February 27: The Voice of a Mouse

On this day in 1895, character actor Edward Brophy was born in New York City. With a raucous voice and a chubby face, he was often cast as gangsters in both dramatic and comedic films. Although most of Brophy's career was spent at MGM, in 1941 he voiced the character of Timothy Q. Mouse for Disney's animated Dumbo (Brophy's only animated film credit).

A self-appointed protector and mentor, Timothy Q. Mouse was Dumbo's sympathetic and only friend. Throughout the film, Timothy's goal was to make Dumbo rich and famous and of course rescue his mother.

"All we gotta do is build an act. Make ya a star. A headliner! Dumbo the Great!" -Timothy Q. Mouse

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February 26: Time's Up

On this day in 2006, the Disney World attraction The Timekeeper (originally called From Time to Time) officially closed. The Magic Kingdom attraction first opened back in November 1994 in Tomorrowland, but due to low attendance was put on a seasonable schedule of operation in April 2001 (as was Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress).
The Timekeeper was a Circle-Vision 360° film that for the first time also incorporated Audio-Animatronics. Before the actual show, guests were introduced to the invention responsible for the film, 9-Eye (voiced by Rhea Perlman). The nine eyes represented the nine cameras used in filming the show in the round. 9-Eye was the invention of The Timekeeper (voiced by Robin Williams) who "loved to take the time to take you through time."
An interesting concept with an international cast, beautifully shot scenes from around the world and music by acclaimed composer Bruce Broughton, The Timekeeper never really caught on with Magic Kingdom guests. The attraction's Tomorrowland home was an inconspicuous building that today hosts Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Although The Timekeeper hadn't operated since late 2005, it was permanently closed on February 26, 2006.
Not the first of its kind, The Timekeeper originally opened in Disneyland Paris in April 1992 (but closed in September 2004) and then in Tokyo Disneyland in April 1993 (ending its run in September 2002). A version was planned for Disneyland as well, but The Timekeeper never made it beyond planning stages.
When it closed at WDW, it was the last Timekeeper still entertaining guests.

Travel back in time by clicking HERE for more February 26 Disney history.

February 23: The First of the Nine Old Men

On this day in 1927, a 19-year-old high school graduate named Leslie James Clark began his first day of work at the Disney Studio.
Les Clark had first met Walt Disney while working at a confectionery in Hollywood in the summer of 1925 (in fact Walt complimented the youngster on the lettering he had made for the shop's window menus). A shy high school student who loved art, Clark was waiting tables part-time to help his family pay the bills. The Clark family, originally from Salt Lake City, had come to Los Angeles in search of a better life. But times were tough for many everywhere and Les and his brothers and sisters did what they could to contribute.
In 1927 when Clark was about to graduate from Venice High School, he mustered up the nerve to ask Disney for a job. He was encouraged to bring some of his drawings to the Hyperion Avenue studio and ... amazingly was hired! (Disney's success with his Alice Comedies had allowed Walt and Roy to slowly add a staff of animators.) Walt warned Clark that the "job might be temporary." Les Clark's job at Disney lasted nearly a half a century (until 1975).
During those years Clark, who started out with very little training but was determined to succeed, not only became a senior animator & director, but also one of Walt's legendary Nine Old Men. He entered the field of animation at a crucial time and took part in events that shaped Disney's future and the history of the art form itself. The job at Disney changed Clark's life and he in return paid Walt with loyalty and an unquenchable enthusiasm for learning and detail.
Clark's credits include the later Alice Comedies, the Silly Symphony shorts, many of the Mickey Mouse cartoons, and all of the classic animated features (beginning with Snow White). His career began in the silent film era and continued right through to the age of television!
When Les Clark retired on September 30, 1975, he was the longest continuously employed member of Walt Disney Productions.

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February 21: 4017 Disneya

On this day in 1980, a Main-belt Asteroid was discovered by a Soviet/Ukrainian astronomer. Called "4017 Disneya" it is named for Walt Disney! (True fact - unlike the fun photo to the left.)
A Main-belt Asteroid is an asteroid found in the region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Visit NASA to see where 4017 Disneyana is - and for the technical-minded visit this link for more INFO.
The closest the Asteroid will approach Earth will be in June 2010 - so keep your eyes on the skies!

Click HERE for more down-to-earth February 21 Disney history.

February 20: Sandy & Disney

Sandy Duncan, a singer, dancer and actress of stage and television known for her cute pixie blond hairdo and perky personality, was born Sandra Kay "Sandy" Duncan on this day in 1946 in Texas.

For you younger readers not familiar with Duncan, she was known for playing the title role in the Broadway production of Peter Pan (a role often played by women and first made famous on stage by Mary Martin in 1954). When the show (not a Disney production) was revived in 1979 on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater (ironically years later the long-time home for Beauty and the Beast), Duncan was chosen for the role of Peter and later nominated for the Best Actress Tony.

During the 1970s, one couldn't watch television without being aware of the multi-talented Duncan. Named "one of the most promising faces of tomorrow" by Time magazine, Duncan starred in the series Funny Girl, had her own variety show simply titled The Sandy Duncan Show, was featured in the ground-breaking mini-series Roots, and guest-starred on various programs (like The Muppet Show).

