Planned Events Show That Mickey’s Still a Big Cheese

Celebrations at the Disney theme parks of Mickey’s 60th birthday notwithstanding, the character has had an official birthday for only 10 years. His fifth birthday was celebrated Sept. 30, 1933; his seventh on Sept. 28, 1935, and his 40th on Oct. 28, 1968.

Then, during the mid-’70s, the Disney archivists found a program from the Colony Theatre in New York City that listed “Steamboat Willie” for Nov. 18, 1928. Cross-checks with the New York papers uncovered reviews of the film, and Mickey’s birthday was established on the anniversary of his film debut.

In honor of his 50th birthday, the Disney Co. staged a cross-country, whistle-stop tour for Mickey and veteran animator Ward Kimball. The tour ended with a plaque being placed on the site of the Colony Theatre, at Broadway and 53rd Street.

Among events planned for the 60th:

-- The premiere of Walt Disney Pictures’ newest animated feature, “Oliver and Company,” with a special commemorative logo. (“The Land Before Time,” the newest feature from the rival Sullivan/Bluth studio, also opens that same day.)

-- Two birthday specials will air on the Disney Channel (a separate special will be on NBC tonight).

-- The Walt Disney Co. will donate an original cel from “Steamboat Willie” to the Smithsonsian Institution in Washington.

-- The Goodyear blimp will flash birthday messages and images of Mickey over various U.S. cities.

-- And radio stations all over the world will invite listeners to sing along with the “Mickey March:”

“M-I-C . . . K-E-Y . . . “

As Walt Disney himself said: “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing . . . that it all started with a mouse.”