to some Disney fans ... but his music is most definitely familiar to all Disney fans.
First enrolling at Oregon State Agriculture College in 1932 to study engineering, Bruns spent most of his time on and off campus playing music (he had first learned to play the piano at age six). He played tuba in the ROTC band and string bass in a local popular orchestra. In 1934 he cut short his studies to become a full-time musician. Bruns played around the Northwest with his own swing/jazz band (which included a trumpeter named Doc Severenson - who would later have great success as the musical director for The Tonight Show). Finding the local Oregon music scene limiting, Bruns moved to California in 1950.
Based out of Los Angeles, Bruns began arranging and conducting for Capitol Records and UPA Studios, while still playing live in bands (including one led by Tennessee Ernie Ford). By 1953 Walt Disney was looking for someone to do the music for Sleeping Beauty and Bruns accepted the job. He would stay at Disney for 22 years. As one of three musical directors at Disney, Bruns worked in both TV and film.
His best-known works include "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" & "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)." Bruns' famous Davy Crockett tune (first recorded in 1955 and written for Walt's Disneyland series about the famous frontiersman) was co-written with lyricist Tom W. Blackburn. His Pirate anthem (originally used for the park attraction and later the feature film) was co-written with Xavier Atencio. Bruns also wrote the song "Love" for the animated Robin Hood as well as music for The Jungle Book, The Absent-minded Professor, Babes in Toyland, The Aristocats and Herbie the Love Bug. In his spare time, he also played tuba and trombone for Ward Kimball's Dixieland jazz band The Firehouse Five Plus Two. In all, Bruns contributed to over an amazing 200 motion pictures and television shows (which also included Zorro and Mickey Mouse Club).
He retired in 1975 and moved back to Oregon where he conducted, played, composed, and taught music. He passed away in March 1983.

"Walt was always good to me personally. He pretty much let me go my own way, trusting my own musical sense of what was right." -George Bruns

Click HERE for more July 03 Disney History

June 28: A Tribute

On this day in 1975, screenwriter and TV producer Rodman Edward Serling passed away at age 50. Better known as simply Rod Serling, he was the creator and narrator of The Twilight Zone, a CBS-TV series which first aired in 1959.
Born on Christmas Day 1924 in Syracuse, New York, Serling was raised in Binghamton, a city located in the southern tier of the Empire State. Even after his "Hollywood success," Serling kept a summer home on Cayuga Lake, in New York's Finger Lakes region (which inspired the name "Cayuga Productions" for use on his Twilight Zone productions).
Originally a U.S. Army paratrooper and demolition specialist (he was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star), Serling broke into television in 1951. He wrote scripts for such early series as The Doctor, Fireside Theater, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Lux Video Theater, Kraft Television Theatre, and Studio One. One script in particular in 1955 for Kraft Television Theatre propelled Serling into the limelight. His episode titled Patterns became a hit and was re-aired a week after its original showing (unheard of in the early days of TV). It established Serling as a television playwright.
Although successful, he was tired of seeing his scripts censored and so decided to create his own show. The Twilight Zone, an anthology series, first premiered on October 2, 1959. It ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964 (and remains syndicated to this day). Serling served as executive producer/head writer and wrote 92 of the show's 156 episodes. He also served as the show's host, delivering on-and-off-screen monologues at the beginning and end of each episode. While having a loyal fan base, the program never had huge ratings and was surprisingly canceled twice ... only to be revived. But after 5 years, Serling decided to let the third cancellation be final. (Today even Disney fans who were born years after the show ended know of Serling's supernatural series through the popular park attraction The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.)
Serling went on to have success in the early 1970s with another similar TV series called Night Gallery. It focused more on Gothic horror and the occult (while The Twilight Zone had a more paranormal/futuristic theme). Over his professional career, Serling won 6 Emmy Awards, 3 Hugo Awards, 2 Sylvania Awards, and a Golden Globe. He was also a communications professor at Ithaca College in New York.
A chain smoker, Serling had survived two heart attacks prior to entering Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for heart bypass surgery on June 27, 1975. Sadly he had a third heart attack during the operation and died the following day, June 28. He is interred at the cemetery in Interlaken, New York.

"Imagination... its limits are only those of the mind itself." -Rod Serling

Click HERE for more June 28 Disney History.

June 24: Not That Phil Harris!

These days the name Phil Harris is recognized by fans of the TV series Deadliest Catch, but years before Discovery Channel made a star out of the fishing boat captain, there was another Phil Harris ... one that Disney fans might recall.
On this day in 1904 Phil Harris - a singer, songwriter, musician, comedian and actor - was born in Linton, Indiana. Though successful as an orchestra leader, Harris is remembered today for his recordings as a vocalist, the radio comedy series in which he co-starred with his second wife, singer-actress Alice Faye, his countless TV appearances, and of course for his voice work in animation.
His first Disney animated feature was the 1967 The Jungle Book, in which he voiced the easygoing and fun-loving bear Baloo. As Baloo, Harris sang "The Bare Necessities," a performance that introduced him to a new generation of young fans who had no awareness of his versatility. He also joined Louis Prima (the voice of King Louie) in "I Wanna Be Like You," delivering a memorable scat-singing performance. (In fact it was record producer & Disney Legend Tutti Camarata who encouraged Harris and Prima to take part in the animated feature.)
The 1970 The Aristocats featured Harris as alley cat Thomas O'Malley. Harris sang the signature tune "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat," with Scatman Crothers - the voice of Scat Cat. (Harris and Crothers had known each other since the 1940s!) A few years after the release of the The Aristocats, the two reunited on a Disney television special to sing that very same feline number.
Harris voiced another bear in 1973, this time named Little John in the animated Robin Hood. He sang the popular anti-Prince John tune "The Phony King of England" (written by the legendary Johnny Mercer).
In 1989, Harris briefly returned to Disney to once again voice Baloo, this time for the cartoon series TaleSpin.
A long time resident and benefactor of Palm Springs, California, Phil Harris passes away in that very town at age 91 in 1995.

Click HERE for more June 24 Disney History.