The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and briefly returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised for four seasons, from 1955 to 1959, by ABC. This original run featured a regular, but ever-changing cast of mostly child, tween or teen performers. ABC broadcast reruns weekday afternoons during the 1958–1959 season, airing right after American Bandstand. The show was revived three times after its initial 1955–1959 run on ABC, first from 1977 to 1979 for first-run syndication as The New Mickey Mouse Club, then from 1989 to 1996 as The All-New Mickey Mouse Club (also known to fans as MMC from 1993 to 1996) airing on Disney Channel, and again from 2017 to 2018 with the moniker Club Mickey Mouse airing on internet social media. An upcoming special is being produced for Disney+.
The character of Mickey Mouse appeared in every show, not only in vintage cartoons originally made for theatrical release, but also in the opening, interstitial, and closing segments made especially for the show. In both the vintage cartoons and new animated segments, Mickey was voiced by his creator Walt Disney, who had previously voiced the character theatrically from Steamboat Willie to Fun and Fancy Free. Before the television series The first official theater-based Mickey Mouse Club began on June 29, 1929, at the Fox Dome Theatre in Venice, California, alongside a showing of the Mickey Mouse short The Gallopin' Gaucho. This would later expand to other states, including the Fox Theatre in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on November 30 and the Elsinore Theater in Salem, Oregon, on December 21, with more than 60 other movie theaters hosting clubs across nationwide by March 31. The Club released its first issue of the Official Bulletin of the Mickey Mouse Club on April 15, 1930. By 1932, the club had one million members, and in 1933, its first UK/British club opened at Darlington's Arcade Cinema. This didn't last long as Disney began to phase out the club in 1935.
The original: 1955–1959 show Members
The Mickey Mouse Club was hosted by Jimmie Dodd, a songwriter and the Head Mouseketeer, who provided leadership both on and off the screen. In addition to his other contributions, he often provided short segments encouraging younger viewers to make the right moral choices. These little "homilies" became known as "Doddisms". Roy Williams, a staff artist at Disney, also appeared in the show as the Big Mouseketeer. Williams suggested that the Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears should be worn by the show's cast members. Inspired by a visual gag in The Karnival Kid, he helped create these ears, along with Chuck Keehne, Hal Adelquist, and Bill Walsh.
The main cast members were called Mouseketeers, and they performed in a variety of musical and dance numbers, as well as some informational segments. The most popular of the Mouseketeers constituted the so-called red team, who appeared each day in the show's opening roll call and closing segments. Nine of those Red Team Mouseketeers were kept under contract for the entire run of the show (1955–1959): Sharon Baird Bobby Burgess Lonnie Burr Tommy Cole Annette Funicello Darlene Gillespie Cubby O'Brien Karen Pendleton Doreen Tracey
Other Mouseketeers who were Red Team members, but weren't under contract for the entire run included: Nancy Abbate (only first year) Johnny Crawford (only first year) Dennis Day (first and second year; was in the blue team for most of the first year, but he moved to the red team at the end of the first year) Cheryl Holdridge (second and third year) Mike Smith (only first year) Jay-Jay Solari (only second year) Don Underhill (only first year; joined the blue team by the end of the first year)
The remaining Mouseketeers, who were members of the white or blue teams, were Don Agrati (who was later known as Don Grady when he starred as "Robbie" on My Three Sons), Sherry Alberoni, Billie Jean Beanblossom, Eileen Diamond, Dickie Dodd (not related to Jimmie Dodd), Mary Espinosa, Bonnie Lynn Fields, Judy Harriet, Linda Hughes, Dallas Johann, John Lee Johann, Bonni Lou Kern, Charley Laney, Larry Larsen, Paul Petersen, Lynn Ready, Mickey Rooney Jr., Tim Rooney, Mary Sartori, Bronson Scott, Margene Storey, Ronnie Steiner, and Mark Sutherland. Larry Larsen, on only for the 1956–57 season, was the oldest Mouseketeer, being born in 1939, and Bronson Scott, on only the 1955–56 season, was the youngest Mouseketeer, being born in July 1947. Among the thousands who auditioned, but did not make the cut, were future Oscar-winning vocalist/songwriter Paul Williams and future Primetime Emmy Award-winning actress Candice Bergen.
The 39 Mouseketeers and the seasons in which they were featured (with the team color to which they belonged are listed for each season):
+MouseketeersMouseketeersYearsSeasons1234 Bobby Burgess 1955–1959 Annette Funicello 1955–1959 Darlene Gillespie 1955–1959 Cubby O'Brien 1955–1959 Karen Pendleton 1955–1959 Doreen Tracey 1955–1959 Sharon Baird 1955–1959 * Tommy Cole 1955–1959* * Lonnie Burr 1955–1959 - Dennis Day 1955–1957* -- Nancy Abbate 1955–1956 --- Johnny Crawford 1955–1956 --- Mike Smith 1955–1956 --- Don Underhill 1955–1956 --- Bonni Lou Kern 1955–1956 --- Tim Rooney 1955–1956* --- Mary Sartori 1955–1956 --- Bronson Scott 1955–1956 --- Mark Sutherland 1955–1956 --- John Lee Johan 1955–1956* --- Billie Jean Beanblossom 1955–1956 --- Mary Espinosa 1955–1956 --- Judy Harriet 1955–1956 --- Dallas Johann 1955–1956* --- Paul Petersen 1955–1956* --- Mickey Rooney Jr. 1955–1956* --- Dickie Dodd 1955–1956* --- Ron Steiner 1955–1956* --- Cheryl Holdridge 1956–1958- - Jay-Jay Solari 1956–1957- -- Sherry Alberoni 1956–1957- -- Eileen Diamond 1956–1957- -- Charley Laney 1956–1957- -- Larry Larsen 1956–1957- -- Margene Storey 1956–1957- -- Don Grady 1957–1958-- - Bonnie Lynn Fields 1957–1958-- - Linda Hughes 1957–1958-- - Lynn Ready 1957–1958-- -
Notes: Cole and Day were originally blue & white team members, but were promoted to the red team later in the first season.
