The late Bruce Gordon, who was an imagineer who helped create Disney theme park attractions, is my 47th choice as a Disney Legend. He was most notably credited as the show producer for Splash Mountain. Other attraction credits for Gordon are Tarzan's Treehouse, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Tomorrowland's 1998 renovation, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Journey into Imagination, and Star Tours. Gordon also served as show producer and creative consultant for the Walt Disney Family Museum. He wrote a book, co-written with fellow Imagineer David Mumford, "Disneyland: The Nickel Tour," a 368-page history of Disneyland told through postcards of the park. He was involved in writing several other Disney history books as well.
June Foray has been one of the most active voice actresses over the past 60 years. She is famous for her voice work as Rocky the Flying Squirrel. Her work with Disney has been profuse as well. Her Disney filmography includes:
Feature Films and Shorts
Cinderella - Lucifer
Lambert the Sheepish Lion - Lambert Lion
(purrs)/Sheep/Mrs. Sheep
Trick or Treat - Witch Hazel
Ben and Me - Lucifer
Peter Pan - Mermaids, Squaw
Various Goofy cartoons - Mrs. Geef
Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Wheezy/Lena
Hyena
Redux Riding Hood - Grandma
Mulan - Grandmother Fa
Mulan II - Grandmother Fa
Television shows
Walt Disney anthology series - Grandma
Duck
Disney on Parade - The Evil Queen
Adventures of the Gummi Bears - Grammi
Gummi
Bonkers - Ma Parker
DuckTales - Ma Beagle, Magica De Spell,
Scrooge's mother, Mrs. Featherby
Jeffrey Katzenberg is my 44th choice as a Disney Legend.
Granted he left Disney Studios in a squabble with other executives in 1994.
Still, I go back to the Art Babbitt principle who was named a legend
posthumously. Maybe that will have to happen with Katzenberg as well.
No one can can deny his part in the Disney Renaissance,
taking charge of Disney's motion pictures during a down time and leading it
into its second golden age during the eighties and nineties. The animated films
released during this period include The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers
Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King
(1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997),
Mulan (1998) and Tarzan (1999).
He focused the studio on the production of adult-oriented
comedies through its Touchstone Pictures banner, including films such as Down
and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Three Men and a Baby (1987) and Good Morning,
Vietnam (1987).
After leaving Disney he became part of the formation team of
Dreamworks Studios and has been an active part in many of their successful
films. The thing that hurts Katzenburg's chances of being named a legend is
that he sued Disney Studios over his contract. Katzenberg's lawsuit, which
could have been settled for $90 million, wound up costing Disney nearly $270
million -- not counting tens of millions in legal fees.
So while he may very deserving and was a huge creative and
organizational force behind some of the best Disney movies ever, his chances of
being named a Disney Legend are quite slim at the moment. Still, laying aside
the personal drama, he is a deserving candidate.
Don Lusk was an animator for many years with Disney Studios before leaving to work for Hanna-Barbera and Peanuts. He is still alive as of this writing at age 102. He has been critical of Walt Disney (notably in the PBS mocumentary), and this may keep him from getting this honor. But once again we go to the Art Babbitt factor, who lead a strike against Disney but was eventually named as a legend.
Don Lusk got his professional career started when he was
employed by The Walt Disney Company in 1933. Some of his more notable work
included Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Song of the South, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland,
Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping
Beauty.
His other work for Disney included character animation on Farmyard Symphony, How to Fish, Song of the
South, Fun and Fancy Free, Melody Time (notably the "Once Upon a Wintertime", "The Legend of Johnny
Appleseed" and "Trees"
segments), So Dear to My Heart, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (notably
"The Wind in the Willows" segment), Lambert the Sheepish Lion, Trick
or Treat, Ben and Me, the Disneyland episodes "The Donald Duck
Story", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "A Day in the Life
of Donald Duck" and "The Great Cat Family" and One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
My 42nd choice as a Disney Legend would be current director and animator Tim Burton. Personally I don't like his style or his movies, but some of them have been big hits for the Walt Disney Company. Below is a list of some of his biggest film contributions to the company:
1981 The Fox and the Hound Animator
1982 Tron Animator
1982 Vincent Director
1983 Hansel and Gretel Director
1984 Frankenweenie (short) Director
1985 The Black Cauldron Animator / Conceptual Artist
1993 The Nightmare Before Christmas Producer/Writer
1996 James and the Giant Peach Producer
2010 Alice in Wonderland Director
2012 Frankenweenie Director
2016 Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass Producer
Many people in their 30s and 40s will remember Leslie Neilsen as the screwball actor from the Naked Gun films and Airplane! they might also recall his brief role in the Poseidon Adventure. But long before these days he played an important role for Walt Disney's television program. He was the lead character - Colonel Frances Marion in the TV show The Swamp Fox. The series encompassed eight episodes, running as part of
The Wonderful World of Color.
