Q: I have always heard that Mickey’s birthday was November 18th, but I have a vinyl album in my collection that celebrates Mickey and on the back it reads that Steamboat Willie‘s big debut was actually September 19, 1928, at the Colony Theater in New York. The album was made by the Disney Company. So why am I hearing two different dates?
Alex, Fortville, Indiana
A: Mickey’s birthday has always been determined to be the date that Steamboat Willie opened at the Colony Theater. We have a program from that theater in the Archives from the actual date. It was November 18, 1928, not September 19.
Dave Smith