Disney has announced a slew of actors, innovators and other artists who will be named Disney Legends at its D23 Expo.
Monsters University stars Billy Crystal and John Goodman, the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and late TV icon Dick Clark are among the honorees. The ceremony will take place during the D23 Expo 2013 at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Anaheim Convention Center.
A 26-year tradition, the Disney Legends Awards program honors those who are "contributors to the Disney legacy." Each honoree receives a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture and will participate in a handprint ceremony. Their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the company’s Burbank headquarters.
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"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."
Over the years, a total of 237 Disney Legends have been honored. Past honorees include Tim Allen, Robin Williams, Julie Andrews, Howard Ashman, Regis Philbin, Annette Funicello, Peter Jennings, Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin, Dick Van Dyke and Barbara Walters.
Disney's own biannual event, taking place Aug. 9-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center, will feature a strong Star Wars presence, with Disney planning events like Darth Vader: The Evolution of a Villain, showing the development of the bad guy, to Crash Course in the Force: Star Wars Saga 101.
A complete list of this year's honorees is below:
TONY BAXTER has developed beloved Disney attractions including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Journey Into Imagination, Splash Mountain and many more during 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 Co., 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 and Pirates of the Caribbean as well as concept illustrations of Magic Kingdom Park and Epcot Center.
DICK CLARK brought rock 'n' 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. Clark, who died in April 2012, was the host of ABC’s 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, Crystal, 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 his notable film appearances are The Big Lebowski, The Flintstones and most recently Argo and Flight. Goodman'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 Disney'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 adviser to the company until his death in October 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, he served as executive producer and animation supervisor for Tangled, a story he developed for more than 10 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.
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