You know as well as I do that 1960 doesn't seem like that long ago...............What struck me was that Ricky and Michelle Lee are the only two in the beginning that are still around. It just doesn't seem like 1982 was that long ago. I guess it was though. A lot can happen in 34 years I guess.
True that!You know as well as I do that 1960 doesn't seem like that long ago...............
Happy Birthday to actor Ricky Schroder, who turns the BIG 4-6 today!
In celebration of his birthday today, here's Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary Special, where Schroder makes an appearance:
Happy birthday to Ricky Schroder. I have always appreciated him, even back to "The Champ"! (The movie that put him on the map, and still great in my book.)
And what a fun find for a special above. A great time capsule for WDW! And even had The Gatlin Brothers in it (showing their tent-making skills at Fort Wilderness at 8:25, and of course having a country concert at Pioneer Hall at 12:00). Interesting to see them performing on the Hoop-De-Doo stage.
That whole special is worth watching -- a whole different time. Not only do we get to see Ricky and the Gatlins, but John Schneider, Eileen Brennan, Disney stalwarts Dean Jones and Michele Lee, and Dana Plato -- and a young Michael Keaton!
But most impressive is the tour of the Contemporary (including the long gone "Broadway at the Top" restaurant/show/dance club) and River Country!
I notice that even though by this time, EPCOT Center was well under construction and close to opening (circa 1982), the special did not mention it at all. Unlike today, when Disney marketing is all about the Star Wars land that hasn't even broken ground yet. Compare this special to the Disneyland 60 special, and I find that the Disneyland 60 special was spectacular but hardly showed you Disneyland, whereas this one was cheesy but clearly showed you Walt Disney World beyond the obvious. I liked it.
I never saw The Champ until I was grown (when it aired on Superstation WTBS in the early 1990's), and the first I ever heard of Ricky Schroder was when Silver Spoons premiered in 1982. Personally, I think he is one of the greatest child actors ever! In this clip from The Champ, he gives some of the most powerful child acting ever done:
With his talent and appealing personality, Ricky Schroder soon became one of the best known and most popular "TV Kids" of the 1980's, as well at the first crush for a generation of little girls!
But I digress. For many child actors, that was their career, since more often than not they did not make a successful transition to adult roles. For Ricky Schroder, being a child actor was just the beginning, having appeared on the TV series NYPD Blue and numerous TV movies, most recently Coat of Many Colors (2015) with an equally powerful acting performance from child actress Alyvia Alyn Lind as a young Dolly Parton.
Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary Special has always been one of my favorite Disney theme park TV specials, but I do think they should have spent a lot more time in the Magic Kingdom, since that was the resort's most important area at the time (probably still is). However, it's far better than the last few Very Merry Christmas Parade specials, which have turned too much into a commercial for the theme parks with a lot less of the parade.
A little known fact is that Ricky Schroder was and still is a Walt Disney World junkie! A 1979 newspaper article from The Sarasota Journal says that Ricky had already been to WDW 12 times and to Disneyland Resort 11.
EXACTLY! Like I said above, you can see a BIG difference in the TV specials and marketing then than you can see now!
I remember seeing "The Champ" when it first came out, in the theatres, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Ricky Schroder was clearly genuine. And its final scene after the fight was amazing. Anyone who has not seen it should do so to know what we are talking about.
I had forgotten that scene that you posted here, but it showed the same genuineness that I found throughout the film.
As for the WDW 10th anniversary special and the MK, I think they were making a point of showing the "resort" nature of the Walt Disney World, which at the time was still considered (as even today by some) to be only The Magic Kingdom.
View attachment 277513
Happy Birthday Ricky! Hard to believe little Ricky is now 48, as of today!
Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.