Johann, Petersen, and the Rooney brothers were all let go early in the first season. Dallas's brother John Lee replaced him, while Dodd and Steiner were hired as replacements for the Rooney brothers.
For the show's fourth season, only a small amount of new footage was filmed and was interspliced with material from previous seasons. Only six of the Mouseketeers—Funicello, Gillespie, Tracey, Burgess, Pendleton, and O'Brien—were believed to have been called back for the filming of new material, while Cole and Baird were merely used for some publicity material.
Adult co-hosts Jimmie Dodd Roy Williams Bob Amsberry
Other notable non-Mouseketeer performers appeared in several dramatic segments: Tim Considine Tommy Kirk Roberta Shore (Jymme Shore) David Stollery Judy Nugent Kevin Corcoran (Moochie) J. Pat O'Malley Sammy Ogg Alvy Moore Julius Sumner Miller as "Professor Wonderful"
These non-Mouseketeers primarily appeared in several original serials filmed for the series, only some of which have appeared in reruns. Other Mouseketeers were also featured in some of the serials, particularly Annette Funicello and Darlene Gillespie.
Major serials Major serials included: Spin and Marty starring Tim Considine and David Stollery The Hardy Boys starring Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk Corky and White Shadow, starring Darlene Gillespie Walt Disney Presents: Annette, starring Annette Funicello Adventure in Dairyland, featuring Annette Funicello and Sammy Ogg, and introducing Kevin Corcoran as Moochie Jiminy Cricket educational serials (four animated series educating kids on different topics) The Adventures of Clint and Mac (starring Neil Wolfe as Clint Rogers and Jonathan Bailey as Alastair "Mac" MacIntosh) Boys of the Western Sea (English-dubbed Danish film divided into nine 10-minute segments)
Music The opening theme, "The Mickey Mouse March", was written by the show's primary adult host, Jimmie Dodd. It was also reprised at the end of each episode, with the slower "it's time to say goodbye" verse. A shorter version of the opening title was used later in the series, in syndication, and on Disney Channel reruns. Dodd also wrote many other songs used in individual segments throughout the series.
Show themes Each day of the week had a special show theme, which was reflected in the several segments. The themes were: Monday – Fun with Music Day Tuesday – Guest Star Day Wednesday – Anything Can Happen Day Thursday – Circus Day Friday – Talent Round-up Day
Scheduling and air times The series ran on ABC Television for an hour each weekday in the 1955 and the 1956 seasons (from 5:00 - 6:00 pm ET), and only a half-hour weekdays in 1957, the final season to feature new programming. Although the show returned for a 1958 season, these programs were repeats from the first two seasons, recut into a half-hour format. The Mickey Mouse Club was featured on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and Walt Disney's Adventure Time, featuring reruns of The Mickey Mouse Club serials and several re-edited segments from Disneyland and Walt Disney Presents, appeared on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Cancellation Although the show remained popular, ABC decided to cancel it after its fourth season ended, because Disney and the ABC network could not come to terms for its renewal. The cancellation of the show in September 1959 was attributed to several factors: the Disney studios did not explain high profit margins from merchandise sales, sponsors were uninterested in educational programming for children, and many commercials were needed to pay for the show. After canceling The Mickey Mouse Club, ABC also refused to let Disney air the show on another network. Walt Disney filed a lawsuit against ABC, and won the damages in a settlement the following year, but he had to agree that both the Mickey Mouse Club and Zorro could not be aired on any major network. This left Walt Disney Presents (initially titled Disneyland, later retitled Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color when it moved to NBC) as the only Disney series that was left on prime time until 1972 when The Mouse Factory went on the air. The prohibition, which prevented major U.S. broadcast networks from airing the original Mickey Mouse Club (or any later version of it), was disputed when Disney acquired ABC in 1996. Although it would not air on ABC again, Disney ran it on Disney Channel's "Vault Disney" block from 1998 to 2002.
Australian tour Although the series had been ended in the US, many members of the cast assembled for highly successful tours of Australia in 1959 and 1960. The television series was very successful in Australia, and was still running on Australian television. The cast surprised Australian audiences, as by then they had physically matured and in some cases, bore little resemblance to the cast of youths with whom Australians were so familiar. Mainstream television did not reach Australia until 1956, so the series screened well into the 1960s when the back catalog expired.
Syndication