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I recently learned of the passing of my friend and colleague, Ginny Tyler . Ginny and I shared our love for Disney. And I always regarded her as a true talent as well as one of the chief Mouseketeers much like the original head mouse, Jimmie Dodd . Back in the 1960s, Ginny performed live segments from...

It's always interesting to talk with an author, have them tell you what they think is the most important part of their new book is. Because their answer -- more often than not -- will surprise you. Take -- for example -- Bob Gurr 's recently released memoir, " Design: Just for Fun "...

The "top dog" in the Wonderful World of Disney is celebrating his 80th birthday. One of Walt Disney's classic "Fab Five" animated characters, Goofy first stumbled onto the silver screen on May 25th, 1932 in a cartoon called " Mickey's Revue ." Originally named Dippy...

So why exactly did so many reporters & photographers make a special trip out to Anaheim last Thursday? Was it because some star was making a special appearance at Disneyland Park ? Photo by Noe Valladolid Well, not a star per se. But -- rather seamstress to the stars, Disney Legend Alice Davis ....

You're going to read a lot today about how - by revising their long-standing policy on facial hair - Disney Parks and Resorts is now turning its back on nearly 60 years of tradition. Which isn't entirely true. I mean, if Walt Disney himself really insisted that no one with a beard or a mustache...

The other evening, a pal who works for an animation studio that shall remain nameless was telling me about the project he was developing. It was great news to hear he had garnered the attention of the studio bosses and was moving into development on his new movie. But I couldn't but think how things...

It wasn't always easy directly working for Walt Disney. Sometimes you found yourself dealing with some very weird assignments. "My brother and I were in our office one day when we got a phone call. 'Walt wants you down on Stage 4,' " Disney Legend Richard M Sherman recalled during...

The three men were engaged in a spirited conversation when I took a seat directly behind them. This was a screening room at the Walt Disney Studio and we were there to get a look at a new animated feature film being produced by Pixar Animation Studios . In front of me and to my right was the Vice Chairman...

Jim Henson , Disney Legend . For a lot of people (myself included) this phrase doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. But perhaps that's because - for so many of us who grew up in the late 1960s / early 1970s - Jim Henson was / already is a legend. This enormously talented individual who - through...

Disneyland Park celebrated its 56 th anniversary of its opening yesterday. But for those who couldn't wait to get that party started, there was the Disneyana Fan Club 's annual convention . Photo by Paul Schnebelen Held just down the road from the Park at the Anaheim Crowne Plaza Resort in Garden...

Gawrsh, has it really been 25 years since Bill Farmer first began speaking for Goofy? "Yeah, I better be careful here," Bill joked when we spoke on the phone yesterday. "Otherwise this might turn into a career." Goofy and Bill Farmer. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights...

I got an e-mail asking me what I thought of that concept painting of the Shanghai Disneyland Resort which was shown at The Walt Disney Company's 2011 Investor's Conference yesterday. Concept art for the Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved To be honest...

Did you catch that terrific profile of Michael Giacchino that " Variety " ran yesterday? I mean, if you thought that this Academy Award-winning composer was busy in 2009 - 2010 (i.e. that's when he composed & conducted the music for " Prep and Landing ," " Day & Night...

Yesterday's article about DCA 's entrance complex seems to have struck a nerve with JHM readers. Especially the part of that column which talked about the California Zephyr replica that sits in Sunshine Plaza. I can't tell you how many e-mails I got from rail fans who moaned about how their...

Steven Clark was a very busy man in July. When he wasn't down in Anaheim, helping Tony Baxter dispatch StarSpeeders full of D23 Members at last month's "Star Tours Final Flight" event ... (L to R) Steven Clark and Tony Baxter actually suited up in this July 26th members-only event,...

So why exactly should you buy " Two Guys Named Joe: Master Animation Storytellers Joe Grant & Joe Ranft " (Disney Editions, August 2010)? Because this new John Canemaker book not only does a brilliant job of paying tribute to these animation legends, this 192-page hardcover contains one...

When so much has already been written about Disneyland , how would you then go about putting together a brand-new book about the Happiest Place on Earth? That was the challenge that Jeff Kurtti faced when the folks at Disney Editions approached him last year about possibly putting together a new hardcover...

There’s a mistaken notion that back in the 1950s the Walt Disney Studio was strictly a man’s world and women were not even allowed in the Animation Building. It was believed that women employees were restricted to the “women’s work” over in the Ink and Paint Department where...

I’ve often been asked this goofy question. “How would you run an animation studio if you were in charge?” Questions like this come from young people who assume I have answers. The truth is, I’m not in that position, and I don’t expect to be. However, I once ran my own business...

He’s the Disney Legend who’s credited with changing the look of Mickey Mouse. The self-taught artist who took that rubber armed, pie-eyed rodent from the late 1920s / early 1930s and then turned him into the corporate symbol that we know & love today. He’s the man gave the Seven Dwarfs their appeal...