Howard Ashman

Howard Ashman born 17 May 1950 (d. 1991)

Howard Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist.

Howard Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974. He collaborated with Alan Menken on several films, notably animated features for Disney, Ashman writing the lyrics and Menken composing the scores.

Ashman, born Howard Elliott Ashman in Baltimore, Maryland was the artistic director of the WPA Theater in New York. He first worked with Alan Menken on a 1979 musical adapted from Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. They also collaborated on Little Shop of Horrors with Ashman as director, lyricist, and librettist.

Ashman was director, lyricist and bookwriter for the 1986 Broadway musical, Smile (music by Marvin Hamlisch). Along with Menken, Ashman was the co-recipient of two Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and two Oscars. His second Academy Award in 1992 was awarded posthumously for Best Song and was accepted by his partner, Bill Lauch.

He succumbed to complications from AIDS at the age of 40 in New York, during the making of both Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. The song Proud of Your Boy from Aladdin was cut from the movie after the mother was taken out of the story. Ashman and Menken had finished the songs for Beauty and the Beast, but Tim Rice was brought in to finish the Aladdin songs with Menken.

He was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 2001. Beauty and the Beast was dedicated to him, 'To our Friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul, we will be forever grateful. Howard Ashman 1950-1991'

Tommy Kirk

Tommy Kirk born 10 December 1941

Tommy Kirk is a former American child actor, and later a businessman and adult actor.

Kirk was discovered by talent agents at the age of 13 in a theatre production in Pasadena, California. Hired by Walt Disney Productions, he was cast as a clean-cut teenager in The Hardy Boys serial feature which was aired in the The Mickey Mouse Club television series in 1955 and 1956.

Kirk starring roles in a succession of successful Disney feature films including Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Monkey's Uncle.

While Kirk's contract with Disney expired in 1963, the studio chose not to renew the contract upon the discovery that Kirk was gay and openly so. Walt Disney himself reportedly fired Kirk. He was re-hired for the Merlin Jones sequel The Monkey's Uncle.

Kirk also played a part in several of the 1960s Beach Party films and teen movie genres.

Kirk's career slumped after the 1960s when he reached adulthood. He experienced many of the same troubles other former child and teen stars did when they matured.

A successful business owner, he continued to act occasionally. He has, as of 2006, a total of more than 30 feature films roles to his credit.

Tommy Kirk was inducted as a Disney Legend in October 2006, alongside his old co-stars Tim Considine and Kevin Corcoran.

(Established in 1987, the Disney Legends programme recognises people who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company.)