The Mickey Mouse Club


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 The [Walt Disney Company|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 airing on Disney Channel, and again from 2017 to 2018 with the moniker Club Mickey Mouse airing on internet social media.
The character of Mickey Mouse appeared in every show, not only in vintage cartoons originally made for theatrical release, but also in the opening, interstitial, and closing segments made especially for the show.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 the country 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 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 :
Other Mouseketeers who were Red Team members, but weren't under contract for the entire run included:
The remaining Mouseketeers, who were members of the white or blue teams, were Don Agrati, Sherry Alberoni, Billie Jean Beanblossom, Eileen Diamond, Dickie Dodd, Mary Espinosa, Bonnie Lynn Fields, Judy Harriet, Linda Hughes, Dallas Johann, John Lee Johann, Bonni Lou Kern, Charlie Laney, Larry Larsen, Paul Petersen, Lynn Ready, Mickey Rooney Jr., Tim Rooney, Mary Sartori, Bronson Scott, Margene Storey, The [Steiner Brothers |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 :
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

Other notable non-Mouseketeer performers appeared in several dramatic segments:
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:
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, 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 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, 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 America, 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

In response to continuing audience demand, the original Mickey Mouse Club went into edited syndicated half-hour reruns that enjoyed wide distribution starting in the fall of 1962, achieving strong ratings especially during its first three seasons in syndicated release. Because of its popularity in some markets, a few stations continued to carry it into 1968 before the series was finally withdrawn from syndication. Some new features were added such as Fun with Science or "Professor Wonderful" and Marvelous Marvin in the 1964–1965 season; Jimmie Dodd appeared in several of these new segments before his death in November 1964. Several markets expanded the program back to an hour's daily run time during the 1960s repeat cycle by adding locally produced and hosted portions involving educational subjects and live-audience participation of local children, in a manner not unlike Romper Room.
In response to an upsurge in demand from baby boomers entering adulthood, the show again went into syndicated reruns from January 20, 1975, until January 14, 1977. It has since been rerun on cable specialty channels Disney in the United States and Family in Canada. The original Mickey Mouse Club films aired five days a week on the Disney Channel from its launch in 1983 until the third version of the series began in 1989. The last airing of the edited 1950s material was on Disney Channel's Vault Disney from 1997 to September 2002. During the baseball seasons in 1975 and 1976, WGN-TV in Chicago, Illinois, aired the show on a delayed basis due to Cubs baseball coverages.

Reunions

Annette Funicello and Tim Considine were reunited on The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1977. Darlene Gillespie and Cubby O'Brien were also reunited on another episode of the same series.
Of the 39 original Mouseketeers, 31 were reunited for a television special, which aired on Disney's Wonderful World, in November 23, 1980. Paul Williams - who hosted the special - and Tim Considine were named Honorary Mouseketeers during the special.
Cast members Annette Funicello, Bobby Burgess, Tommy Cole, Sharon Baird, Don Grady, and Sherry Alberoni were reunited on the 100th episode of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, during the show's third season in 1990.
Mouseketeers Doreen Tracey, Cubby O'Brien, Sherry Alberoni, Sharon Baird, Don Grady, Cheryl Holdridge, Bobby Burgess, Karen Pendleton, Tommy Cole, and Mary Espinosa performed together at Disneyland in the fall of 2005, in observance of Disneyland's 50th birthday, and the 50th anniversary of the television premiere of The Mickey Mouse Club.

''Talent Roundup'' stars

  • Larry Ashurst
  • Janice Crowe
  • Peter Lee Palmer
  • Mark Sutherland
  • Bo Wagner
  • Pamela Beaird
  • Barbara Boylan
  • Mary Sartori
  • John F. Smith
  • Maxine Grossman
  • Linda Hughes
  • Cheryl Weinberg
  • Ronnie Wilson
  • Riley Wilson
  • Jimmie Fields
  • Donna Loren
  • Ray Little

    1977–1979 revival: ''The New Mickey Mouse Club''

In 1977, Walt Disney Productions revived the concept, but modernized the show cosmetically, with a disco re-recording of the theme song and a more ethnically diverse group of young cast members. The sets were brightly colored and simpler than the detailed black-and-white artwork of the original. Like the original, nearly every day's episode included a vintage cartoon, though usually in color from the late 1930s onward. The 1977 Mouseketeers were part of the halftime show of Super Bowl XI on January 9, 1977.

