Today in Disney History 5/19

[vizsla]

May 19, 1906 – Voice actor/sound effects man & creator of hundreds of one-of-a-kind gadgets and props, James Mcdonald was born in Dundee, Scotland. (Yes, he spells his last name with a small “d”!) While playing drums and percussion with a band for the Dollar Steamship Lines in 1934, Macdonald would be called to the Disney Studios to record music for a Mickey Mouse cartoon. His impeccable timing and talent would earn him a permanent position to form the sound department at the Studio. In 1946, Walt Disney would personally select Macdonald to take over the voice of Mickey Mouse. His many Disney credits include “Mickey and the Beanstalk,” and the TV series “House of Mouse” as well as the animated classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” and “Alice in Wonderland.”
May 19, 1915 – Disney Legend Al Konetzni was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. In 1953, he would join Walt Disney Productions as an artist and idea man for the character merchandising division, located at the time on Madison Ave. in N.Y.C. Over the next 28 years he would develop ideas for toys, clothing, stationary, greeting cards, and jewelry. Konetzni’s most famous creation would be a popular lunch box set featuring Disney characters on board a school bus. (The lunch box, would sell 9 million units in 1976, and become a prized collector’s item among Disney fans.)
May 19, 1934 – Disney’s Mickey Mouse cartoon “Gulliver Mickey, was released.
May 19, 1937 – Disney’s Compilation “Academy Award Review of Walt Disney Cartoons,” consisting of Flowers and Trees, Three Little Pigs, The Tortoise and the Hare, Three Orphan Kittens, and the Country Cousins, was released.
May 19, 1939 – Disney’s Donald Duck film “Donald’s Cousin Gus”, was released.
May 19, 1941 – Mouseketeer Bobby Burgess was born in Long Beach, Ca. (He would audition 5 times before finally being chosen as a member of “The Mickey Mouse Club.”)
May 19, 1950 – Disney’s “Primitive Pluto”, was released.
May 19, 1960 – Disney’s “Pollyanna” starring Hayley Mills, was released.
May 19, 1969 – Animator Dan Lee was born in Montreal, Quebec. Best known as the creator of the title character from “Finding Nemo,” his Pixar credits include “Toy Story 2,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Ratatouille.”
May 19, 1971 – The “Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes” attraction opened in Critter Country at Disneyland.

[CanadianWDWFan]

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[ibrowse17]

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[pdrlkr]

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[BluewaterBrad]

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