The Mickey Mouse Club

- Season 2

(1956)

Shooting gallery operator Darlene laments her single condition until Bobby shows up. The Mellomen provide singing voices for the four guys who serve as targets in the gallery. The second season opener was a surprise for touching on teen romance and even more so for celebrating a non-Disney amusement park.

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Five-part occasional series with photographer Earl Theisen from Look magazine teaching the kids how to use a camera. Filmed on location at various sites including the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland. Jack Jackman was not a Mouseketeer, but was used for two 'Anything Can Happen Day' series. He was likely related to Bob Jackman, then head of the Disney Music Department.

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The tap-dancing Steiner Brothers were Talent Round-Up winners in the second season. Middle-brother Ronnie joined the Mickey Mouse Club as a Mouseketeer during the first season as a dancer. Placed on the Mouseketeer Blue Team, Ronnie soon missed performing with his brothers, and declined to renew his option and left at the end of the first season.

Jimmie and the Mouseketeers bop to the first song, then Cubby plays his drums to pay his soda fountain bill. Terrific staging and choreography, and the kid's own feel for the music, made this a real treat. Introduces two elements common to other skits in Season 2: Bob's Sweet Shoppe, with Bob Amsberry as the elderly sodajerk, and the choreography built around three or four couples. There would be no more character or story type dancing as in the first season.

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This series was shot on film without sound. Voice-over narration by Eileen and sound effects were added later in the studio, as was commentary by photographer Earl Theisen. There were no titles, theme song, credits, or continuity between episodes. It was just a bare bones newsreel style feature that was inexpensive and quick to make.

The Boginos were a three person family balancing circus act.

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Jimmie pairs up couples at a party circa 1910; there's square dancing and four boys demonstrate their moves. Later Lonnie and Dennis compete for Doreen, who favors the latter.

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Another educational series, this followed four kids as they trained to be rookie firemen. Walt Disney himself hosted this series. Filmed at the Disneyland Firehouse and at local Fire Department training facilities. Because of the physical exertions required the kids replaced their "ears", slacks, skirts, and dress shoes with helmets, jeans and sneakers instead.

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This talent round up has young Bo Wagner performing as Bobby Wagner.

A true ensemble piece with everyone getting in on the action. The kids wander into the Sound Effects room and try out the equipment. Later Jimmie leads the Mouseketeers in a rendition of a von Suppé overture. The first song had lyrics by Cliff Edwards (aka Ukelele Ike/ also the voice of Jiminy Cricket) while the special effects soundtrack for the second number was by Jimmy MacDonald from a 1930's Mickey Mouse cartoon.

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Third in a five-part occasional series with photographer Earl Theisen from Look magazine teaching the kids how to use a camera. Filmed on location at various sites including the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland. This series was Kevin Corcoran's first Disney work. Throughout it he is referred to as "Kevin". He wouldn't be tagged with the nickname "Moochie" until after June 1956 when he did the serial Adventure in Dairyland. His work on that serial interrupted the filming of this series, which resumed in July 1956.

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Starts off in the Mousekamusic room with Jimmie as teacher and Cheryl reading the lesson then goes to a 19th Century Irish village for songs by Darlene and Tommy. Bobby plays a rather demonic and over sized leprechaun, while Roy is a gruff shillelagh shop owner.

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For the second episode of this series the kids trained with an Los Angeles Fire Department Ladder company, learning the team work necessary for handling the hoses. Mouseketeer Charley Laney was used for this series because, while a bit weak in dancing skills, he was a strong athletic kid. It's to the producers credit that they not only used Sherry and Eileen, but had them doing the same tough work as the boys.

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The mice teach Doreen how to play Hop Scotch Hop, assisted by Bob Amsberry, before lamplighter Roy chases them home. Darlene then sings an evening hymn alone in her room. This day's show illustrates how simple storylines and effects could make for successful numbers by highlighting the talent and appeal of the Mouseketeer performers.

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Promotional show for a Disney nature film, "Secrets of Life". Mouseka-Previews in the second season had a short musical variety introduction, with song and storyline by Sid Miller. They also likely had a Mouseketeer narrator.

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On this 'Talent Round-Up Day', Mouseketeer Bobby Burgess teams up with dancer Barbara Boylan. This teaming is a prelude for the couple, as they will eventually become the lead dancers for several years on "The Lawrence Welk Show".

Captain Roy delivers tourists Lonnie, Bobby, Tommy, Doreen, Eileen, and Cheryl to Trinidad, where banana seller Dennis is worried about his business. Jimmie and the locals help everyone get acquainted through calypso music. The US was swept by a brief calypso craze during 1956, which gave rise to this show and another in the third season. Though the cast was ethnically-challenged, the quality of musical arrangements, choreography, and performers ensured the skit's success.

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First of a promotional series about Disneyland, sort of a commercial within the commercial that constituted the Mickey Mouse Club. This was likely narrated by Hal Gibney, the voice of the Mouseketeer Newsreel.

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Christine Marshall was the California State Champion baton twirler and at age 15 won the National Baton Championship. Kathleen Lenski was a concert violinist child prodigy and, as an adult, became a renowned performer as a member of the Angeles String Quartet and performed on the soundtrack for several major motion pictures during the 1980's thru 2010's, including "The Color Purple"; "Red Dawn'; "Backdraft"; "A League of Their Own"; "The Princess Diaries"; "Toy Story"; and "Star Trek: First Contact".

Tramps Karen and Cubby sing, while the other tramps are led by Darlene in the Tramp Ballet. Bob Amsberry plays a sour role as a railway cop. Eileen does a take off on her jumping bit in Sweetshop Rock, while Darlene slips and sprawls head first on the stage but jumps back up and keeps going.