But Disney fans will know Duncan for her roles in the feature films The Million Dollar Duck and The Cat from Outer Space, and from the television specials Sandy in Disneyland and Christmas in Disneyland. Fans of the animated The Fox and the Hound may not realize it is Duncan voicing the character of Vixey.

The 1971 Disney comedy The Million Dollar Duck centered on the family of a scientist named Albert Dooley (played by Dean Jones) who struggles to pay the bills. Duncan portrayed his wife Katie, who gets a recipe for applesauce wrong and gives it to her husband to take to work for lunch. In a humorous chain reaction, the animals Albert is working with eat up the applesauce. One duck in particular wanders into the radiation lab after enjoying the applesauce and becomes irradiated. When Albert is ordered to get rid of the duck, he takes it home as a pet for his son only to later discover that the duck can lay golden eggs!

Sandy in Disneyland aired on CBS-TV in 1974. Actually shot in the Anaheim park, the program featured musicals numbers and comedic bits all while promoting the great Disney attractions. It featured the all-star lineup of Ernest Borgnine, Ruth Buzzi, Ted Knight, John Davidson, Lorne Greene, Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina, and the Jackson Five!
Two years later in 1976, Duncan hosted the television program Christmas in Disneyland. She was joined by veteran Art Carney and singer Glen Campbell.

In 1978 Duncan portrayed Dr. Elizabeth 'Liz' Bartlett in the 1978 The Cat from Outer Space. When a UFO is stranded on earth, its pilot - a cat with special powers (voiced by Ronnie Schell) - must elude the authorities long enough to repair his spacecraft and return home. The cat gets some help from Dr. Franklin Wilson (played by Ken Berry), his girlfriend Dr. Bartlett and her cat Lucy.

Disney's 1981 animated release The Fox and the Hound featured the voices of Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, John Fiedler, Paul Winchell, and of course Sandy Duncan. Loosely based on the novel of the same name, it centers on the story of two unlikely friends - a hound dog and a red fox. Duncan voiced a female fox named Vixey.

In 1987 Duncan joined the cast of Valerie's Family, later titled The Hogan Family (when actress Valerie Harper left the series) which lasted until 1991. Since then Duncan has returned to the stage appearing in many shows including a traveling production of The King and I and most recently the lead role in the play Driving Miss Daisy and the classic Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie.

Happy B-day Miss Duncan!

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February 15: Midnight Never Strikes When You're In Love

"Cinderella" or "The Little Glass Slipper" is a classic folk tale (loved by generations of children) whose origins can actually be traced back to the 1st Century BC. The tale as we know it today is based on versions published by Charles Perrault (in 1697) and the Brothers Grimm (during the early 1800s).
Over the decades hundreds of films have been made that are either direct adaptations from Cinderella or have plots loosely based on the fairytale. The first ever filmed version was an 1899 production produced by Georges Méliès (a French filmmaker best remembered for his 1902 A Trip to the Moon). When a young Walt Disney was producing shorts through his Laugh-O-Gram studio, he too released a black & white version of Cinderella back in 1922. The fairytale must have made a mark on the young animator because many years later on This Day in 1950 ... Disney's classic animated color feature Cinderella was first released.
Twelfth in the Walt Disney animated classic series, the film had a limited release (through RKO Pictures) on February 15, 1950. With a great voice cast and memorable songs, Cinderella was the first full-bodied feature since Bambi in 1942 (as World War II and low box office returns had forced the studio to produce inexpensive films like Make Mine Music).
The film received 3 Academy Award nominations for Best Sound, Original Music Score, and Best Song for "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" (which later became a hit single 4 times). Cinderella was generally released a few weeks later on March 4 and the profits from the film, record sales, and merchandising allowed Walt to finance other projects ... including a little theme park in Anaheim.
Cinderella was released theatrically another 5 times through 1987 and made its VHS debut in 1988. When the film was released on a Platinum Edition DVD ... it ironically included a copy of Walt's 1922 Laugh-O-Gram version!
In June 2008, the American Film Institute acknowledged Cinderella as the 9th greatest animated film of all time.

Click HERE for more February 15 Disney history.

February 11: Birth of a Disney Legend

If you've experienced such park attractions as It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The American Adventure or marveled at the "Partners" statue of Walt holding Mickey's hand, then you have seen the work of Disney Legend Blaine Gibson - born this day in 1918.
First introduced to the general public by Walt himself on the 1960s television episode "Disneyland Goes to the World's Fair," (pictured left) Gibson (originally from Colorado) started his career with Disney back in May 1939 as an animator. He worked on Pinocchio, Bambi, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp and One Hundred and One Dalmatians before being asked to relocate to Walt's "new place" in Glendale, California. This new division was called WED Enterprises and Gibson and other artists were plucked from the studio to become Imagineers.
Already sculpting as a hobby since he was young, Gibson was moved to the newly-created sculpture department where he went on to create hundreds of sculptures from which Audio Animatronic figures and bronzes were produced. His earliest work was featured in the exhibits at the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York. Today one can't visit a theme park without seeing Gibson's work as his credits include the Haunted Mansion, the Enchanted Tiki Room and of course WDW's Hall of Presidents.
Although retired since 1983, he continued to consult on such projects as The Great Movie Ride and later created the iconic life-size bronze of Walt and Mickey (displayed first in Disneyland and eventually in Tokyo, Paris and Florida too).
Happy birthday Mr. Gibson!

Click HERE for much more February 11 Disney history.