One Hour In Wonderland

December 25, 1950 marked a big day in Walt Disney history.  This was the very first Walt Disney television special: One Hour In Wonderland.  As the title suggest, the special aired to promote Disney's up and coming new animated feature: Alice in Wonderland.

This show was a mix of clips from various cartoons and appearances from Charlie McCarthy, Bobby Driscol, Karen Beamont, and Walt with his girls.  The show also featured a Magic Mirror that Walt interacted with.  The magic mirror showed clips from: Clock Cleaners, Song of the South, Bone Trouble, Alice in Wonderland, the Firehouse Five Plus Two (the animator's band), and finally The Yodel Song from Snow White.

The special was a big success and led to another the following year: The Walt Disney Christmas Show.  For more details on Disney's move into television read the Walt Disney Family Museum article here.

The TV special is included on the Alice and Wonderland DVD and Bluray.

They Made the Magic: Moroni Olsen

Happy birthday to Moroni Olsen born in 1889.  A busy character actor in over one hundred movies, he was the voice actor for the Magic Mirror in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  In order to get the correct effect for the mirror, Olsen had his head inside a box with an opening for the microphone, thus creating an echo chamber.
He was born in Ogden, Utah.  His career began with his own touring company and he eventually ended up on Broadway but would return to California to perform in the the Pasadena Playhouse.  For a complete list of roles, see IMDb.  He passed away in 1954.