December 30: "Words are the most powerful drugs used by mankind"

Joseph Rudyard Kipling - English author, poet and journalist - was born on this day in 1865 in Bombay, India (to British parents). Best known for writing The Jungle Book, he ranks among the greatest novelists and authors of the late 19th - early 20th century.

Although born in Bombay, Kipling spent most of his early life in England. Once married he and his wife Carrie moved to Vermont in the United States. A daughter was born in 1892, and it was then that Kipling began writing the 'Mowgli stories' which became The Jungle Book, first published two years later in 1894. A collection of fictional stories about the wilds of India, it was followed by The Second Jungle Book in 1895.

These stories became the basis for Disney's 1967 animated feature The Jungle Book (some 30 years after Rudyard Kipling's death).

Click HERE for much more December 30 Disney history.

December 29: And In The End ...

On this day in 1974, it is widely believed that singer-songwriter John Lennon signed the paperwork that officially dissolved The Beatles. What makes this event part of Disney history? Lennon was staying at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World when he scrawled his name on the legal document.
Learn more about Lennon's stay and other December 29 history by clicking HERE.

December 27: Times Two

On this day in 1937 and in 1954 Walt Disney appeared on the covers of TIME magazine.

Click HERE for much more December 27 Disney history.

December 26: A Very Good Year For a Youthful Scotsman

This is Dave MacPherson and he was born on this day in 1932 in Ithaca, New York.
What's his famous Disney connection?
Click HERE to find out.

Then head on over HERE for more December 26 Disney history.

December 24: Christmas Eve Greetings

On this Christmas Eve in 1972, The Wonderful World of Disney aired the episode "A Present For Donald" on NBC-TV. Originally aired back on December 22, 1954, it is a re-edited version of The Three Caballeros with a holiday theme.

View a portion of it below
through the magic of YouTube:



Click HERE for more December 24 Disney history.

December 23: America's Slowest Rising Comedian

Fans of classic TV will recognize this actor-comedian for his role of Private Duke Slater on the 1960s Jim Neighbors sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. In case you don't ... his name is Ronnie Schell and he was born on this day in 1931 in Richmond, California.

Often referring to himself as "America's slowest-rising comic," Schell's Disney credits go back to the 1975 live-action comedy The Strongest Man in the World (in which he played a referee). In the midst of guest appearing on just about every 1970s sitcom, he was also cast in the Disney films Gus, The Shaggy D.A., and The Cat from Outer Space (as both the voice of Jake the cat and a character named Sgt. Duffy). During that decade he also appeared on episodes of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color and starred in the made-for-TV-movie The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World.

Schell also provided voices for the 1987 DuckTales and the 1997 animated series Recess, and in 2004 appeared on an episode of Disney Channel's Phil of the Future (playing a 75-year-old Phil).

Still active, Schell continues to make use of his gifts as a voice artist on TV, radio, films and commercials.

Click HERE for much more December 23 Disney history.

December 21: The Fairest One Of All

On this day in 1937, Disney's very first full-length cel-animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, had its gala premiere at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles, California.

Based on a German fairy tale first written down by the Brothers Grimm, Snow White was adapted for the screen by storyboard artists Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Merrill De Maris, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dick Rickard, Ted Sears and Webb Smith.

Development of the film can be traced back to 1934 when Walt Disney planned to expand his studio's prestige and revenues by moving into features. Walt had to fight to get the film made, as his brother and business partner Roy (and even Walt's wife Lilian) tried to talk him out of it.

But on this evening in 1937, Snow White debuted to a wildly receptive audience that included such Hollywood stars as Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Shirley Temple, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, and Jack Benny.

RKO Radio Pictures generally released the film the following February 4.

Click HERE for much more December 21 Disney history.

Want more Snow White? Visit Filmic Light: A Snow White Sanctum.