The World’s Greatest Athlete raced onto screens for the first time on this day in 1973, telling the story of Nanu (Jan-Michael Vincent), a boy raised by natives in the jungles of Africa after the death of his parents. When a coach and his assistant (portrayed by John Amos and Tim Conway) discover the athletic …
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The year was 1972, and the candidates in the presidential election were Richard M. Nixon and George McGovern. That was unless you were visiting Disneyland, where beginning on this day that year, there was a new contender. The three-day Winnie the Pooh for President event featured a ticker tape parade and stage show with America’s …
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It was a day of deep tension and nerves for those involved in the premiere of Disneyland’s Main Street Electrical Parade, because just two weeks earlier the parade was on the fritz. Disney engaged a company in Chicago to build the floats and most were not complete, and work on some hadn’t even begun! Disneyland’s …
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The attraction If You Had Wings was exclusive to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Disney animator turned Imagineer X Atencio, a Disney Legend, wrote the lyrics to the theme song. “The premise of If You Had Wings was that if you had wings you could fly to some exciting destinations illustrated by the song and …
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Howdy folks. “Bear” with me as I tell you about what happened at Disneyland on this day in 1972. It was the opening of the one and only original Country Bear Jamboree. Host Henry the Bear invited audiences to “clap your hands and stomp your feet” as the show kicked off with the “Bear Band …
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Long before Aladdin took Jasmine on a magic carpet ride, Julie Andrews took TV viewers on a tour of a whole new world with new fantastic things to see when “The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World” debuted on The Wonderful World of Disney. After a song from Glen Campbell, Julie rides the Monorail into …
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Among Disney enthusiasts, it’s common knowledge that Walt Disney World Resort opened on this day in 1971, featuring the Magic Kingdom, two hotels, lakes, lagoons, golf courses, and a campground. What’s not as well known is that October 1 was not officially the grand opening. When Disneyland opened in 1955, things did not run smoothly, …
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On this day in 1971, audiences were first able to see, or not see as the case may be, Now You See Him, Now You Don’t. Disney Legend Kurt Russell appeared . . . and disappeared . . . as Dexter Riley, but this wasn’t the first time audiences saw Russell as Riley. He first …
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Among the many items Chief Archivist Dave Smith packed up in Walt’s office desk after his passing was a document in which Walt stated his strong interest in casting Kurt Russell — Disney’s top teen idol of the ’70s — in Disney films. After landing parts on TV westerns and Gilligan’s Island, Kurt Russell had …
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Pictured Clint Howard and Ron Howard Uprooted from their comfortable home in Pennsylvania, James and Kate Tanner (Steve Forrest and Vera Miles), along with their sons Virgil and Andy, journey to the wild country of 1890s Wyoming to become farmers. Soon, they come face-to-face with tornadoes, bears, and wolves. But through the hardships, their love …
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