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THIS WEEK IN DISNEY HISTORY
August 29, 1905 - Disney Legend Al Taliaferro is born Charles Alfred Taliaferro in Montrose, Colorado. He'll be hired by Disney in 1931 as an animator, but later move to the comic book department where in 1938 he will begin drawing the daily Donald Duck comic strips.

September 3, 1905 - Disney Legend Eric Larson, one of Walt's "Nine Old Men," is born in Cleveland, Utah. First employed by Disney in 1933, his long list of contributions will include "Bambi," "Cinderella," Alice in Wonderland," "Mary Poppins," and "The Aristocats."

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September 22, 1922 - The Laugh-O-Gram black & white silent cartoon "Jack and the Beanstalk" is released. It is directed and co-animated by Walt Disney.

September 4, 2001 - Disney's new Theme Park Tokyo DisneySea has its grand opening. It is Disney's second Theme Park in Japan and ninth in the world. The Park is broken up into separate areas with such names as Mermaid Lagoon, Mysterious Island, and Arabian Coast.

September 5, 1930 - Disney's black & white Mickey Mouse cartoon "Chain Gang" is released. It features the first appearance of Pluto (though he is not yet named).

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September 11, 1968 - The United States Postal Service pays tribute to Walt Disney with the release of a commemorative 6-cent postage stamp. The stamp features a portrait of Walt surrounded by the children of the world emerging from Sleeping Beauty Castle in the background.

September 11, 1892 - Pinto Colvig, known as the "Dean of Hollywood Voicemen," is born in Jacksonville, Oregon. He will go on to lend his voice to such classic Disney Characters as Goofy, Pluto, and Sleepy & Grumpy from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

September 14, 1935 - Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse since 1985, is born in California. She is married to Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey!

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THIS WEEK IN DISNEY HISTORY
September 21, 1909 - Ruth Patricia Shellhorn is born in Los Angeles, California. Three months before the opening of Disneyland, Walt Disney will ask her to contribute her talents as a landscape architect to his new Theme Park.

September 23, 1938 - Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "Brave Little Tailor" is released. The most elaborate and expensive Mickey Mouse cartoon ever produced to date, it was nominated for an Academy Award®.

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September 27, 1947 - Disney's 9th animated feature film, Fun and Fancy Free is released. This marks the beginning of sound effects man Jim Macdonald as the voice of Mickey Mouse -- Macdonald will be Mickey's voice for the next three decades.

October 1, 1911 - Disney Legend Irwin Kostal is born in Chicago, Illinois. He will bring his musical genius to Disney films including "Mary Poppins," "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," and "Pete's Dragon."

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October 5, 1922 - The Laugh-O-gram animated short "Goldie Locks and the Three Bears," directed and co-animated by Walt Disney, is released.

October 8, 1907 - Animator Art Babbitt is born in Omaha, Nebraska. He will join Disney in 1932 and over the next 9 years work on such classic animated features as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Fantasia," and "Dumbo."

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October 12, 1911 - Disney Legend Bill Anderson is born in Smithfield, Utah. Credits during his 44 years with Disney will include several TV series, and such live-action features as "The Barefoot Executive," "The Apple Dumpling Gang," and "The Shaggy D.A."

October 14, 1971 - Walt Disney World's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction (based on the 1954 Disney film) opens at the new Magic Kingdom. It features 14 submarines in an 11.5-million-gallon tank of water.

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October 16, 1923 - The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio is founded as a partnership when Walt and his older brother Roy sign a contract to produce a series of animated short subjects entitled "Alice Comedies."

October 20, 1901 - Academy Award®-winning composer-songwriter and Disney Legend Frank Churchill is born in Rumford, Maine. Some of his best-known songs include "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?," "Whistle While You Work," and "Some Day My Prince Will Come."

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October 27, 1954 - Walt Disney's first television series, "Disneyland" (after his yet-to-be-completed Park), premieres on ABC.

October 29, 1971 - A 90-minute TV special, "The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World," shows the Park to approximately 52 million people in the U.S.

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October 31, 1912 - Animator Ollie Johnston is born in Palo Alto, California. He will become one of Walt's "Nine Old Men" and a Disney Legend.

November 5, 1937 - Disney's "Silly Symphony" cartoon "The Old Mill" is released. This is the first film to use the multiplane camera, a device invented by Ub Iwerks and the Disney staff. This camera gives depth to animation by using layers of backgrounds painted on glass.

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THIS WEEK IN DISNEY HISTORY
November 7, 1872 - Legendary stage actress Lucille La Verne, the voice of the Witch in Disney's 1937 classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," is born in Tennessee.

November 10, 1953 - Disney's animated short "Ben and Me" - about a mouse who comes to live with Benjamin Franklin - is released. It will be nominated for an Academy Award®.

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November 18, 1928 - Mickey Mouse stars in "Steamboat Willie," the first commercially successful animated cartoon to use synchronized sound. Despite not being the first Mickey cartoon made or released, it is still considered Mickey Mouse's true debut and birthday!

November 18, 1932 - Walt Disney is given an honorary Oscar® "For the creation of Mickey Mouse" by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences at the 5th Annual Academy Awards®.

November 19, 1906 - Writer, Imagineer and Disney Legend William Cottrell is born to English parents in South Bend, Indiana. His Disney credits include "Pinocchio," "The Reluctant Dragon," and "Alice in Wonderland."

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November 20, 1948 - Samuel E. Wright, the voice of Sebastian for Disney's 1989 animated classic "The Little Mermaid," is born in Camden, South Carolina. He was also the original Mufasa in "The Lion King": Broadway.

November 21, 1911 - Animator Andy Engman is born in Vasa, Finland. He will work at the Disney Studios from 1937-1971 on such classic features as "Snow White," "Make Mine Music," and "The Jungle Book."

November 25, 1933 - Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "Giantland" is released.

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December 2, 1935 - Marc Davis begins working as an apprentice animator at the Walt Disney Studios. Davis will become one of Walt's "Nine Old Men."

December 2, 1948 - Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon "Mickey and the Seal" is released.

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December 5, 1901 - Walter Elias Disney is born to Flora and Elias Disney in their two-story cottage in Chicago, Illinois. He is named in honor of the family's pastor and friend Reverend Walter Parr, a preacher at St. Paul Congregational Church.

December 9, 1931 - Disney's Christmas-themed Mickey Mouse cartoon "Mickey's Orphans" is released.