TO BE
CELEBRATED DURING D23 EXPO IN ANAHEIM
Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Jobs, Dick
Clark and Other Talented Contributors To Disney History To Be Honored At A
Ceremony On Saturday, August 10
BURBANK, Calif. – July 10, 2013 – Monsters
Inc. and Monsters University stars
Billy Crystal and John Goodman, technology visionary Steve Jobs, television
icon Dick Clark and other beloved contributors to the Disney legacy will be named
and honored as official Disney Legends during the D23 Expo 2013 at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 10, in the D23
Expo Arena at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The Disney Legends
Awards program is a 26-year tradition of The Walt Disney Company. The three-day
D23 Expo provides a rare opportunity
for the public to be a part of the always touching and memorable presentation, hosted
by noted television personality Tom Bergeron (host of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and America’s Funniest Home Videos).
“The Disney Legend
Award is our highest and most coveted honor,” said Disney Chairman and CEO Bob
Iger. “It’s reserved for the extraordinary visionaries and artists behind
the Disney magic, the men and women who push the limits of innovation and
creativity to ensure Disney remains truly special. The eight Legends we
honor this year helped create some of our most beloved characters along with
exciting new worlds and thrilling attractions. They also entertained
millions of people and expanded our definition of what’s possible. They
are all indelible parts of our legacy, and we are proud to recognize them as
true Disney Legends.”
The 2013 Disney
Legends Award honorees (listed alphabetically) are:
TONY BAXTER has developed beloved Disney attractions
including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Journey Into Imagination, Splash
Mountain, and countless more over the course of his 43-year career with Walt
Disney Imagineering. Revered by Disney
fans, he is best known for his commitment to storytelling, attention to detail,
and ability to develop new ideas and attractions by combining time-tested
design practices with modern technology.
COLLIN CAMPBELL touched almost every part of the Walt Disney
Company, from animated classics to legendary theme park attractions, with
stints in live action film and television. Collin’s work with Walt Disney
Imagineering includes the development of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room,
Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as concept illustrations of Magic Kingdom
Park and Epcot Center.
DICK CLARK brought rock and roll to 40 million homes
across the country with the national debut of American Bandstand on ABC in 1958. He went on to produce game
shows, award shows including the Golden Globes® and the Academy of Country
Music Awards, comedy specials movies, and other popular television specials.
Dick might best be remembered, however, as the host of ABC’s annual Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve from
1973 until 2011.
BILLY CRYSTAL is an acclaimed actor who lends his voice to
Mike Wazowski, the frenetic, green cyclopean monster from Monsters Inc. and Monsters
University. Best
known for his memorable roles in When
Harry Met Sally…, The Princess Bride, and City Slickers, Billy, who has won six Emmy Awards and one Tony
Award, has also been a fixture on ABC television, where he hosted the Academy
Awards® broadcast nine times and found his breakthrough role as Jodie Dallas on
Soap from 1977-81.
JOHN GOODMAN is a celebrated actor of stage and screen,
and the voice behind James P. Sullivan, better known as “Sully,” from Monsters Inc. and Monsters University. Among John’s notable film appearances are The Big Lebowski, The Flintstones, and most recently Argo and Flight. John’s
appearances in Disney-produced films include the Hollywood Pictures films Arachnophobia and Born Yesterday, as well as Touchstone Pictures’ Stella, Coyote Ugly, O Brother, Where
Art Thou, and Confessions of a
Shopaholic.
STEVE JOBS changed the world of consumer electronics as
the founder of Apple, and was known throughout the world for his visionary
attitude and penchant for innovation. He was an early investor and chief
executive of Pixar, and became the Walt Disney Company’s largest shareholder
overnight when it acquired Pixar Animation Studios in 2006. That same year, he
joined the Disney board of directors, and remained a valuable sounding board
and advisor to the company until his passing in 2011.
GLEN KEANE has brought to life many of Walt Disney
Animation Studios’ most popular characters. Since becoming a
Disney animator in 1974, he has animated classic Disney characters such as
Penny in The Rescuers, Elliott in Pete’s Dragon, Ratigan in The Great Mouse Detective, the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, and the titular
characters in The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Tarzan.
In 2010, Glen served as Executive Producer and Animation Supervisor for Tangled, a story he developed for more
than ten years.
ED WYNN, a comedian whose career began on Broadway
in the early 1900s, appeared in numerous Disney classics of the 1960s,
including Mary Poppins, Babes in Toyland, That Darn Cat, The Absent-Minded
Professor, and Son of Flubber.
Fans of Disney animation know him as the manic and distinctive voice of the Mad
Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.
Each honoree receives
a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination,
creativity and magic they have brought to the Company. Disney Legends Award
recipients also participate in a handprint ceremony, and their bronzed prints
will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Company’s Burbank
headquarters.
Admission to the
ceremony will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is included in the
price of a ticket to the D23 Expo. In addition to the 4,000-seat D23 Expo
Arena, the ceremony will be simulcast into a 2,000-seat overflow theater inside
the Convention Center.
The first Disney
Legend, actor Fred MacMurray (The Shaggy
Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor,
The Happiest Millionaire), was named
in 1987. Including this year’s honorees,
a total of 237 Disney Legends have been named.
Past Disney Legends include Tim Allen, Robin Williams, Julie Andrews,
Howard Ashman, Regis Philbin, Annette Funicello, Peter Jennings, Angela
Lansbury, Steve Martin, Alan Menken, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker, Sir Tim Rice,
Dick Van Dyke and Barbara Walters. At
the inaugural D23 Expo in 2009, the Legends Awards ceremony, which honored
Robin Williams, Beatrice Arthur, Estelle Getty, Rue McLanahan, Betty White,
Tony Anselmo, Bill Farmer, Harry Archinal, Don Iwerks and Leota Toombs Thomas,
was presented to thousands of Disney fans for the first time.
Tickets and
pricing information for D23 Expo 2013 are available at D23Expo.com Admission includes access to
all experiences and entertainment at the D23 Expo and can be purchased for
single days or for the full three days of festivities. Members of D23: The Official Community for Disney Fans will receive a
discount on admission, as well as early entry to each day of the D23 Expo
for themselves and their guests. More details about D23 Expo entertainment,
events, and special guests will be announced in the coming weeks. Fans can keep
up with all the news by visiting D23Expo.com or by following
"DisneyD23" on Twitter and Facebook.
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