"The Mickey Mouse Club" Original Cast Quiz

Answer: Jimmy Dodd

The leader of "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955-1959) was Jimmy Dodd. He was a songwriter who provided leadership on and off screen alike. Jimmy Dodd was born March 28, 1910 and died November 10, 1964. On the show he wore his Mouseke-ears proudly. He was always seen strumming and playing his Mouse-guitar while singing songs he composed filled with positive meanings directed toward children. When Jimmy Dodd was only fifty-four years old he succumbed to cancer and passed away in Hawaii. He played a minor role in "Those Were the Days" (1940) as well as playing the part of a cab driver in "Easter Parade" (1948).

Bill Walsh and Chuck Keehne both helped to create "The Mickey Mouse Club" show. Roy Williams was a staff artist at Disney Studios. He helped to create the show and he played the role of the Big Mooseketeer, otherwise known as "Big Roy".

Answer: Multiple sclerosis

Miss Funicello was born October 22, 1942. She was a popular Mousketeer and appeared in many of the serials that were part of the show, such as "Spin and Marty". She appeared in many shows after "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955-1959), such as "Zorro" (1957). Miss Funicello also appeared in several movies which include such great ones as "The Shaggy Dog" (1959) and "The Monkey's Uncle" (1965).

She was a teen idol and starred in several beach party style films with Frankie Avalon. Some of these films include "Beach Party" (1963) and "Beach Blanket Bingo" (1965). Funicello and Avalon were reunited when they acted in "Back to the Beach" (1987). In 1992, when the public began to create rumors about her health, she announced her illness of multiple sclerosis which was responsible for her difficulty walking.

She went on to open the "Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders" in 1993.

Answer: Make-up artist

Tommy Cole was with "The Mickey Mouse Club" from 1956 to 1958. His abilities included singing, playing accordion and some minor acting roles. Eventually he turned his interests toward becoming a make-up artist and worked on such films as "Masquerade Party" (1975) and "Once Upon a Brothers Grimm" (1978).

In 1979 he won an Emmy award for "Backstairs at the White House". He has applied his make-up artist expertise in such projects as "Right to Die" (1988), "Wings" (1996) and "Gepetto" (2000). For his craft as make-up artist, for "Gepetto" (2000), he won the Hollywood Makeup Artists and Hairstylist Guild Award.

Answer: Darlene Gillespie

Darlene Gillespie, born April 8, 1941 was the lead singer on "The Mickey Mouse Club". She appeared on the show for the entire original run of three seasons. She starred in show's serial "Corky and White Shadow" and in "The New Adventures of Spin and Marty".

When "The Mickey Mouse Club" ended, her career also ended. She persevered and went on to record under the name Darlene Valentine. In 2006 she was arrested for fraudulent claims in a class-action lawsuit in which she tried to get 320-thousand dollars.

This was not her first run in with the law. In 1999 she was sentenced to two years for the purchasing of stocks with bad checks.

Answer: "Leave It to Beaver" (1959)

Cheryl Holdridge was born Cheryl Lynn Phelps on June 20, 1944. When she was only nine years old, this talented ballet dancer earned a role in the New York City Ballet's "Nutcracker", which took place in Los Angeles. She was not a strong singer so her role in "The Mickey Mouse Club" was more subdued in musical numbers.

As a very able actress she was cast in two serials, "Boys of the Western Sea" and "Annette", which were part of "The Mickey Mouse Club" show. She appeared on "Leave It to Beaver" as Gloria Cusick several times.

She later took on the role of Wally's girlfriend Julie Foster. She made guest appearances on such shows as "My Three Sons", "Bewitched" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show". In 1964 she got married and left her acting career.

She appeared in two documentaries in 2005 and in 2006, and three years later on January 6, 2009 Cheryl Holdridge lost her battle with lung cancer.

Answer: Bobby Burgess

Robert Wilkie "Bobby" Burgess was born May 19, 1941. He was a cast member on "The Mickey Mouse Club" and when that ended in 1959 he returned to school. In 1961 he and his friend Barbara Boylan entered a dance contest held by Lawrence Welk and they won.

The prize was an appearance on "The Lawrence Welk Show". The popularity of the couple led to a permanent position on the show. "The Lawrence Welk Show" ended in 1982 but Burgess continued with his love of dance by teaching students at his studio and also by going on tour with former fellow stars from the Welk show.

Answer: Cubby and Karen

Cubby O'Brien was born July 14, 1946. As a Mouseketeer, he did dance somewhat, but his performances were more directed toward his ability to play the drums. He later joined "The Lawrence Welk Show" (1955-1982) for a couple of years. He eventually worked as a drummer on "The Carol Burnett Show" (1967-1978). Cubby played drums for The Carpenters in the early nineteen eighties. Karen Pendleton was born August 1, 1946 and appeared in "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955-1959) from 1955 to 1958. When the show came to the end of filming, Karen left show business to finish her schooling.

In 1983 she was in a car accident which paralyzed her from the waist down. Afterward she went to college to earn her Bachelor's degree in psychology and went on to work at a shelter for battered women.

She served on the "Board for the California Association of the Physically Handicapped" as well. Originally, Cubby and Karen were referred to as the Meeseketeers due to the fact that they were the youngest members of the cast.

Answer: Facial injury

One day, in the third season of "The Mickey Mouse Club", Lonnie Burr suffered an injury to his face during rehearsals. Because of the injury he was not shown on camera except from a distance. He was a very talented tap dancer and was also nicknamed "The Velvet Smog" because of his husky sounding voice which resembled that of Mel Torme who was known as "The Velvet Fog". Lonnie went on to finish high school.

He has appeared in many films including "Sweet Charity" (1968), "Lionheart" (1991) and "Police Academy: Mission to Moscow" (1994).

He has had guest appearances in such television shows as "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962-1971), "Murder She Wrote" (1984-1996) and "Chicago Hope" (1994-2000). He has had a successful career with stage roles as well, such as "Mack and Mabel" (1974) on Broadway. Lonnie Burr has been the director in radio, television and theater.

He has worked in choreography for plays, commercials, musicals and more. He is also a published author of articles, poetry, plays and a non-fiction book.

Answer: Sharon Baird

Born August 16, 1943, Sharon Baird was seven years old when she appeared in her very first film, "Bloodhounds of Broadway" (1950). She appeared on "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1950-1955) with Eddie Cantor. In 1955 she danced with Dean Martin in "Artists and Models".

She was then selected as a Mouseketeer for "The Mickey Mouse Club", where she excelled in tap dancing, other dancing, singing and acting. After filming for "The Mickey Mouse Club" was completed, Baird finished her schooling. She was part of a nightclub act called "Two Cats and a Mouse" and from there she went on to work on children's shows like "New Zoo Revue" and "H. R. Pufnstuf". Tim Considine, Tommy Kirk and Judy Nugent all played roles in numerous serials for "The Mickey Mouse Club".

Answer: Candice Bergen

Successful actress Candice Bergen did not make the cut as a Mouseketeer when she auditioned for a part. She is known for her role as Murphy in "Murphy Brown (1988-1998) as well as her role as Shirley Schmidt in "Boston Legal" (2004-2008). Don Grady, known as "Robbie" on "My Three Sons" (1965-1972), Johnny Crawford, known as the boy Mark McCain in "The Rifleman" (1958-1963) and Paul Peterson as Jeff Stone on "The Donna Reed Show" (1958-1966) were all Mouseketeers on either the White or Blue Teams.

The main Mouseketeers were on the Red Team (most popular group) and were seen most of the time during "The Mickey Mouse Club".