June 6th

June 6, 1959 — Disneyland’s “Submarine Voyage” Attraction opens in Tomorrowland: On July 23, 1958, the USS. Nautilus (SSN-571) left sunny Pearl Harbor. She was embarking on the completely misnamed “Operation Sunshine.” Misnamed because Nautilus was going to be the first ship to reach the geographic North Pole.

USS Nautilus was the world’s first nuclear submarine. She was the sixth US ship to carry the name but the first to live up to Jules Verne’s fictional sub. She had been christened just a few weeks after Walt released “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” and her first mission set a record for submersion. Just a few years into her career, the Nautilus logged 60,000 miles(I.E. The equivalent of 20,000 leagues). And she continued to set depth and speed records throughout her entire career.

On August 1, 1958, the Nautilus submerged in the Barrow Sea Valley near Alaska and reached the North Pole on August 3rd. It took another three days and almost 2000 miles of ice before she surfaced again near Greenland. She had been under the ice for close to 6 days, an important milestone at the time.

Nuclear power taking man to places he’d never been before and pioneers’ taming the last great unknown was the kind of stuff that Walt loved. Development of Disneyland’s “Submarine Voyage” was just getting under development when “Operation Sunshine” took place. Which is why this naval operation eventually became the template for this Tomorrowland attraction.

Walt’s Navy consisted of 1/6th scale subs patterned after the USS Nautilus. He was fond of saying his eight new subs were the 8th largest submarine fleet in the world. Of course, Disney failed to mention that his submarines were only 50 feet long, had flat bottoms and a top speed of less than 2 miles an hour.

On Disneyland’s expedition to the North pole and back, your sub encountered a coral reef, sunken treasure, a storm at sea, the remains of a lost civilization, a giant squid, mermaids and a sea monster. Not bad for an eight minute long trip.

June 6, 1975 — “America on Parade” debuts at Walt Disney World: For America’s Bicentennial, Walt Disney Productions put together a really big parade with some really big characters. “America on Parade” featured fifty different floats that tried to represent the entire social history of the United States. Marching along with these floats were 150 eight foot tall characters, all dressed in appropriate period clothing

The music for Disney’s “America on Parade” parade was provided by a moog synthesizer which was then mixed with a 1901 band organ. For those of you who don’t know: Band organs were huge instruments used at the end of the 19th century for traveling shows and carnivals. Disney’s search for just the right sound for this show led them to St. Louis. Where they found a band organ nicknamed “Sadie Mae,” who was a big girl with a big voice.

Sadie is a 99-key Military Trumpet Organ and she makes some serious noise. Besides her 200-plus pipes, Sadie plays a bass drum, snare drum, cymbal and 17 tuned bells. Her origins are a little sketchy. But it’s now believed she was made by DeKleist, an American Organ Company in Tonawanda, NY. If this is true, Sadie is a rare instrument with an important American lineage.

Disney found Sadie in St. Louis where she had been making music at the Gay 90’s Melody Museum. In the years before that, she had played in Ramona Park, a now defunct amusement park outside of Grand Rapids Michigan. Walt Disney Productions bought Sadie, then had this band organ shipped her to Nashville. Where Sadie was reconstructed in a recording studio.

Band organs play on the same principle as player pianos — with rolls of paper that mechanically change the notes. Sadie was given custom hand punched rolls made just for her “America on Parade” recordings.

Getting those “books” proved to be more of a challenge than the Mouse had bargained for. Given that not many companies made copies of rolls for pianos or band organs anymore. More importantly, given there weren’t any companies in the United States that could custom-make new ones.

As a result, the rolls that were used for the “America on Parade” were finally made by a man in Belgium who seemed to be the last maestro of a dying art. The results of Sadie Mae’s recording sessions were then sent to LA. Where this recording of a band organ was mixed with a Moog synthesizer — the hip, happening instrument of 1975.

If you’re wondering what happened to Sadie Mae: After her “America on Parade” recordings, this band organ was then shipped to Walt Disney World. Where Sadie Mae sat for years until this band organ was sold to a private party in the 90’s.

