Today in Disney History 3/31

**vizsla** · 03-31-2010, 05:00 AM

Mar. 31, 1905 – Robert Stevenson, the director of Disney films, “Mary Poppins”, “Bed Knobs and Broomsticks”, and “The Shaggy D.A.”, was born in England.
Mar. 31, 1920 – Lucille Bliss, “The lady of a thousand voices”, and was the voice of Anastasia in Disney’s 1950 “Cinderella” was born in N.Y.C.
Mar. 31, 1929 – Voice actress Lucille Bliss, known as “the lady of a thousand voices,” was born in N.Y.C. Her Disney credits include “101 Dalmatians,” and “Cinderella.” (She is also the voice of Smurfette on the TV animated series The Smurfs.)
Mar. 31, 1938 – Mary Richardson was born in Ireland. She would be Walt Disney’s paternal grandmother.
Mar. 31, 1944 – Disney’s Donald Duck cartoon “Donald Duck and the Gorilla” was released.
Mar. 31, 1945 – Academy Award winning computer scientist Ed Catmull was born in Parkersburg, W.V. In 1986, when Steve Jobs bought Lucas film’s digital division and founded Pixar, Catmull became its Chief Technical Officer. After Disney acquired Pixar in Jan. 2006, Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger put Catmull and John Lasseter in charge of reinvigorating the Disney animation studios in Burbank, Ca.
Mar. 31, 1948 – Actress Rhea Perlman, was the voice of 9-Eye for WDW’s “The Timekeeper” attraction, (located in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom) was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. (TV fans will remember her as Carla on Cheers.)
Mar. 31, 1958 – A 306 foot long “Grand Canyon Diorama” was added to the Disneyland Railway.
Mar. 31, 1968 – Disney’s part-1 of the 2-part television show, “The Mystery of Edward Sims,” aired. (Part-2 aired Apr. 7, 1968)
Mar. 31, 1969 – TV host Samantha Brown was born in Dallas, Tx. She is the host of several travel programs for the Travel Channel including Great Hotels (which has featured many WDW Resorts).