The Walt Disney Family Museum had their 3rd annual Gala celebrating the bestowment of the Diane Disney-Miller Lifetime Achievement Award to this year’s recipient, John Lasseter. The special fundraising gala was held at the Golden Gate Club at the Presidio, San Francisco.
John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios is a great talent in the industry and has had a major influence with his contributions to the industry.
Past honorees were songwriter Richard Sherman and Imagineer Marty Sklar.
The museum chronicles the life and work of Walt Disney and its quest is to encourage and inspire future generations of animators through their educational programs. The gala is a fundraising event that helps to maintain the exhibits and programs.
The guests in attendance enjoyed an evening full of music, laughter and touching stories. Mistress of Ceremonies, Bonnie Hunt, brought Bobby and Kristen-Anderson Lopez to the stage to perform some of their very recognizable songs (from “Frozen”, “Rent” & “Wicked”). As a surprise, Kristen Bell appeared and sang, “For the First Time in Forever” and Idina Menzel sang, “Let it Go” from Frozen. John Lasseter was then brought up on stage and together they sang, “You have a Friend in Me” to him.
Other VIPs that were in attendance to speak about Lasseter were Bob Iger (CEO, The Walt Disney CO), Ed Catmull (President of Pixar), and many of the grandchildren of Walt and Lillian Disney.
Ron Miller, former CEO of the Walt Disney Company and Diane Disney-Miller’s husband, presented the award to John.
There were many unique items/experiences that were auctioned for the event. There was one incredibly special offer – a small speaking part in the upcoming Toy Story 4 movie (with your name in the credits and all that goes with that contribution)! This gathered so much excitement with the bidders, John Lasseter and Jonas Rivera (producer of “Toy Story 4”) decided to make this available to the top 3 bidders… a true special, once in a lifetime experience!
Want to visit the museum? Perhaps become a museum member and support the ongoing efforts? Please check out waltdisney.org for details.
This article was written and photographs taken by Frank Anzalone and provided courtesy of The Walt Disney Family Museum. A huge thank you to both Frank Anzalone and The Walt Disney Family Museum!