After 100 years, Sadie Mae is still making music. Not many can say that.

June 7th

June 7, 1975 — Disney World’s “Mission to Mars” debuts in Tomorrowland: When “Rocket to the Moon” opened at Disneyland in July of ’55, it was an exciting fictional trip to the moon well ahead of its time. When “Flight to the Moon” opened in WDW in October of 1971, it was 15 months after Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11 had changed fiction to fact. So obviously it was time for the Imagineers to reach a little farther.

On this date 30 years ago, “Mission to Mars” premiered at WDW’s Magic Kingdom. More importantly, this Tomorrowland attraction introduced Mr. Johnson, the AA host of “M2M” to the world. For those who don’t know: Mr. Johnson’s name isn’t just some WED inside joke. But — rather — Johnson’s name is a nod to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Which — of course — is named after our 36th president, Lyndon Baines Johnson.

June 9, 1934 — Donald Duck makes his big screen debut in “The Wise Little Hen”: Of the “Fab Five” (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy & Pluto), Donald was the last character to appear in a cartoon and the only one to premiere in color. He was also the first of the characters to have a voice before he had ever been put to paper.

Clarence Nash grew up on a farm in Oklahoma. To amuse himself, he imitated the sounds of the animals. He turned his imitations into a vaudeville act which led to radio gigs. His best gag was reciting “Mary Had a Little Lamb” as a billy goat. It’s Nash’s billy goat voice that became Donald.

Depending on who you talk to, the story of Clarence Nash’s meeting with Walt Disney varies. Some say it was Walt who heard Nash doing the “Mary Had a Little Lamb” skit on the radio while others say Nash went and applied at Disney. In either case, the result was the same. Clarence “Ducky” Nash was hired to be the voice of a yet-undrawn duck.

Donald’s first appearance is more like a walk-on role than a starring vehicle. He and Peter Pig are two lazy and whiny buddies who lie to their neighbor (I.E. The title character in 1934’s “The Wise Little Hen”) to get out of working. While he has a much longer beak and much more feathery fingers, the duck that we have grown to love was still underneath. He’s wearing his trademark sailor suit and his “I’ve got a bellyache” excuse is all Donald.

Donald’s second cartoon is opposite Mickey in 1935’s “Orphans Benefit.” And it’s here that Donald’s popularity really begins to soar. The Duck spends all his on-stage time in this cartoon trying to recite “Mary Had a Little Lamb” while being heckled by the audience. In fact, it’s the hecklers who send Donald into his very first tantrum. Which is also the first time this character strikes his infamous “fighting pose,” hopping up and down while swinging his fist. That pose was created by animator *** Lundy.

Starting in Sept. of 1935, Donald appeared frequently in the “Silly Symphonies” comic strip. Donald’s own comic strip started on February 7, 1938. It was scripted by Bob Karp and drawn by Al Taliaferro. The two talented artists remained with the strip for over 30 years. Karp and Taliaferro were also responsible for Donald’s Sunday comic strip, which premiered Dec. 10, 1939.

In 1942, Carl Barks and Jack Hannah were approached to draw a “Donald Duck” comic book. Barks & Hannah had been story men at Disney and had written some of Donald’s funniest early cartoons. The comic script they were given was an adaptation of a Donald cartoon that was never made. Barks and Hannah split the pages to draw and made Disney history (The comic today is worth around $10,000). “Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold” was in Dell Color Comics No. 9 and was the beginning of Carl Barks’ comic career.

Barks went on to become one of the most influential and beloved comic book creators in the world. He is responsible for Grandma Duck, Gyro Gearloose, Magica de Spell and his most memorable character: Scrooge McDuck (who wouldn’t appear in a Disney cartoon for 30 years).

In the 40’s, Donald reached the peak of his fame. During wartime, Donald had eclipsed Mickey in popularity and was the most requested character for war insignias during WWII (an estimated 400). By the 60’s, the Duck had made over 120 cartoon shorts and was probably the most popular guest star on “The Wonderful World of Disney.”

