Escapay wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2013 10:57 pm
The "Disney Legends" awards began simply as a
promotional push for "Shaggy Dog Month" on Disney Channel. Granted, this was when The Disney Channel was actually invested in celebrating its history while still providing something new (I think Jeff Kurtti dubbed it "the PBS of cable" at one point). But even so, the awards were never meant to be given the "prestige" that fans heap(ed) on it in later years. It's a nice celebration, an official recognition of one's past-and-present contributions to The Walt Disney Company. But let's be honest, awards (Disney Legends or otherwise) are really just contemporary pats-on-the-back for their time. Fifty years from now, we may see Miley Cyrus get one, as those involved in the selection process likely will have been children who grew up watching "Hannah Montana" and have fond pre-internet-cynicism memories of the show.
Albert
Wow, I was way off in my prediction. It only took 11 years, not 50 years.
I've softened towards the Disney Legends awards compared to my previous comments in this thread. It may have had a humble start as a cable channel promotion, but has grown immensely to mean something worthwhile to the company, even if the Iger-era inductees often skew more towards contemporary talent rather than historical recognition. After thirty-seven years of this award's existence, well-known Disney figures such as Eleanor Audley and Vincent McEveety still have never been recognized. And if Steve Whitmire's claims are to be believed, the award has also lost some of its luster as it can be offered as a bargaining tool (or, in his words, a consolation prize) rather than prestige. I doubt there will ever be a year where someone will look at the lineup and say, "All of them are such deserving folks," especially as The Walt Disney Company has so many sub-sections to represent so some choices seem unexpected or considered undeserving because it's from a branch of Disney that doesn't always get noticed.
In particular, it warms my heart to see Kelly Ripa among the honorees this year. The majority of her career has been with ABC/Disney (eleven years with "All My Children," the entire run of "Hope & Faith," ten years hosting the Walt Disney World Christmas parade, and her ongoing hosting of "Live!"), she's become as much a mainstay to their television brand as previous soap opera honoree Susan Lucci (2015). Also, just for the soap opera nerd in me, thanks to Kelly Ripa and Angela Bassett, we've now got eleven Disney Legends who have worked in soap operas.
As mentioned before, Ripa spent eleven years as Hayley Vaughn on "All My Children," while Angela Bassett began her career played Selena McCulla on "Search for Tomorrow." They join the following Disney Legends: 1998's Dick Van Dyke (Timothy Robicheaux on "Days of our Lives"), 2009's Rue McClanahan (Caroline Johnson on "Another World," Margaret Jardin on "Where the Heart Is"), 2009's Betty White (Brenda Barlow on "Another World," Ann Douglas on "The Bold and the Beautiful"), 2011's Regis Philbin (Malachy Malone on "Ryan's Hope"), 2015's Susan Lucci (Erica Kane Martin Brent Cudahy Chandler Roy Roy Montgomery Montgomery Chandler Marick Marick Montgomery on "All My Children"), 2017's Mark Hamill (Kent Murray on "General Hospital"), 2017's Ming-Na Wen (Lien Hughes on "As the World Turns"), 2022's Chadwick Boseman (Reggie Montgomery on "All My Children"), and 2022's Jonathan Groff (Henry Mackler on "One Life to Live").
Here's hoping at the next Disney Legends award ceremony (2026?) they honor Genie Francis for her nearly-50 years portraying Laura Vining Webber Baldwin Spencer Cassadine Spencer Baldwin Collins on "General Hospital." Given that the soap has always been ABC's favorite, I'm genuinely surprised no one connected to the show has been Disney Legend'ed yet, but I would love for Genie to be the first.
Alby
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