ANAHEIM, California — Disney will grant “legend” status to fourteen artists, including Harrison Ford, Angela Bassett and Miley Cyrus, who formed the company.
The winners – who the company says have had a “significant impact” on Disney’s legacy – include director James Cameron, iconic film composer John Williams, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Ripa.
This year’s Disney Legends class will be inducted into the corporate version of the Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Sunday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, as part of the D23 fan convention. Ryan Seacrest will host the evening.
Director James L. Brooks also joins the star club, along with Williams, known for the scores of the ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ franchises.
The star of those franchises, Ford, will have his signature and handprints made again 20 years after he was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The respected actor also joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming “Captain America: Brave New World.” At Comic-Con International, Ford wowed the packed house with a ta-panel discussing new Marvel projects and flexed his muscles at the roaring crowd, channeling his character who transforms into the Red Hulk.
Fellow MCU actor Bassett, who appeared in “Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” is also being honored. Bassett also stars in ABC’s “9-1-1.”
Cyrus, who rose to fame after starring in the Disney Channel show “Hannah Montana” in 2006, is the youngest recipient of the Legends award. After her time on the sitcom, Cyrus has had a long-running career in music, winning her first Grammy Award in February.
Curtis has also appeared in a variety of projects under The Walt Disney Studios banner, from ‘Beverly Hills Chihuahua’ to ‘You Again’. She will also reprise her role in the upcoming sequel to the hit film ‘Freaky Friday’, opposite Lindsey Lohan.
ABC talk show host and mainstay Ripa will reunite with her former co-host Seacrest. Her career at the television network spans more than 30 years and she now co-hosts “Live with Kelly and Mark” with her husband, Mark Consuelos.
Disney also honors six behind-the-scenes creatives who contributed to groundbreaking films, art and Disney experiences. Those honorees include Colleen Atwood, an Oscar-winning costume designer, Mark Henn, a prominent animator, Steve Ditko, the late comic book artist known for characters like Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, Frank Oz, a noted puppeteer and filmmaker, Martha Blanding. a longtime executive at The Walt Disney Company and Disneyland, and Joe Rohde, a former Disney Imagineer.
Previous Disney legends include Elton John, Steve Jobs, Betty White, Dick Van Dyke, Robert Downey Jr. and Whoopi Goldberg. They are among more than 300 winners since the program started in 1987.
