Mickey Mouse Club

The Mickey Mouse Club was a long-running American variety television series in the 1950s, produced and televised by Walt Disney Productions, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers.

1970s Revival

In the 1970s, The Walt Disney Company revived the concept but modernized the show cosmetically, with a disco re-recording of the theme song and minority cast members. The sets, though colored, were simplistic, lacking the fine artwork of the original. Like the original, nearly each day's episode included a vintage cartoon, though usually color ones from the late 30s and onward. Serials were merely old Disney movies, cut into segments for twice-weekly inclusion.

Related Topics:
1970s - The Walt Disney Company - Disco

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(Movies included "The Third Man on the Mountain", "The Monkey's Uncle" with Tommy Kirk, "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" also starring Tommy Kirk, "Emil and the Detectives", retitled "The Three Skrinks", "Comanche", "Horse Without a Head" (a toy horse).)

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The series debuted on January 17, 1977, on only 38 television stations, and by June, when the unsuccessful series was discontinued, only 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, were produced to start airing January 16, 1978. The series has not had more than token reruns, unlike its 50s predecessor, and while both the 50s and 90s series have DVD releases in July 2005, the 70s series seems forgotten except by that short generation of youthful viewers for whom it defined "the club".

Related Topics:
January 17 - 1977 - Television stations - 1978

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The show's most notable alumni was Lisa Whelchel, who later starred in the TV sitcom, The Facts of Life before becoming a well-known Christian author. Mouseketeer Julie Piekarski also appeared for several seasons on The Facts of Life. Mouseketeer Kelly Parsons went on to become a beauty queen and runner-up to Miss USA. Mouseketeer Shawnte Northcutte appeared once on Facts of Life. Billy 'Pop' Attmore appeared in a few movies before and after the series, a fifth-season episode of The Brady Bunch ("Kelly's Kids"), and as a streetwise hood in the short-lived Eischied crime drama.

Related Topics:
Lisa Whelchel - The Facts of Life - Julie Piekarski - Kelly Parsons - Beauty queen - Miss USA - Shawnte Northcutte - Billy 'Pop' Attmore - The Brady Bunch - Eischied

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Other Mouseketeers from the 70's show:

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• Scott Craig -- Scott, born in Van Nuys, CA, in 1964; lived in Las Vegas, passed away in 2003.
• Nita DiGiampaolo, born in Long Beach, CA, 1966
• Mindy Feldman, born in Burbank, CA, 1968, and sister of Corey Feldman
• Angel Florez, born in Stockton, CA, 1963 -- also deceased, circa 1994
• Allison Fonte -- born in Anaheim, CA, 1964
• Todd Turquand -- born in Hollywood, CA, 1964
• Curtis Wong -- born in Vancouver, BC, 1962

Lisa Whelchel was born in Littlefield, TX in 1963, but grew up near Fort Worth. Julie Piekarski was born in St. Louis, MO, in 1964. Kelly Parsons was born in Coral Gables, FL, in 1965. Shawnte Northcutte was born in Los Angeles, CA, in 1965. Pop Attmore was born in Landstuhl, Germany, in 1965 (USAF base).

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The lyrics were slightly different from the original:

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:Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?

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:M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!

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:Hey there, hi there, ho there, you're as welcome as can be.

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:M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!

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:Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck!) Mickey Mouse! (Donald Duck!)

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:Forever let us hold his banner high, high, HIGH, HIGH!!

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:Come along and sing the song and join the jamboree.

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:M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!

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:(cut short here starting in 1978)

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:He's our favorite Mouseketeer, we know you will agree.

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:M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!

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:Take some fun and mix in love, our happy recipe.

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:M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!

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:M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!

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