Orange County Register

Actor Robin Williams greeted a Disney Expo audience by taking a twist on one of his signature phrases: “Good morning, Ana-HEEEIIIM.”

Williams was one of 10 recipients of the Disney Legends awards during a ceremony that was part of the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center. The four-day event started today.

The comedian and Oscar winner, who starred in “Good Morning, Vietnam” and played the voice of the Genie in “Aladdin,” thanked Disney for pushing the boundaries on the animated movie and continued to do so himself a bit during his acceptance speech.

In fact, at the end of his speech, the microphone was turned off for what appeared to be an off-color joke.

Williams suggested to Iger that he add “Mickey Mao” to a proposed Shanghai park. Iger later jokingly responded that he had jotted down the idea.

Williams also said that when his daughter was 3 years old, Mickey Mouse was like Brad Pitt to her.

On a more serious note, Williams said that he was happy to receive the award, especially after recently having a heart attack.

Some of the recipients were given the award posthumously, including two of the four actresses on the “Golden Girls” television show. Only Betty White appeared at the ceremony, while co-star Rue McClanahan recovers from surgery.

White eagerly came on stage right after her name was announced, instead of waiting for the prepared, lead-up speech.

“The nicest part of it is, I want to put to rest a rumor that I used to babysit for Walt (Disney) when he was a little boy,” White said.

Still, White said she had a long affection for Disney, keeping her first Mickey Mouse doll that she got as a child on her desk.

Other award recipients included the voice of Donald Duck, Tony Anselmo, and the voice of Goofy, Bill Farmer, who both used their character voices in parts of their speeches.

Find the other Disney Legends recipients HERE.

Previous D23 posts:

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.