Tagged: Anniversary

Mickey Rooney Talks The Fox and the Hound

mickey-rooney-photo-6183215In the mid-1920’s, an up-and-coming young animator had a brief encounter with an up-and-coming child star.  Although they only met in passing, Mickey Rooney remembers Walt Disney as “a very charming man.”  More than 50 years later, in 1981, Rooney would find himself starring in one of Walt Disney Studio’s most beloved animated films, The Fox and the Hound.  Rooney voiced the character of Tod, an orphaned fox cub who forms an unlikely friendship with Copper, a coonhound voiced by Kurt Russell.   The film also stars Pearl Bailey, Pat Buttram and Jack Albertson.  The Fox and the Hound and its sequel The Fox and the Hound 2 will be released in a 30th Anniversary 2-Movie Collection on August 9, 2011.

Although he is quick to deny it, Mickey Rooney is the definition of a Hollywood legend.  With a career that spans nine decades, he has defied the odds in an industry that often typecasts performers.  He got his start crashing his parents’ vaudeville act while still a toddler and, just a few years later, he became a silent film sensation; starring in the popular “Mickey McGuire” shorts.  In the 1930’s Rooney made a successful transition to sound films, headlining in the long-running “Andy Hardy” series and teaming with his friend Judy Garland in such classic musicals as Strike Up the Band and Girl Crazy.  Rooney was awarded a special Juvenile Oscar at the 1939 Academy Awards ceremony and the next year was nominated in the competitive Best Actor category for Babes in Arms, the first of four Oscar nominations.   He also won an honorary Academy Award in 1983 in recognition of 50 years of memorable film performances.  Having also won an Emmy and two Golden Globes by that time, many actors would be content to rest on such precious laurels but Mickey Rooney, now 90, continues to work on stage, screen and television and recently wrapped a cameo role in the highly anticipated Walt Disney Pictures Holiday 2011 release, The Muppets. (more…)

Happy 20th Anniversary, World Wide Web!

If it weren’t for the work of Tim Berners-Lee, you’d be reading these sites in a letter column somewhere, and out somewhere on a Saturday night. (Hat tip: Making Light.)

20th Century Fox Celebrates 75th Anniversary with a Million Moments

fox-logo-9691177Los Angeles, CA February 1, 2011 – Today, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE) kicked off a 12-month marketing, promotions, publicity and media campaign, “A Year Of A Million Moments,” to celebrate its robust catalog of movies made memorable, quotable, and unforgettable by the people who watch and embrace them.

A YEAR OF A MILLION MOMENTS CAMPAIGN AND PRODUCT
Fox’s yearlong celebration will include the release of seasonally timed Blu-ray Disc and DVD singles grouped thematically by month and distinguished by the “GREAT MOVIES. GREAT MOMENTS.” moniker. Each month Fox will spotlight films that reflect a specific theme with moments… to shine (January), you love (February), to laugh about (March), kids love (April), for mom (May), for heroes (June), to sing about (July), to remember (August), that are unforgettable (September), that terrify (October), that are classic (November) and holiday moments (December).

Product releases will be supported by publicity events, national advertising and retail specific promotions. Exact title configurations, packaging and release dates for “A Year Of A Million Moments” Blu-ray and DVD releases will be confirmed separately.

TCFHE has launched a dedicated Web site that will feature information about upcoming Blu-ray and DVD products and promotions tied to the million moments campaign.

Each month 16 films will face off for the title of “Best Movie Moment.” Consumers can vote each month for their favorite moment and enter for a chance to win a package of some of the most iconic and memorable movies from Fox.

What’s Your Movie Moment?
Find out which movie moment you’re most like and become a part of it. Upload your photo and share with others in the gallery of movie moments.

Win $1 Million
Fox is giving away $1 million in celebration of “A Year Of A Million Moments.” Codes found on specially marked Blu-ray and DVD product can be entered for a chance for one lucky consumer to become an instant millionaire.

Happy 25th Anniversary, ComicMix comics!