Serials

Serials were usually old Disney movies, cut into segments for twice-weekly inclusion. Movies included Third Man on the Mountain, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones and its sequel The Monkey's Uncle, Emil and the Detectives, Tonka, The Horse Without a Head, and Toby Tyler. In addition, one original serial was produced, The Mystery of Rustler's Cave, starring Kim Richards and Robbie Rist. Often shown were scenes from animated Disney films, from Snow White and [the Seven Dwarfs |Snow White] to The Jungle Book billed as "Mouseka Movie Specials".

Theme days

Theme days were:
  • Monday: Who, What, Why, Where, When and How
  • Tuesday: Let's Go
  • Wednesday: Surprise
  • Thursday: Discovery
  • Friday: Showtime

    Syndication

The series debuted on January 17, 1977, on 38 local television stations in the United States, and by June of that same year, when the series was discontinued, about 70 stations in total had picked up the series. Additional stations picked up the canceled program, which continued to run until January 12, 1979; 130 new episodes, with much of the original material repackaged and a bit of new footage added, and a shortened version of the theme song, was produced to start airing September 5, 1977. Since the 1970s, the series has aired only briefly and sporadically in reruns, and only on Disney Channel's Vault Disney nighttime block. Unlike its 1950s predecessor and the 1989/1990s series that followed, which had DVD releases of select episodes in July 2005, this version has not had a DVD release and has been largely forgotten by many, including many kids of the 1970s who made it their club. On November 20, 1977, "The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World" was shown on The Wonderful World of Disney. WGN-TV in Chicago, Illinois, also aired this version on a delayed basis in 1977 and 1978 during the Cubs baseball season due to game coverages. Action for Children's Television successfully got the show canceled because of their objections to the types of commercials that aired during the program. It also aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1978 to 1980, and on TVB Pearl in Hong Kong from 1978.

Cast

The cast of 12 had a more diverse multiethnic background than the 1950s version. Several 1977–1978 cast members went on to become television stars and other notable icons.
The show's most notable alumna was Lisa Whelchel, who later starred in the NBC television sitcom The [Facts of Life |The Facts of Life], which ran from 1979 to 1988, before becoming a well-known Christian author, and overall runner-up, and winner of the $100,000 viewers' choice award, on the fall 2012 season of the CBS television reality series Survivor. Mouseketeer Julie Piekarski also appeared with Lisa Whelchel on the first season of The Facts of Life. Kelly Parsons went on to become a beauty queen and runner-up to Miss USA.
Other Mouseketeers from the 1977 show:
Disney voice actor and sound effects editor Wayne Allwine voiced Mickey Mouse in the animated lead-ins for the show, replacing Jimmy MacDonald, who in 1947 had replaced Walt Disney as the voice of Mickey for theatrical short cartoons. Walt Disney was the original voice of Mickey, voiced Mickey for the original 1954–1959 run, and provided the voice for animated introductions to the original television show, but he died in 1966. Following MacDonald's tenure, Allwine provided the voice for the character up to his death in 2009.
Future rock musician Courtney Love claims to have auditioned for a part on the show, reading a poem by Sylvia Plath; she was not selected.
Former Mouseketeers Annette Funicello and serial star Tim Considine guest-starred in one episode; former Mouseketeers Darlene Gillespie and Cubby O'Brien were also reunited on another episode.

Theme song and soundtrack

The lyrics of the "Mickey Mouse Club March" theme song were slightly different from the original, with two additional lines: "He's our favorite Mouseketeer; we know you will agree" and "Take some fun and mix in love, our happy recipe".
A soundtrack album was released with the show.
A new rendition of the "Mickey Mouse Club March" was made later on in 1999 by Mannheim Steamroller, a contemporary band, in hopes of connecting new-age children and their parents who watched the Mickey Mouse Club.

Distribution

This incarnation was not distributed by Disney only; while Disney did produce the series, it was co-produced and distributed by SFM Entertainment, which also handled 1970s-era syndication of the original 1950s series.

1989–1994 revival: ''The All-New Mickey Mouse Club''

Reruns of the original The Mickey Mouse Club began airing on Disney Channel with its 1983 launch. While the show was popular with younger audiences, Disney Channel executives felt it had become dated over the years, particularly because it was aired in black-and-white. Their answer was to create a brand-new, rebooted version of the club, one targeted at contemporary audiences. The all-new "club members" wore Mouseketeer varsity jackets instead of Mickey Mouse ears. This show was called The All-New Mickey Mouse Club.
This version of the series features a number of cast members who went on to achieve global success in entertainment, including actor Ryan Gosling, future NSYNC members Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, singers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, actress Keri Russell, voice actress Deedee Magno, future En Vogue member Rhona Bennett, singer Chase Hampton, and Hallmark Channel movie star Nikki DeLoach.
Throughout the show's run, Fred Newman was the main adult co-host from the beginning of the series until season six. In the first season, Newman was joined by other co-host Mowava Pryor. She was then replaced by Terri Eoff from the fourth until the sixth season. By the show's final season, two original members, Chase Hampton and Tiffini Hale, became the co-hosts.
This was also the first version of the club to have any studio audience, though only a moderate-sized group.
Former Mouseketeer Don Grady guest-starred in the season-one finale. Grady, along with fellow Mouseketeers Annette Funicello, Bobby Burgess, Tommy Cole, Sharon Baird, and Sherry Alberoni, were reunited on the 100th episode, during the show's third season. Funicello later appeared on the show again, in an interview with the Mouseketeer Lindsey Alley.

Scheduling and air times

For the first five seasons, the series aired Monday through Friday at 5:30 pm. The show's sixth season aired Monday to Thursday. In its final season, it aired Thursdays only at 7:00 pm. The series premiered Monday, April 24, 1989, ended production in October 1994, and aired its last original episode in 1996. Seasons three and five had the most episodes at 55 each, with seasons one, two, and seven running about 45 episodes. Seasons four and six had about 36 episodes each.

Skits

The show was known for its sketch comedy. Some of the sketches played off famous movies, musicals, and even cartoons, as well as holiday-related skits. During the final season, some of the skits showed everyday occurrences in the lives of adolescents.

Music videos

The series featured music videos of the Mouseketeers singing their versions of popular songs in front of a live studio audience or at locations within Walt Disney World. This became one of the most popular segments. Due to the age of both the performers and the target demographic, lyrics with objectionable content were generally edited out of the songs and replaced with more appropriate language.

Live concerts and performances

A unique feature of the show was the Mouseketeers performing concerts on different days. During the final season, the concerts were replaced primarily by live performances that featured singing and dancing in front of the audience.

Theme days

This version maintained the "theme day" format from the previous two versions. When Disney decided to revamp the show for its final season, the show was reduced to a single weekly airing, shown only on Thursdays. Although still produced as a daily series during the final season taping in 1994, Disney Channel, after canceling the series once season-seven production had ended, decided to air the final season in a weekly format, therefore stretching the first-run episodes into early 1996. The final season premiered in May 1995, almost a year after production had started and more than six months after the series finale was taped.
Theme days were:
  • Music Day – Mondays, Tuesdays
  • Guest Day – Tuesdays, Mondays
  • Anything Can Happen Day – Wednesdays
  • Party Day – Thursdays, Fridays
  • Hall of Fame Day – Fridays, Thursdays, Wednesdays

    Mouseketeer roster

The adult co-hosts for the show were Fred Newman, Mowava Pryor, Terri Misner Eoff, Tiffini Hale, and Chase Hampton.
The 35 Mouseketeers and the seasons in which they were featured are:
Note: For the show's fourth season, Albert Fields, Tiffini Hale, Chase Hampton, Deedee Magno, and Damon Pampolina were featured in segments as the Party, primarily in footage separate from the rest of the cast.

''Emerald Cove''

The last three seasons of MMC had a prerecorded drama series called Emerald Cove with the older cast members:
  • Rhona Bennett
  • J.C. Chasez
  • Dale Godboldo
  • Ricky Luna
  • Tony Lucca
  • Ilana Miller
  • Keri Russell
  • Marc Worden
  • Matt Morris
  • Jennifer McGill
  • Joshua Ackerman
  • Nikki Deloach

    2017 revival: ''Club Mickey Mouse''

The Mickey Mouse Club was rebooted under the name Club Mickey Mouse with a new set of Mouseketeers in September 2017, and for the first time, the series was made available on Facebook and Instagram, rather than its original half hour to full hour format on television, and is more like a reality show than a variety show, with about 90% of its content being behind the scenes. The series is unrelated to a Malaysian television series of the same name produced around the same time, which bears more resemblance to the structure of previous Mickey Mouse Club productions.
This incarnation of The Mickey Mouse Club featured eight Mouseketeers who ranged in age from 15 to 18: Regan Aliyah, Jenna Alvarez, Ky Baldwin, Gabe De Guzman, Leanne Tessa Langston, Brianna Mazzola, Sean Oliu, and Will Simmons. The Mouseketeers were also joined by the guest star Todrick Hall, who also served as a mentor to the cast during the casting, and Jennifer Chia as the host.
The series was produced by Disney Digital Network. No new episodes or music videos have been produced since 2018, as DDN had undergone financial difficulties and shut down the year after, effectively canceling Club Mickey Mouse.

International revivals

2015 Korean revival: ''The Mickey Mouse Club''

A new version of the series debuted on July 23, 2015, on Disney Channel Korea. The format of revival included musical performances, games, and skits, as same as the original one in the US. The series had two pilot episodes and 10 regular episodes. The Mouseketeers consisted of nine members of S.M. Entertainment's pre-debut trainees team SM Rookies, consisting of five boys – Mark, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, and Jisung – and four girls – Koeun, Hina, Herin, and Lami.
The series was hosted by Leeteuk of boy band Super Junior.
The show ended on December 17 the same year.

2017–2021 Malaysian revival: ''Club Mickey Mouse''

Club Mickey Mouse was created in Malaysia. The format included musical performances, games and comedy sketches.
The series was hosted by YouTube personality, Charis Ow, and premiered on Disney Channel Asia on September 15, 2017. The series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on July 6, 2018, and a third season which premiered on June 14, 2019. All members appeared as guest stars on Episode 14 on Disney Channel Asia Original Series, Wizards of Warna Walk.
Charis and Dheena did not return for the following the season. Disney Channel Asia subsequently cast two new Mouseketeers for an audition, Eric and Melynna. Following the shutdown of the channel, season four of Club Mickey Mouse aired in 2021 exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar, instead, and SKTV Kids in 2023.
In November 2021, the fourth season of the show aired on Disney+ in selected territories. The series was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023, amid the Disney+ and Hulu purge.
MouseketeersYearNotes
Charis Ow2017–2020Head Mouseketeer
Dheena Menon2017–2020
Erissa Puteri Hashim2017–2021
Nur Alianatsha Hanafi2017–2018
Mohd Wafiy Ilhan Johan2017–2021
Ahmad Faiz Najib2017–2021
Gabriel Noel Pountney2017–2021
Ellya Keesha2018–2021
Eric Lau Löfstedt2021Head Mouseketeer
Melynna Rose2021

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