Like Davy Crockett (played by Fess Parker who is a Disney Legend) and Zorro (starring Guy Williams - also a Disney Legend), the Swamp Fox was a popular hero for all those Baby Boomers and the rest of us who watched the reruns on later version of the Wonderful World of Disney.
Besides the Swamp Fox, Nielsen played Mr. Magoo in the 1997
film of the same name, Mr. Penn in the 1998 Disney television film Safety
Patrol , Dick Steele in the 1996 Hollywood Pictures film Spy Hard, Santa Claus
in Santa Who? He also narrated The Boy Who Flew with Condors and Katie and
Orbie.
Ugo D'Orsi was an animator who worked on several Disney
Studios projects in the 1930s and 40s. He is my 41st choice as a Disney Legend. He was also involved in the special
effects department at Disney. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote in their
book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, they said, Through the entire
thirties, the entire Effects Department consisted of only two men: Ugo D'Orsi,
a straightforward, stubborn, and dedicated Italian, and Cy Young...quiet and
sensitive...who loved to play the bass fiddle as a hobby. Thomas and Johnston
added, Since [D'Orsi and Young] did most of the careful work themselves, they
needed only a single assistant between them.
Ugo D'Orsi did many of the great water-effects in Mickey
Mouse Sorcerer's Apprentice section in Fantasia - and that is believed to be Ugo
D'Orsi at his best.
Here are some of the films D’Orsi worked on for Disney.
James Baskett is most famous for playing the leading role in a controversial Disney film. Baskett is the actor who played Uncle Remus in Song of the South. He sang one of the most iconic Disney songs of all time in the film as well - "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." In recognition of his warm portrayal of the famous black
storyteller he was given an Honorary Academy Award, making him the first black
male performer to receive an Oscar.
Baskett was also given the voice role of Brer Fox, one of
the film's animated antagonists, and even filled in as the main animated
protagonist, Brer Rabbit, in one sequence. Before acting in Song of the South, Baskett was the voice of one of the crows in Dumbo.
Bill Thompson is my 38th choice as a Disney Legend.
He is a voice actor famous for his portrayal of Droopy Dog. For Walt Disney studios he voiced the White
Rabbit and Dodo in Alice in Wonderland and Mr. Smee in Peter Pan. He also was
the voice of King Hubert in Sleeping Beauty.
His best showcase may well have been in Lady and the Tramp,
where he was heard in no less than five dialect parts, as Jock the Scottish
Terrier, Bull the Cockney bulldog, Dachsie the German dachshund, Joe the
Italian cook, and the Irish policeman in the zoo. He also helped in the singing a couple of the songs from the movie, including Bella Notte.
In shorts, he was heard as Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore in
several "Donald Duck and Humphrey the Bear" entries and as Professor
Owl in two music related shorts, Melody Time and Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom.
Thompson was the first actor to voice the comic book character Scrooge McDuck, as well as a little known character - Grandpa Duck. He
was J.J. Fate, the Common Man and his Common Sense in How to Catch a Cold, an
elderly Spike the Bee in Let's Stick Together. He was the voice of the Irish
station manager Flannery in "Pigs Is Pigs" and of Uncle Waldo from
The Aristocats.
Ted Berman was a film director, animator, and screenwriter,
known for his work with Disney, including Bambi,
Fantasia, and The Black Cauldron. He is my 38th choice to be named a Disney Legend. He was also a writer on Walt Disney’s
Wonderful World of Color TV series. He served on staff at Disney for nearly
50 years. He joined Disney in 1940. Below is a partial list of films he was involved with for the Studios.
Ward Kimball, Richard Bakalyan and Ted Berman during the production of “It's Tough to Be a Bird” (1969).
Beverly Butrum is my 36th choice to be named a Disney Legend. Her name is not familiar to most Disney fans, but she was an intricate part of the Disneyland parks for nearly four decades.
James MacArthur was in several live-action Disney films during his teen and young adult years. He was on of the three sons in one of my favorite of all Disney films- Swiss Family Robinson.
His Disney roles included
Johnny Butler/True Son in The Light in the
Forest
Rudi Matt in Third Man on the Mountain
David Balfour in Kidnapped
Fritz Robinson in Swiss Family Robinson
Cpl. Henry Jenkins in the Walt Disney's
Wonderful World of Color episodes Willie and the Yank: The Deserter and Willie
and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders
himself in The Wonderful World of Disney: 40
Years of Television Magic and The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action
Classics
the narrator for Swiss Family Robinson: Adventure
in the Making.
