Interesting News About This Week In Disney History

May 26, 2009 | by Disney Dreaming

This week in Disney history was important in terms of multiple actors being born. In 1908 the voice of Kanga from the Winnie the Pooh series was born, Barbara Luddy. Barbara was also the voice of Merryweather in “Sleeping Beauty,” Rover in “One Hundred and One Dalmations,” and Lady in “Lady and the Tramp.” The same year Don Ameche was born and would later lend his voice to the character Shadow in the movie “Homeward Bound.”

The voice of Professor Ratigan in “The Great Mouse Detective,” Vincent Price was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1911 and in 1915 the voice of “Bambi”‘s Thumper, Sam Edwards was born.

Dick Nunis, the Vice President of Walt Disney World and Disneyland from 1971 to 1980 was born this week in 1920 in Cedartown, Georgia, and this week in 1944 Frank Oz, the puppeteer famous for Fozzie Bear, Sam the Egle, Grover, Bert and the voice of Yoda, was born in Hereford, England.

In 1953 famous Disney composer Danny Elfman was born. Danny was responsible for the music composition for the movies “Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Flubber,” “Dick Tracey,” and “Meet the Robinsons.”

This week in 1966 one of our favorite Disney ride It’s A Small World opened in Disneyland. Eleven years later (1977) marked the year Disneyland’s ride Space Mountain opened, and in 1983 the Pinocchio ride opened.

Actress Kaycee Stroh, who played Martha Cox in High School Musical, was born this week in 1984 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1990 marked the year that the Muppets 3D adventure opened at the then Disney-MGM Studios, now known as the Disney Hollywood Studios. And this week in 2003 Disney/Pixar’s fifth film together, “Finding Nemo,” made it’s debut. And a few years in 2007 marked the world premiere of Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”