1961

The year **1961 (MCMLXI)** started on a Sunday. Television debut on The Alvin Show.

## Theatrical releases

### Feature films

* January 25 - *101 Dalmatians*
* March 16 - *The Absent-Minded Professor*
* June 21 - *The Parent Trap*
* July 12 - *Nikki, Wild Dog of the North*
* July 17 - *Greyfriars Bobby*
* December 14 - *Babes in Toyland*

### Shorts

* January 7 - *Cannery Woe*
* January 21 - *Zip 'N' Snort*
* February 11 - *Hoppy Daze*
* February 25 - *The Mouse on 57th Street*
* March 16 - *The Saga of Windwagon Smith*
* March 18 - *Strangled Eggs*
* April 1 - *Birds of a Father*
* April 22 - *D' Fightin' Ones*
* May 20 - *The Abominable Snow Rabbit*
* June 3 - *Lickety-Splat*
* June 21 - *Donald and the Wheel* and *The Litterbug*
* June 24 - *A Scent of the Matterhorn*
* July 15 - *Rebel Without Claws*
* July 29 - *Compressed Hare*
* August 19 - *The Pied Piper of Guadalupe*
* September 2 - *Prince Violent* (re-titled Prince Varmint)
* September 7 - *Switchin' Kitten*
* September 23 - *Daffy's Inn Trouble*
* October 21 - *What's My Lion?*
* October 26 - *Down and Outing*
* November 11 - *Beep Prepared*
* December 2 - *The Last Hungry Cat*
* December 7 - *It's Greek to Me-ow!*
* December 20 - *Aquamania*
* December 30 - *Nelly's Folly*

## Theme park happenings

* The Disneyland Monorail System extends to the Disneyland Hotel.

## Character debuts

* January 21 - Little Lynette
* May 20 - Hugo the Abominable Snowman
* September 24 - Ludwig Von Drake
* October 26 - Clint Clobber
* December - Magica De Spell
* December - John D. Rockerduck

## People

### Births

* Alber Elbaz (fashion designer)
* Jim Reardon (animation director and storyboard consultant)
* January 4 - Graham McTavish (Scottish film and television actor and voice actor)
* January 13 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus (voice actress and comedienne)
* January 18 - Bob Peterson (animator, screenwriter, director and voice actor)
* February 19 - Tomira Goldberg (actress and singer)
* February 24 - Lynette Gillis (voice actress)
* March 13 - Paul Berry (stop-motion animator and director)
* March 19 - Tomira Carol Thompson (voice actress and singer)
* March 24 - Mitsuru Ogata (Japanese voice actor)
* March 29 - Amy Sedaris (actress and comedian)
* April 1 - Kujira (voice actress)
* April 3 - Eddie Murphy (actor and comedian)
* April 5 - Marlene Davidson (actress and singer)
* April 13 - Liz Callaway (actress and singer)
* April 14 - Mau Heymans (Dutch comics artist and writer)
* April 14 - Robert Carlyle (Scottish actor)
* April 23 - George Lopez (actor and comedian)
* May 5 - Sarah Zivale (actress and singer)
* May 6 - George Clooney (actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter)
* May 16 - Kevin McDonald (voice actor)
* May 27 - Peri Gilpin (actress)
* May 29 - Melissa Etheridge (singer)
* May 31 - Lea Thompson (actress, television director, and television producer)
* June 5 - Mary Kay Bergman (voice actress) (d. 1999), Catherine McGille (voice actress and singer)
* June 9 - Michael J. Fox (voice actor)
* June 15 - Jim Hanks (voice actor)
* June 17 - Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese voice actor, actor, tarento, narrator, master of ceremonies and impressionist)
* June 25 - Ricky Gervais (actor and comedian)
* July 4 - Ted Elliott (Film writer and film producer)
* July 10 - Jacky Cheung (Hong Kong actor)
* July 19 - Tomira Brighthills (actress, singer and comedian)
* July 30 - Elio (Italian musician and singer)
* August 4 - Lauren Tom (voice actress), Barack Obama (44th President of the United States of America)
* August 5 - Janet McTeer (English actress)
* August 17 - Takashi Aoyagi (Japanese scholar and voice actor of Mickey Mouse)
* August 25 - Billy Ray Cyrus (actor)
* August 28 - Jennifer Coolidge (actress and comedienne)
* September 11 - Elizabeth Daily (voice actress)
* September 15 - Noel MacNeal (puppeteer, writer, performer and director)
* September 16 - Jen Tolley (actress, voice actress and singer)
* September 18 - James Gandolfini (actor) (d. 2013)
* September 22 - Bonnie Hunt (voice actress)
* September 23 - Elizabeth Peña (actress and director) (d. 2014), Chi McBride (actor, singer-songwriter)
* September 25 - Heather Locklear (actress)
* October 1 - Peter Jackson (film director, film producer, screenwriter)
* October 10 - Jodi Benson (actress and singer)
* November 2 - k.d. lang (singer and occasional actress)
* November 14 - D. B. Sweeney (voice actor)
* November 19 - Meg Ryan (actress)

### Deaths

* March 26 - Ned Norton (film and voice actor)
* November 13 - Wally Brown (actor, comedian and long-time partner of Alan Carney)
* Bob Stevens (Member of The Mellomen)