He is the adopted son of actress Helen Hayes.
Upon his death, Disney historian Jeff Kurtti wrote this of James MacArthur - "In this loss of legacy, the earnest and remarkable performances of a young James MacArthur are inexcusably forgotten—as is the primary connection of this fine actor with the visionary who saw such potential in his nascent talent, Walt Disney."
Hans Conried was a well-known voice actor in his day and provided the voice acting for several well-known character both for Disney Studios and other studios as well. He also played a few live-action parts for Disney movies.One of his most famousvoiceroles was as Snidely Whiplash in the Dudley Do-Right cartoons. In his most famous Disney role He voiced
both Captain Hook and George Darling in Peter Pan.This role is so iconic for the Disney animation fans, that this role alone makes him worthy of being named a Disney Legend. But wait, he did more work for the Studios. Some of his other Disney career highlights include:
In 1953, the same year that Peter Pan was released, Conried
also voiced both Thomas Jefferson and a crook in Ben and Me.
The Prosecutor
in The Story of Anyburg, U.S.A. in 1957.
He also played the Magic Mirror in
some of Walt Disney's television programs.
In The
Goofy Success Story, he voiced J.B., the studio mogul.
He also played Professor
Whatley in The Shaggy D.A.
He was Chief Dr. Heffel in The Cat from Outer Space.
My 32nd choice for the Disney Legend Honor goes to Erdman Penner. Penner was involved in several Disney Studio projects as a writer, director, lyricist and producer. According to Disney-Wiki and IMBD, here are some of his Disney career highlights:
Penner is on the far right with Winston Hibler, Ted Sears and Walt Disney
Maleficent [based on Sleeping Beauty; story adaption]
Bob Harpur is my first full-fledged Imagineer to make the list. My love for trains and the history of trains in the Walt Disney Company. Several of the current trains at Walt Disney World were restored by a crew headed by Disney imagineer and
accomplished live steam builder Bob Harpur. Harpur ran a model train factory before joining Disney in
1966.
He is the only person who worked on every Disney railroad in
all of the parks. He was very active in the establishment of the trains in Disneyland Paris. He also had a very large part to play in the Wildlife
Express in the Animal Kingdom. In fact one of the engines at animal Kingdom is named "Baba Harpoor." Bob also worked with Walt on the Carolwood Pacific.
Verna Felton appeared in several supporting roles as a voice actress in several Disney animated classics. Felton is my 30th choice for this honor. She also did voice work for other cartoon studios, including Hanna Barbera. Here is her Disney career in a nutshell:
Dumbo (1941) as the Elephant Matriarch and Mrs. Jumbo,
Dumbo's Mother.
Cinderella (1950) as The Fairy Godmother. Of course her voice can be heard on many Disney albums singing “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo."
Alice in Wonderland (1951) as the Queen of Hearts. She truly defined this role for generations.
Lady and the Tramp (1955) as Aunt Sarah (her son voiced Jim
Dear and the dogcatcher in the original film).
Sleeping Beauty (1959) as Flora and Queen Leah.
Goliath II (1960) as Eloise.
The Man from Button Willow as Mrs. Pomeroy, Mother and Lady
on Trolley.
The Jungle Book (1967) as Winifred the Elephant (her final
theatrical role, animated).
Her husband Lee Millar Sr. voiced Pluto in several animated shorts.
My 29th choice is not the world famous baseball pitcher who has an a award of his own named after him, but the other Cy Young. This Cy Young was a Chinese American special effects animator. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote in their book Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life,
they said, Through the entire thirties, the entire Effects Department consisted
of only two men: Ugo D'Orsi, a straightforward, stubborn, and dedicated
Italian, and Cy Young...quiet and sensitive...who loved to play the bass fiddle
as a hobby. He is known as the first animator in China and a master at animating birds. He worked on such classic films as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Make Mine Music and Fantasia. He was an active part in many classic Disney shorts including:
Child actress Luana Patten is my 28th choice for a Disney Legend. the difference between her and say Bobby Driscoll is a razor thin margin, so even at number 28, I see Patten as a very deserving choice. Here are her Disney highlights:
Patten made her first film appearance in Joel Chandler
Harris's 1946 musical Song of the South
with Bobby Driscoll.
They also appeared together in Song of the South's sister
film So Dear to My Heart.
She appeared again with Bobby Driscoll in the Pecos Bill
segment of Disney's Melody Time.
In 1947, she appeared with Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy,
and Mortimer Snerd during the live action scenes in Fun and Fancy Free.
