The Walt Disney Company Announces 2015 Disney Legends

The Walt Disney Company has announced the 2015 Disney Legends and the honorees include George Lucas, composer Danny Elfman, and actress Susan Lucci. The Disney Legends Awards Ceremony takes place August 14 at the D23 Expo.

2015 Disney Legends announced

The Disney Legend Award is the highest honor from The Walt Disney Company and it has been awarded to 257 individuals who have contributed to the Disney Legacy. The first Disney Legend Award was given to Fred MacMurray (The Shaggy Dog) in 1987.

The 2015 Disney Legends are: former ESPN president George Bodenheimer, Disney animator Andreas Deja, Disney artist Eyvind Earle, composer Danny Elfman, Star Wars creator George Lucas, Susan Lucci (All My Children), Julie Reihm Casaletto who was the first Disneyland Ambassador, and Disney artist Carson Van Osten.

Deja was the animator of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Jafar for Aladdin, Scar for The Lion King, Lilo in Lilo & Stitch, and more. Earle is best known for his visual styling and backgrounds for Sleeping Beauty. Van Osten oversaw creative content for motion picture tie-in advertising in addition to designing logos for Mickey Mouse's 50th and 60th birthdays, and more.

Elfman provided the songs and score for Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in addition to providing the singing voice of Jack Skellington. He has also scored Alice in Wonderland, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Dick Tracy, Good Will Hunting, and more.

The first project George Lucas worked on for Disney was Captain EO but he has also collaborated on Star Tours and the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and the Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril in Disneyland Paris. And of course there's the little film franchise called Star Wars.

Susan Lucci played Erica Kane on ABC's All My Children for 41 years and finally won a Daytime Emmy after 19 nominations. Julie Reihm Casaletto started her Disney career as a tour guide and because the first Disneyland Ambassador in 1965.

The Disney Legends each receive a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture and will participate in a handprint ceremony at the end of the awards event. The bronze handprints will be on display at the Disney Legends Plaza in Burbank at Disney's headquarters.

Past honorees include Tim Allen, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Sir Tim Rice, Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Walters, and Julie Andrews.

Admission to the Disney Legends Award Ceremony is on a first-come, first-served basis and is included in the ticket price for the D23 Expo.

What do you think about this year's class of Disney Legends? Leave us a comment and let us know.

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