Awards Watch: The Disney Legends

Say what you will about the Disney Company today, but one thing they have always embraced is their own history, and those who have helped to shape it. Each year for the past two decades, Disney has bestowed the Disney Legend award, a lifetime achievement honor, to a select group of individual artists and others whose work through the years has contributed to the continuing legacy we know as "Disney magic".

Most of the names of this year's recipients may be unfamiliar to you, but no doubt you'll recognize the varied projects they helped to create:

• Roone Arledge: Former President of ABC News and ABC Sports, creator of 20/20, Wide World of Sports and many other programs (posthumous).
• Art Babbitt: A controversial choice: Animator (Snow White, Pinocchio) who led the infamous 1941 strike against the Disney Studio (posthumous).
• Carl Bongirno: Former President of Disney Imagineering, oversaw the construction of Epcot.
• Marge Champion: The famed dancer was the live action reference model for Snow White, the Blue Fairy and others.
• Dick Huemer: Animator, writer and director on shorts and such features as Fantasia, Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland (posthumous).
• Ron Logan: Tony Award-nominated producer of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway; also produced many live shows for the theme parks worldwide.
• Lucille Martin: Walt Disney’s personal secretary for many years.
• Thomas Murphy: CEO of ABC prior to Disney's acquisition of the network.
• Randy Newman: Oscar winning composer of such films as Toy Story, James and the Giant Peach, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc. and Cars.
• Floyd Norman: Animator and story artist on such films as The Jungle Book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan and Toy Story 2.
• Bob Schiffer: Legendary Hollywood make-up artist; his Disney work included pretty much every live action movie from 1969 to 1986 (posthumous).
• Dave Smith: Longtime Disney archivist and author; his Disney A to Z: The Official Encyclopediais a must-have for any Disney fan.

Congratulations to all of this year's honorees.

Links via Disney.go.com, O-meon.com, Imdb.com, WDWInfo.com, Wikipedia.org and Museum.tv.