Twenty-five months ago today, ComicMix debuted our first new comics online, the return of GrimJack in the tale of the Manx Cat, a series that is now available in print from our friends at IDW. It was followed within the first week by EZ Street, Black Ice, Munden’s Bar, The Adventures of Simone & Ajax, and Fishhead.

*Okay, we’ve been so crazy busy around here that we completely skated past our two year anniversary at the beginning of last month. But now we get to have a 25th anniversary!**

**Look, if X-Factor can have a 50th anniversary issue this month and a 200th anniversary issue next month, we can have a 25th anniversary today. So there.

Happy 7th Anniversary, Peter & Kathleen David!

Seven years ago today in Atlanta, Peter David and Kathleen O’Shea got married in the chapel at Emory University. Harlan Ellison delivered a best man speech that was only slightly shorter than his fourth marriage, topping off a beautiful ceremony.

Happy Copper Anniversary, you two crazy kids. Enjoy the night.

Happy 33rd Anniversary, Paul Kupperberg

On this day in 1975, Paul Kupperberg made his first professional sale to Charlton Comics. It was a five-page story titled "Distress" that would ultimately be published in the December 1975 issue of Scary Tales (pictured here) drawn by a kid named Mike Zeck.

Yes, Paul, you’re right — you’re o-o-old. On the other hand, you churned out a good 600+ comics stories since, created Checkmate, Arion, and Takion (how’d you miss creating Ion?) and they turned the cover of a comic book you wrote into a US postage stamp. Your page rate has even gone up since that first story.

And look at the bright side — you’re actually reading this. Which means that this isn’t an obituary post. At your advanced age, that’s always a concern.

 

Happy 75th Anniversary to the Lone Ranger!

On this day in 1933, to the strains of the William Tell Overture, the first of 2,956 episodes of The Lone Ranger premiered on WXYZ radio in Detroit, Michigan and later on the Mutual Broadcasting System radio network and then on NBC’s Blue Network (which became ABC).

We hope we don’t have to tell you who that masked man is, but just in case, return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear… when a Texas Ranger named Reid, who, as the series begins, was ambushed along with five other Texas Rangers by by Butch Cavendish, leader of the "Hole in the Wall Gang" and a man named Collins, who has infiltrated the Rangers for the gang as a scout, leaving almost every ranger dead.

Reid, the sole survivor, vowed to bring the killers and others like them to justice. So while he recovers, he asks his companion Tonto to make a sixth grave to make people think that he had died as well.

The Lone Ranger has gone on to appear on TV (both animated and the famous series starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels), in movies and serials, and (of course) comic books, most recently in publications from Dynamite Entertainment.

Hi-yo Silver! Away!

A Whale of an Anniversary

Today marks the anniversary of the first governmentally exploded whale. Yes, you read right: whale explosion.

37 years ago today, in an effort to dispose of a rotting carcass, the Oregon Highway Division set out to blow up a dead sperm whale with a half ton of dynamite.  The resulting explosion sent blubber flying and totaled a car a quarter of a mile away. The incident was made famous in 1990 when columnist Dave Barry wrote about it with graphic hilarity, and the news footage of the disposal has since gone on to become the fifth most watched video on the Internet, according to the BBC.

And if you’re wondering why "governmentally" exploded was the necessary modifier, it’s because whales have been known to spontaneously blow up by themselves. Recently in Taiwan a dead sperm whale beat its transporters to the punch during a postmortem move when the gas inside its decomposing body built up enough for it to, well, you know what. If you thought your job sucked, just think of the janitor who was responsible for that clean up. Oddly enough, whales are not the only self-explosive animals; maybe just the funniest.

To no one’s surprise, there’s a web site devoted to this at theexplodingwhale.com. What is surprising is that there’s currently a one man show running in Chicago about it. Countdown: The Story of the Exploding Whale runs Wednesday nights at 8pm from October 10th through November 28th at the Apollo Theater, 2540 N Lincoln Avenue. Bring the kiddies.