February 21 - Hazel George

On this day, in 1904, Hazel Inez Gilman was born in Bisbee, Arizona. The details of Hazels personal life are a bit shaky. She told stories in interviews in the Nineties that seem to contradict everything we think we know, but since she was in her nineties at that time, we'll just go with the generally accepted narrative (not that either version is highly verifiable, but here goes). Hazel was still in Brisbee in 1917 to witness the Brisbee Deportations, a horrific event where the local mining company forced 1,200 striking workers onto cattle cars and dropped them off in the New Mexico desert two hundred miles away. It's not clear if Hazel's father was one of the miners that were deported, but her parents divorced and she moved to Southern California with her mother and brother soon afterwards.

Two things happened for Hazel in 1928. First she graduated as a nurse from the University of California, Los Angeles. Second she got married to an office manager, Emerald Robert George. A year later, she'd had a daughter, Deborah, and her little family was living with her mother, while she worked at LA County Hospital.

Image courtesy originalmmc.com

In the early Forties, Hazel became the resident nurse at the Walt Disney Studio. She claimed she came on board during, and specifically because of, the animators strike in 1941, but it could have been as early as April 1940. She quickly became Walt's personal nurse as well, helping him mitigate the pain he still experienced from a 1938 polo accident. Hazel spent many afternoons in Walt's office, treating his injury and listening to him unwind from his day. She became one of his closest confidants and stayed loyal, never revealing very much of anything he ever told her. Supposedly one of chief complaints was his inability to play polo anymore and she suggested a new hobby, turning him on the trains. Walt wouldn't build his famed Carolwood Pacific Railroad over his wife's flower beds until 1949, so that story actually carries an air of plausibility.

Image copyright Disney

Hazel's husband died in 1944 and her daughter followed in 1947. At some point, she began a relationship with one the studio's house composers, Paul Smith (which will be become relevant in a moment). In the early Fifties, when Roy O. Disney was reluctant to commit company money to his brother's amusement park idea, Walt asked Hazel if she would be willing to invest some of her own funds. She was willing , and after convincing other employees to do the same, they collectively convinced Roy that maybe the park wasn't such a screwball notion after all.

The real twist to Hazel's story comes with the creation of the iconic Disney television show, The Mickey Mouse Club. The nurse from Arizona took on a pseudonym, Gil George, and became a lyricist to her companion Paul's composing. The duo wrote over 90 songs used in the series including Talent Roundup, Mickey Mouse Newsreel, The Wrong Syl La Ble and all the songs used in the Corky and White Shadow serial. Hazel also wrote most of the Doddism songs for host Jimmy Dodd such as Safety First and Beauty is as Beauty Does. Hazel and Paul went on to write songs for Old Yeller, The Light in the Forest and the Disneyland anthology show. Once Paul retired fro the studio in the early Sixties, 'Gil' also stopped writing lyrics.

Image courtesy Mike Sekulic

Hazel would stay on with the studio as nurse, at least as long as Walt was around. She treated her old friend right up to days before his death. And it was, again supposedly, Hazel who got Walt interested in cryogenics, starting rumors about the whereabouts of his remains that persist to this day (let's be clear: Walt was cremated and his ashes are in Woodlawn Cemetery; he's not coming back).

At some point Hazel stopped working at the studio but her connection to her old boss and company never really ended. Bob Thomas, Walt's official biographer interviewed her extensively beginning in 1975 as subsequent biographies have relied on those interviews for insight into Walt's mind. Throughout the twilight years of Hazel's life, Walt's daughter Dianne was a frequent visitor (as, oddly enough, was Michael Jackson, who had asked to be introduced to Hazel through Bob Thomas). On March 12, 1996, Hazel quietly passed away at a nursing home in Burbank, California. The woman who unlikely involvement in so many aspects of Walt's later life made her a veritable Forrest Gump of the Walt Disney Company was 92.

February 5 - Peter Pan

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On this day, in 1953, Walt Disney Productions 14th animated feature, Peter Pan, debuted in theaters. Peter Pan is notable for being the last Disney film in a couple of categories. First, it's the last movie that RKO Radio Pictures distributed. A few months later, Walt created his own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution. Pan is also the last picture that all of Walt's Nine Old Men would work on together as directing animators.

As early as 1935, Walt wanted to make Peter Pan as his second animated feature. Unfortunately, Paramount owned the film rights at the time and was unwilling to cut a deal. He was able to get the rights in 1939 and began production. By mid-1940, the story had been pretty well decided on and characters were being assigned to animators. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, starting World War II, work on both Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, also in production, ground to a halt. The government had the Disney Studio working on propaganda and training films for the duration of the war and then the studio struggled through its financial problems immediately following. It wouldn't be until May 1949 that production on Pan started again in earnest.