For Donald in the 21st century, the fickle pendulum of fame has swung the other way. Both Mickey and Winnie the Pooh are more popular characters but it hasn’t slowed him down much. In 2001, he appeared in “House of Mouse.” And in 2003, the Duck stole the show at Walt Disney World’s “PhilharMagic.”

Donald Duck also appeared with Mick and Goof in last year’s “Three Musketeers” and “Twice Upon a Christmas.” And — this year — he’s appearing opposite Steve Martin in the “Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years” movie that’s playing at the Main Street Opera House.

While most ducks in their seventies are getting ready for that last flight south, Donald still makes time to sign autographs at Disney Parks all over the world. It looks like the tough old bird will be around for quite a while.

Who’s got the sweetest disposition
One guess, guess who?
Who never never starts an argument
Who never shows a bit of temperament
Who’s never wrong but always right
Who’d never dream of starting a fight
Who gets stuck with all the bad luck
No one, but Donald Duck

— Donald’s theme song

June 10th

June 10, 1995 — Disney’s “Pocahontas” premieres in Central Park: One hundred and ten thousand people gather on the Great Lawn in NYC’s Central Park for the world premiere for “Pocahontas.” The Walt Disney Company paid $1 million dollars to the Parks Department for the right to show this animated film there and it appears that they did it none too soon.

Not long after this event. the Great Lawn was closed off, torn out and replanted. This Central Park refurbishment project was a massive & much needed undertaking, replenishing the lawn and installing a state-of-the-art irrigation system. Experts now figure that the Great Lawn can take 3 or 4 venues a year with crowds of no more than 60,000 people.

This is such great news for concert goers because — you know — only 60,000 makes a concert or premiere feel so much more … intimate.

June 12th

June 12, 1957 — Disneyland’s “House of the Future” opens: This Monsanto exhibit may have looked like just another attraction dreamed up by Walt and his Imagineers. But — truth be told — this Tomorrowland attraction was actually designed by architects at MIT.

Monsanto wanted to show both consumers and the construction industry just what plastics could do. So they went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with the idea of building a plastic house. The design process started in 1954, a year before Disneyland was open. And by the time the design was completed, Monsanto hadn’t quite decided where they were going to put the house. This problem was solved when Walt offered up a primo piece of real estate inside of Disneyland’s Tomorrowland.

The decision as to where to actually place the house in the park, Walt left to Imagineer John Hench. Hench chose a location just off of the Hub and designed the “House of the Future” outdoor landscaping to include a pond and waterfall. FYI: That pond was used to run the house’s futuristic cooling system.

Monsanto’s “House of the Future” remained in the park for ten years before it was removed. But this Tomorrowland icon didn’t go quietly into the night. The house actually resisted the wrecking ball and finally had to be pulled apart with hand tools before it could finally be carted away.

June 12, 1999 — “Tarzan” premieres at the El Capitan: Edgar Rice Burroughs was living check to check when he took a job as a sales manager for a pencil sharpener company. One day while waiting for his sales reps to come back with orders, Burroughs was reviewing some of the magazines in the office for the placement of his company’s pencil sharpener ads.

One of these mags was a “pulp,” an early science fiction and fantasy magazine filled with new short stories from an emerging genre. While he enjoyed what he was reading, Burroughs felt he could write something as good or better. So he wrote a novel about “A Princess on Mars” and sold it right out of the chute, on the first try.

Two novels later, Burroughs struck pay dirt again with “Tarzan.” The first installment of Tarzan appeared in the October 1912 issue of “All-Story Magazine” and the jungle legend began.

Guests at the El Capitan premiere of Disney’s “Tarzan” were treated to a Tarzan-inspired stage show, a Phil Collins concert performance as well as the debut of the “Mighty Wurlitzer.”

The “Mighty Wurlitzer” installed at El Capitan was originally a giant organ that came from the Fox theater in San Francisco. Billed by those in the know as the finest theater ever built on the west coast.

