Elton John Among Winners of Disney Legends Awards

The Walt Disney Company will honor legendary songwriter Sir Elton John, as well as 11 additional inductees, with the prestigious Disney Legends Award during a ceremony at The Walt Disney Company headquarters on Monday, October 9, at 4:00 p.m.  Presiding over the ceremony will be Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger, and his fellow presenters will include Dick Cook, Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios; Roy E. Disney, Disney Director Emeritus; and Marty Sklar, Executive Vice President and Walt Disney Imagineering Ambassador.

"This annual ceremony, now in its 19th year, gives all of us at Disney a moment to remember the importance of our past achievements and to recognize those who embody this company's constant focus on delivering unparalleled creativity, quality and innovation to our audiences around the world," said Iger.  "As we continue the tradition this year, we also mark a special milestone as we welcome our 200th Disney Legend."

The 12 new Disney Legends include leaders in the fields of music, journalism, art, performance, engineering and business.  Among them are:

 * Renowned singer and songwriter Sir Elton John;
 * ABC News anchor Peter Jennings;
 * Actors Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran (Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss
   Family Robinson, "Mickey Mouse Club");
 * Actors Tim Considine and David Stollery (The Adventures of Spin and
   Marty);
 * Actress Ginny Tyler ("Mickey Mouse Club")
 * Disney and Pixar animation story artist Joe Ranft;
 * Voice actor Paul Frees (Haunted Mansion, Ludwig Von Drake);
 * Disney Imagineer Don Edgren (Disneyland, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space
   Mountain);
 * Animation background artist Al Dempster;
 * Founder of Walt Disney Records, Jimmy Johnson

Multi-Grammy Award-winner John, in addition to his many hit pop songs, wrote the music for the Broadway musicals The Lion King (based on the animated Disney film for which he contributed songs), Disney's Aida and Lestat, as well as for the Broadway-bound West End hit Billy Elliot.  John, who has also won a Tony Award, an Oscar and a Kennedy Center Honor, was knighted in 1998.  He is also a noted humanitarian and the founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

The Disney Legends Award was established in 1987 to honor the men and women who have made significant contributions to the Disney legacy.  The first recipient of this prestigious distinction was actor Fred MacMurray (The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Happiest Millionaire), and since that time 203 Disney Legends have been named, including this year's recipients. Among the past Disney Legends are Julie Andrews, Steve Martin, Dick Van Dyke, Annette Funicello, Dean Jones, Angela Lansbury, Fess Parker, Kurt Russell, Tim Allen, Hayley Mills, Phil Collins, Art Linkletter, Tim Conway, Sir Tim Rice, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.

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