1961

The year 1961 (MCMLXI) started on a Sunday.

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

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 (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)