“This is extremely special to me,” a beaming Walters said after Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger introduced her as an unrivaled pioneer and true colleague.
Iger was joined by past legend and imagineer Marty Sklar and Walt Disney Co. Chairman Dick Cook to reflect on each honoree’s contributions to the company and share personal examples as to why they deserved to be called legends.
“You just rooted for Frank Gifford,” Iger said in his introduction for the NFL Hall of Famer and sports broadcaster. “He came to every telecast prepared . . . and was always very fair.”
Gifford was supported by wife Kathie Lee Gifford.
In addition to family and colleagues, the audience was also peppered with past legends such as “Pinocchio” voice actor Dick Jones, Karen Dotrice of “Mary Poppins,” and “It’s a Small World (after all)” co-writer Richard Sherman.
“There’s genius around every corner [in the Walt Disney Co.],” honoree Walt Peregoy said.
Recognized for his work on “Sleeping Beauty” and “101 Dalmatians,” Peregoy was honored along with fellow animator Burny Mattinson, who worked at Disney for more than 50 years.
Other honorees — all escorted to the stage by popular Disney characters — included imagineers Dorothea Redmond, Bob Booth and the late Neil Gallagher; Tokyo Disneyland founding member Toshio Kagami; and late musician Oliver Wallace. All received a two-foot bronze award designed by sculptor Andrea Favilli in 1987.
The ceremony concluded with the legends leaving their handprints in personalized plaster casts that will later be bronzed and hung in the Legends Plaza among those of past honorees.
“This is what happens when you wish upon a star,” Walters said. “Your dreams come true.”