She played the role of Priscilla Lapham in Disney's 1957
production of Johnny Tremain.
She was Nora White in the 1966 film Follow
Me Boys.
J. Pat O'Malley was a British actor who appeared in Disney films as both a voice actor, a live action actor and a singer. His roles were smaller but varied and memorable.
He voiced several characters in animated sequences of Mary Poppins including: The horse, Penguin number 3, a huntsman, the Master of Hounds, the Pearly drummer and a reporter and the Cockney costar in the
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" sequence.
He was Otto the Blacksmith in Robin Hood.
He voiced both Colonel Hathi and Buzzie the Vulture in Jungle Book.
He was Jasper and the Colonel in 101 Dalmatians.
In Alice in Wonderland he provided the voices for Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Walrus, the Carpenter, and Mother Oyster.
He was Cyril Proudbottom and a policeman in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
He starred as Perkins in Walt Disney's Spin and Marty television
series.
He appeared in Son of Flubber as a sign painter.
He appeared on the Disney TV show The Swamp Fox.
His singing voice can be heard in the song Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me) (From Pirates of the Caribbean).
He also sang or took part in these classic Disney songs: Old Father William, The Walrus and the Carpenter, Colonel
Hathi’s March, and That’s What Friends are For.
Jack Kinney was one of the early directors, writers and animators for the Walt Disney Studios, joining the company in 1931. He was involved in many of the early shorts and films as either a director or animator or contributor in some way. Here is a partial list of the shorts and films he was involved in before leaving Disney in 1959 to start his own company. Here are the 100 projects he was involved that make em think he IS a Disney Legend.
Santa's Workshop
Bambi Moose Hunter
Cock o' the Walk
The Cookie Carnival
Mickey's Service
Station
The Band Concert
Two-Gun Mickey
Servants' Entrance
Hollywood Party
The Hot Choc-late
Soldiers
Mickey's Mechanical Man
The Mail Pilot
Birds in the Spring
How to Have an Accident in the Home
How to Have an Accident at Work
Canvas Back Duck
Goofy's Glider
Bone Trouble
Society Dog Show
Brave Little Tailor
Mickey's Trailer
Donald and Pluto
Chips Ahoy
Contrast in Rhythm
Social Lion
Casey Bats Again
Pigs Is Pigs
Two for the Record
The Lone Chipmunks
Donald's Diary
How to Sleep
Football Now and Then
How to Dance
Father's Week-end
For Whom the Bulls
Toil
Father's Day Off
Peter Pan
How to Be a Detective
Two Weeks Vacation
Teachers Are People
Two Gun Goofy
Man's Best Friend
Hello Aloha
Father's Lion
No Smoking
Fathers Are People
Get Rich Quick
Tomorrow We Diet!
Cold War
Home Made Home
Cold Storage
Lion Down
Hold That Pose
Motor Mania
The Brave Engineer
How to Ride a Horse
The Adventures of
Ichabod and Mr. Toad
The Wind in the
Willows
Goofy Gymnastics
Tennis Racquet
The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow
Bumble Boogie
Melody Time
Bongo
All the Cats Join In
Casey at the Bat
Johnnie Fedora and
Alice Bluebonnet
The Martins and the
Coys
Make Mine Music
The Flying Gauchito
Hockey Homicide
Duck Pimples
Californy er Bust
African Diary
Tiger Trouble
The Three Caballeros
How to Play Football
How to Play Golf
How to Be a Sailor
Figaro and Cleo
Victory Vehicles
Victory Through Air Power
El Gaucho Goofy
Der Fuehrer's Face
How to Fish
How to Swim
The Olympic Champ
How to Play Baseball
Saludos Amigos
The Art of Self
Defense
The Art of Skiing
Dumbo
Baggage Buster
The Reluctant Dragon
Goofy's Glider
Bone Trouble
Pinocchio
Fun and Fancy Free
Mickey Mouse Disco
He wrote the book Walt
Disney and Assorted Other Characters
And He was the director for several of the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color TV shows.
I personally wanted to make sure Diane Disney Miller, the oldest daughter of Walt Disney, was in the top 25
of my list. She recently passed away, but I am sure here husband and children would appreciate her being named as Legend. She was the keeper of the Walt Disney flame, so to speak. she made sure that the true and accurate Walt Disney was presented to the public, not the one of myths or political hack jobs. Here are some of her contributions to the Disney company and the memory of Walt Disney himself:
She organized and made sure the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco was opened in 2009.
She and her sister, Sharon, have long been recognized as Walt’s inspiration for Disneyland, a place he created for families to have fun together.