Image copyright Cannes Film Festival

Not only was Peter Pan released in theaters in 1953, but it was also entered in the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. The film itself didn't win any awards in Cannes, but Walt was honored twice during the festival. During the opening ceremony, the French Minister of Information awarded him the Legion of Honour (he'd also been given one in 1936) and he was awarded the Jury Special Prize for "his contributions to the prestige of the festival."

The critical reception for Peter Pan was fairly positive. Several critics didn't think much of the film's music, but since it had been written over a period of 14 years by several different people, that's not surprising. It retains a decent score even today, although the movie's handling of Native Americans is justly panned. Even Disney Legend Marc Davis admitted years later that he didn't know if the Indians would have made it into the picture if done today, and if they did, they certainly wouldn't have been portrayed the same way. And who can forget that Michael Jackson called Peter Pan his favorite movie, going so far as to name his estate the Neverland Ranch (which brings up a whole other set of controversies we won't discuss here).

Image copyright Disney

Although it took so long to get the silver screen, Peter Pan manages to enjoy a healthy legacy. Peter Pan's Flight is easily one of the most popular rides at Disney Parks around the world. Peter, Wendy, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee all make appearances in parades daily. And the movie has spawned several sequels. Could you argue that all of this attention really belongs to the original play's creative author, JM Barrie? You could (and probably should). But you can't deny that Disney not only keeps Mr. Barrie's vision alive, but helps us all forget that Mary Martin fiasco (don't even get me started).

September 12 - Captain EO

On this day, in 1986, the science fiction, 4D movie Captain EO debuted in the Journey to Imagination pavilion of EPCOT Center.

 What happens when the creator of Star Wars teams up with an Academy Award winning director, an Academy Award winning actress and the King of Pop? You get one of the most expensive, on a per minute basis, movies ever made. In fact, if you adjust the 1.76 million dollars per minute cost for inflation, it still tops the list by quite a bit. Good thing Captain EO was highly entertaining.

In 1984, Michael Eisner was looking to create original entertainment to boost attendance at Disney theme parks. Yes, there was a time when that sort of thing needed to be done. He approached Michael Jackson with the idea to do a short film. Jackson was a regular visitor to Disney, albeit usually in an elaborate disguise: he once reportedly dressed as an old woman to avoid being mobbed by fans. Needless to say, Jackson loved the idea.

Because of the burgeoning relationship between Disney and LucasFilm, Eisner had already gotten George Lucas to agree to at least produce the film. Jackson wanted Steven Spielberg to direct. Steven wasn't able to make time to do it, so Lucas suggested Francis Ford Coppola. This was a slightly odd suggestion as Lucas and Coppola had had a falling out and refused to speak to each other for several years. Funny how a good gig can bring old friends together again.

Imagineers were asked to come up with something that blended outer space and music with a liberal amount of 3D effects. They came up with a parable about an intergalactic performer who healed lost civilizations with his song. It got a few tweaks and was finalized into the script we know and love today. Then filming began and the initial 11 million dollar budget for a 12 minute film got shot all to hell.

One of the biggest problems was that neither Coppola nor his cinematographer had ever done anything in 3D before, which requires specific lighting and camera set-ups. As any bean counter can tell you, on the job training like this is never cheap. Lucas, as producer, didn't help the budget woes any. He was working on several other projects of his own at the same time, so was rarely around to reign his friend in. When he did show up, he tended to approve whatever expenses were laid before him. After all that, when it came time for post production, 40 effects shots ballooned into 140. By the end, Disney had spent 30 million dollars for a 17 minute film. Eisner was incredibly worried about how this roll of the dice was going to go.

What do you do when you're worried about how an expensive project is going to be received? Throw a lavish premier party of course. EPCOT Center hosted a motorcade featuring the film's leading lady, Angelica Huston, fresh off her Oscar win for Prizzi's Honor, and her then boyfriend, Jack Nicholson. Janet and LaToya Jackson were also present. Their notoriously shy brother, however, was a no show. His absence didn't affect how people felt about the movie. It was an instant hit. Over 93% of people who came to EPCOT that first weekend said they came specifically for Captain EO and they were not disappointed.

Captain EO would eventually expand to theaters in Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. It would have runs of varying lengths in each of the four parks. The final showing would be in Europe in 1998. Or would it? After years of fans asking for the return of the Captain, it wouldn't be until after Jackson's death that EO would reemerge, once again in all four parks in 2010. It wasn't exactly the same show. The film was the same but since most of the in theater effects had been removed when it closed the first time, Disney ran the movie without them. Since the presentation wasn't the same, the revival was named Captain EO Tribute. The final final showing of this musical extravaganza was back where it all began, in the Journey to Imagination pavilion of Epcot in 2015.