The Walt Disney Company has announced the eleven new people set to be honored as Disney Legends at this year’s D23 Expo, including MCU stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau, The Lion King and Star Wars voice actor James Earl Jones, screenwriter and Hocus Pocus star Bette Midler, director and choreographer Kenny Ortega, former vice president/show director of Special Events Barnette Ricci, former executive vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering Wing Chao, broadcast anchors Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer, Mulan and Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD actress Ming-Na Wen and The Lion King and Pirates of the Caribbean composer Hans Zimmer
The ceremony honoring the eleven inductees will be hosted by Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger with the honors given out during a special awards ceremony at the upcoming D23 Expo on August 23.
“The Disney Legends Award is the highest honor we can bestow; it’s a recognition of talent, a celebration of achievement, and an expression of profound gratitude to the remarkable men and women who have made an indelible mark on our company and our creative legacy,” Iger said in a statement. “This year’s honorees have earned a place in our hearts and our history for their significant contributions in film, television and our theme parks around the world.”
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Honorees receive a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination, creativity, and magic they have brought to the Company. Disney Legends Award recipients will also participate in a handprint ceremony at the end of the event, and their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Company’s Burbank headquarters.
Including this year’s honorees, a total of 276 Disney Legends have been named. Past Disney Legends include Tim Allen, Julie Andrews, Beatrice Arthur, Howard Ashman, Regis Philbin, Annette Funicello, Peter Jennings, Johnny Depp, Estelle Getty, George Lucas, Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin, Rue McClanahan, Alan Menken, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker, Sir Tim Rice, Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Walters, Betty White, and Robin Williams. Beginning with the inaugural D23 Expo in 2009, thousands of Disney fans have been able to enjoy the Legends Awards ceremony live.