Disney Miller was instrumental in pushing ahead with the
Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The project was initiated
with a $50 million gift from her mother in 1988, but was stalled for a time due
to cost negotiations. Disney Miller ensured the original design by Frank Gehry
went ahead, and the hall finally opened in 2004.
She and her sister Sharon appeared in Walt Disney's first ever one-hour TV production called One Hour in Wonderland.
She was the wife of former Disney CEO Ron Miller.
She published a series of eight pieces for the Saturday
Evening Post in 1956 titled "My Dad, Walt Disney", co-written with
Pete Martin.
She was present at the Disneyland birthday celebration on July
17, 2005 where she read her father's original dedication of the theme park from
fifty years prior.
She appeared in or consulted on numerous Disney related documentaries and biographies, including Walt: the Man Behind the Myth.
The film Saving Mr. Banks is dedicated to her memory (Disney
Miller died shortly before it opened theatrically).
Candy Candido had a distinct and famous voice in the last century. He first became famous for the phrase "I'm Feeling Mighty Low." His voice is a common fixture in both Disney movies and rides at the theme parks. Here are the highlights of his Disney Studios credits which clearly demonstrate his worthiness to be named a Disney Legend.
Peter and the Wolf - Wolf
Fun and Fancy Free - Lumpjaw
Lambert The Sheepish Lion - Wolf
Peter Pan - Indian Chief
Sleeping Beauty - Goons
Babes in Toyland - Trees
The Jungle Book - Shere Khan's roars
Robin Hood - Captain Crocodile
The Rescuers - Brutus and Nero
The Fox and the Hound - the Black Bear's growls (uncredited)
The Great Mouse Detective - Fidget the Bat
The Haunted Mansion (ride) - Prisoner
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - Devils
Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through - Goons
Peter Pan's Flight Ride at them Parks- Indian Chief
There is a controversy that is found on the internet about
whether or not Candy did the noises made by the Raven in both Sleeping Beauty
and the Haunted Mansion attraction.
Because of his incredible voice range and the fact that both ravens
never had a voice actor listed, it is quite possible that he did do the sound
effects for them, we cannot be entirely sure though.
Candy was heard in Walt
Disney’s Wonderful World of Color as an extra voice in the series.
He is listed as a cast member in the film Herbie Rides Again. I have searched and cannot find what role he played. Maybe he did a sound effect?
Ted Sears is not exactly a household name for Disney fans, but he was an animator and director for many of the classics we have grown up with. He worked on the following films:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Fantasia
The Reluctant Dragon
Bambi
Dumbo
Saludos Amigos
Cinderella
Melody Time
Fun and Fancy Free
The Three Cabelleros
Peter Pan
Alice in Wonderland
Sleeping Beauty
Lady and the Tramp
He was involved in several Disney animated shorts including Ben and Me,Mother Pluto, the Big Bad Wolf, The Pied Piper, Birds in Spring, and Babes in the Woods.
He also co-wrote narration for many of the Disney nature
films with Winston Hibler, and later did a number of the Disney TV shows.
He
had writing credits on perhaps a dozen Oscar and Emmy winning productions.
According to Michael Barrier - Ted was one of the driving forces behind the idea of the Disney storyboard.
He wrote the lyrics to Following the Leader (Peter Pan), I Wonder (Sleeping Beauty), Who's Afriad of the Big Bad Wolf (Three Little Pigs) and several songs from Alice in Wonderland.
His sister-in-law, Irene, was the Disney family nurse for
many years attending to both Walt's brother and mother.
Eleanor Audrey has voiced some of the most iconic Disney voices in the company's storied animated film history. It does sort of boggle the mind that she is not a legend already!
Here are her Disney highlights:
She was the evil step-mother Lady Tremaine in Cinderella.
She was the evil fairy Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty.
She is the voice for Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion rides at Disneyland an Walt Disney World.
She was a live-action actress, playing Mrs. Videau in the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color's presentation of The Swamp Fox: the Redcoat Strategy.
Hans Conried was a well-known voice actor in his day and provided the voice acting for several well-known character both for Disney Studios and other studios as well. He also played a few live-action parts for Disney movies.One of his most famous voice roles was as Snidely Whiplash in the Dudley Do-Right cartoons. In his most famous Disney role He voiced
both Captain Hook and George Darling in Peter Pan.This role is so iconic for the Disney animation fans, that this role alone makes him worthy of being named a Disney Legend. But wait, he did more work for the Studios.
Child actress Luana Patten is my 28th choice for a Disney Legend. the difference between her and say Bobby Driscoll is a razor thin margin, so even at number 28, I see Patten as a very deserving choice. Here are her Disney highlights:
