• Not much is known about Bob Amsberry, the third and least well-known of the “adult Mouseketeers�?, except that he went by the nickname “Uncle Bob�? and died during the show’s initial run, in 1957.
• Sharon Baird co-starred with her fellow Mouseketeer in the Annette serial before going on to several popular children’s shows, including H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost. She also voiced Eeyore in the Welcome to Pooh Corner series and appeared in the documentary Walt: The Man Behind the Myth. She currently resides in Reno, NV.
• Bobby Burgess, who also appeared in The Man Behind the Myth and some episodes of the Disneyland series, is best known, post-Mouse, for his long-running dancing gig on The Lawrence Welk Show, which he performed on for an amazing 21 years. He has been married for over 30 years, has four children and lives in Studio City, CA.
• Lonnie Burr continued in show biz, with writing (both his own plays and for such magazines and newspapers as The Village Voice and The Los Angeles Times), director/choreographer (regional theater and television) and acting, including Good Morning, Miss Bliss (the Disney Channel precursor to Saved By the Bell) and Newsies (where he also was stunt coordinator). He is married and lives in Maryland.
• Tommy Cole also appeared in Annette as well as Westward Ho! The Wagons! He currently resides in Sherman Oaks, CA, where he’s left acting behind to become a make-up artist, working on such television shows as Mama’s Family and Wings, the films Pretty in Pink, L.A. Confidential and The Devil’s Advocate, as well as The Wonderful World of Disney’s Geppetto.
• The only thing I could find about Mouseketeer Dennis Day is that he is not the Dennis Day, as in the pop singer who was heard in the Johnny Appleseed segment of Melody Time.
• Aside from the next person on the list, Jimmie Dodd is probably the most famous Mouseketeer, even though he was an adult at the time. He wrote many songs for the show, including the classic “Mickey Mouse Club March�? and “I’m No Fool�?. He passed away in 1964 and was named a Disney Legend in 1992.
• When one thinks of wholesome family entertainment, one can’t help but think of Annette Funicello, from her Club days to Skippy peanut butter. Obviously Walt’s favorite (as well as most of America’s), Annette (who was often billed just by her first name … that was enough) also starred in the features The Shaggy Dog, Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones and The Monkey’s Uncle, in addition to her Mouseketeer duties and appearances in Club serials Adventure in Dairyland, Spin and Marty and, of course, Annette; she also appeared in such other Disney television shows as Elfego Baco, The Golden Horseshoe Revue and Zorro. Annette also became a pop star in her own right with such hit recordings (often written by the Sherman Brothers) as “Tall Paul�? and the theme songs to The Parent Trap (with Babes co-star Tommy Sands) and The Monkey’s Uncle (with the Beach Boys). Beginning in 1963, she co-starred with Frankie Avalon in a string of popular Beach Party movies (in which she always wore a one piece bathing suit as opposed to a bikini, per Uncle Walt’s suggestion). In 1987, she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and has mostly been out of the limelight since a related surgery in 1999, although she founded the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders and has her own product lines of perfume and collectible teddy bears. Annette currently resides in her first house, near where she grew up in Utica, NY, with her second husband, Glen Holt (she has three children from her first husband, Jack Gilardi); Annette was named a Disney Legend in 1992 and was the subject of a 1995 CBS TV movie titled A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story, based on her autobiography.
• Well, we made it this far without any scandalous E! True Hollywood Stories … Darlene Gillespie, who also appeared in Corky and White Shadow and The New Adventures of Spin and Marty (as well as the Disneyland Records LP versions of Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty) and performed as a country western singer under the name Darlene Valentine, was convicted in 1998 on a dozen counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud, obstruction of justice and perjury. She served time in prison and is currently retired from her non-show biz profession, nursing.
• Cheryl Holdridge also appeared in Annette, as well as many guest appearances on such popular family comedies as Leave It To Beaver, My Three Sons and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
• Carl “Cubby�? O’Brien also co-starred in Westward Ho! The Wagons! and appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show (as part of “Lawrence Welk’s Little Band�?) during the run of Mouse Club. He became a professional studio drummer, working with several top artists, including The Carpenters, and most recently played drums for the Broadway productions of The Producers and Gypsy.
• Along with Cubby, the other “little Mouseketeer�? Karen Pendleton also appeared in Westward Ho! She left performing after her time at Disney; tragically, Karen was paralyzed after an automobile accident in 1983. Subsequently, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology and became a member of the board of the California Association of the Physically Handicapped. Currently, she works at a battered women’s shelter in Fresno, CA.
• Doreen Tracey also co-starred in Annette and, you guessed it, Westward Ho! The Wagons!
• The “Big Mouseketeer,�? Roy Williams worked at Disney as a storyman (for the features Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros and Make Mine Music, as well as many shorts and comic strips), a publicity representative, and even a caricature artist at Disneyland; but, aside from his appearances on the Club itself, his lasting impact to Disney and pop culture in general was his creation of the world-famous mouse ear hats. Roy, who passed away in 1976, was also named a Disney Legend in 1992.

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