When the Fox theater was demolished in 1964, the organ was saved and moved to the home of Frank Lanterman, a California state legislator who was once a theater organist. From there, it became the property of the City of Glendale and then was finally purchased by the Walt Disney Company.

The “Mighty Wurlitzer” added to an already immersive experience in the El Capitan Theater, giving patrons the opportunity to experience a movie like they used to be seen back in Hollywood’s golden era. The organ is now part of the El Capitan’s preshow, giving audiences the chance to hear the rich full sound of a concert organ and step back some 80 years or more in movie history.

Birthdays

June 10 — Bob Cummings (1908 -1990) : ABC television and Disney decided to do a live show for the opening of Disneyland. Walt asked longtime friend Art Linkletter if he would host the live telecast. Art agreed and hand picked his two co-hosts, Ronnie Reagan and Bob Cummings. While today Cummings is probably the least known of the three hosts of “Dateline: Disneyland,” he was on a roll at the time.

Cummings had been in movies since the early 30’s. In early films, he often played the somewhat bumbling young suitor. He handled both dramatic and comedic roles well and was always a solid Hollywood player. But 1954 and 55 were breakout years for Bob.

First Cummings started off 1954 with Alfred Hitchcock’s 3-D thriller “Dial M for Murder.” While the 3-D aspect was mildly smarmy, co-starring with Grace Kelly was good for anyone’s career. He followed the movie with an Emmy winning performance in Studio One’s live television presentation of “12 Angry Men.”

In January of 1955, Cummings starred in a new sitcom with the ever-so-original name “The Bob Cummings Show”. The show is a hit and Bob is the “it” guy for 1955.

Okay — for those of you scoring at home — let’s recap. Big budget picture. Emmy winning performance. Hit sitcom. You can’t get more buzz than that unless your porn tapes end up on the internet.

Oh, yeah. One last thing. If you’ve seen the “Walt Disney Treasures — Disneyland USA” DVD, Leonard Maltin talks about errors during the live performance. One of those errors shown is Cummings flirting with and kissing a girl at the park. That’s not an error. That’s Bob doing his thing. That’s the character he played on his sitcom, a playboy and ladies man. He was just giving people what they expected.

If you’re going to have a “thing,” flirting with the opposite sex is a really good one. I wish I’d thought of that. Can I just make it my “thing” now?

Why are people laughing?

June 12th

June 12 — Richard Sherman (1928 – ): It started with a bet.

Richard and Robert Sherman were sharing an apartment in LA. And — like most guys just out of college — they had big dreams and no focus. Robert wanted to write the great American novel, while Richard was working on the great American symphony.

The Sherman’s dad, Al, was a songwriter who made his living writing popular tunes. Al bet his sons they couldn’t write a tune “that a kid would spend their lunch money on.”

The brothers accepted the challenge and wrote “Gold Can’t Buy You Anything But Love” which was recorded by singing cowboy Gene Autry and that started the ball rolling.

In 1958, ex-Mouseketeer Judy Harriet records “Tall Paul,” a song the Shermans co-wrote with Bob Roberts. A Disney executive hears the song and thinks it might be good for another Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello. The song is Annette’s first big hit and the Shermans continue to write songs for her. Well, you can’t be writing music for Walt’s golden girl and not get Walt’s attention.

The first song that Richard and Robert officially wrote for Walt Disney Studios was the “Medfield Fight Song” for 1961’s “The Absent Minded Professor.” And like so many other talented people who came to Disney to do just one project, the Sherman Brothers stayed for 12 years.

In those 12 years, the Sherman Brothers wrote over 150 songs. Among the 150 are songs for “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Parent Trap” and “Winnie the Pooh.”

And the hits just keep on comin’, because Richard & Robert recently wrote new songs for the uber-successful London & Broadway stage productions of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”

If there was an actual dollar amount placed on the bet between Al and his sons, I’m pretty sure Dad didn’t mind ponying up. Because it sure paid off in the long run.