Cliff Edwards, (aka 'Ukelele Ike', as well as the voice of Jiminy Crickett), performs a medley of his 1920's hits with the Mouseketeers dancing along.

Cubby was a popular Mouseketeers in terms of fan mail received, and also had a fine sense of comic acting. He made a good choice to show the viewing audience what being a Mouseketeer was like. The last half was a promotion for the film Westward Ho, the Wagons. Teacher Jean Seaman was able to take part in this show since it was filmed in summer when the Mouseketeers were out of school.

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The opening number was an ensemble effort, celebrating morning in a Montemarte square, with singing done in turns by different cast members. The second song had Annette as a ballet student encouraged by flower vendor Jimmie, who sings in praise of her as Bobby joins her in a pas de deux.

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The fourth episode of the 'Fun With a Camera' series took place at Disneyland, and as might be suspected was more about the attractions and rides than taking photos.

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From the music room class the scene dissolves to Cubby and Karen as little figures in a weather house. The older kids do the Edelweiss Polka then Roberta Shore appears to teach everyone how to yodel. The first number was also shown during the serial Adventure in Dairyland. Polka is Czech for a Polish girl and the polka comes from that country. However, Walt Disney loved Switzerland so a tune by Danish composers was given English lyrics and cast as a "Swiss" polka.

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Another in the series of Disneyland promotion shows.

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Though she left the Mouseketeers in January 1956, Mary Sartori returned during the second season as a Talent Round-Up winner, having finally found a dancing partner (John F. Smith) taller than her. While her partner was given the standard talent winner hats and song, Mary received a mortarboard hat with mouse ears while the Mouseketeers sang You're a Mousekegraduate.

The scene opens in the Mouseketeer Music Classroom with Jimmie (wearing glasses) standing in front of the class wearing a lei and holding a ukulele. As Jimmie strums, the camera pushes into a tight shot of Jimmie's hands playing the ukulele and dissolves into a scene on a beach in Hawaii: an idyllic representation of an undeveloped Waikiki. The set consists of a thatched hut at the far left with a wicker counter in front. The center is a grassy hill overlooking the ocean which is set up as a gathering place. The entire Mouseketeer Music Class takes a Hawaiian vacation...

Guest stars Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen make an appearance to promote "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" by interacting with the Mouseketeers in a Davy Crockett skit.

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Promotional skit to publicize the Disney movie 'Westward Ho, the Wagons', released the same week, which featured Mouseketeers Karen, Doreen, Tommy, Cubby, and 'The Mickey Mouse Club' serial actors David Stollery and George Ferrante (Brand Stirling).

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The fifth and final episode of the series 'Fun With a Camera' took place at the San Diego Zoo.

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Guest performer Pamela Beaird tells the girls about her dream, in which she dances with Mouseketeer Bobby Burgess, then loses him, while the other Mouseketeers try to get her to smile. Pamela Beaird was already a professional singer and actress when she did this 'Fun With Music' skit and a 'Talent Round Up Day' as well.

The Mouseketeers skate with Ice Capades star Donna Atwood. During the skating performance she portrays Snow White while seven of the Mouseketeers skate in full costume as The Seven Dwarfs.

Surprisingly, the final episode in the series of Disneyland promotion shows. Why Adventureland didn't have an episode is unknown.

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Raymond Miller was a fourteen year old boy who was a "Talent Round-Up Day" winner by playing musical bells. The other winner of this "Talent Round-Up Day" was the 'Order of the Arrow', a Boy Scout organization, still active today, that practices Native American traditional dances.

The boys' basketball team and girls' ballet club vie for use of the gym. The first song was an entertaining number, one of the best staged pieces of the second season. After it finishes, the other kids leave, and Eileen, who has been playing the piano for them, is left alone in the gym. She beautifully renders Beethoven's piece in a dream sequence.

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The final episode of the 'Rookie Fireman' series had the kids complete their training and receive certificates from a Los Angeles Fire Department battalion chief and Walt Disney himself.

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At the opening Darlene also sang a few lines from a jazzy version of One Song, from Snow White. The skit takes place in her bedroom, going to a dream sequence in which she portrays Ed Sullivan, Red Skeleton, and herself performing on Sullivan's show.

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Two short first season 'Anything Can Happen Day' features were reused in what was otherwise a new show. So far as is known this was the first time feature content from an earlier season was recycled, as opposed to full reruns as was the case through most of January, 1957.

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The skit starts in Bob's Sweet Shoppe in 1955 then has flashbacks to 1925 and 1895 for the songs. Margene as a flapper, and Bob Amsberry waltzing with Doreen are highlights. The whole point of the skit was each generation has its own music that seems "too wild" to their parent's generation.

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Promotional show for the re-release of the 1950 Disney animated feature "Cinderella".

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Skit starts off in Mousekemusic class. Roy draws a caricature of teacher Jimmie on the board, then obliges the mice when they sing "Draw a Picture" to the tune of Aloutte. The second song has Roy as the mayor of Scribble Town, where drawings come to life. Jimmie, wearing glasses and a suit, enters the Mousekemusic class room as the noisy mice quickly fall silent. Glancing at the whiteboard he spots the caricature of himself. "I see" he says ominously. "Which one of you did this" he demands. The class remains silently cowed. Suddenly Roy pops thru the classroom door ...

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Robert Lamouret's act for the show included using an early version of Donald Duck as a manic sidekick. His "Donal" was incoherent since Lamouret's heavy French accent precluded any effective ventriloquism.

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A swinging jazz dance number by the three guys was the highlight. The other half was a song by the three younger girls while fishing from the pier. (Jimmie Dodd played a small part as a fish vendor).

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Dr Irving P. Krick was a famous meteorologist who pioneered the science of long-range forecasting and in 1938 started the first private weather business in the United States. He demonstrated weather events and how to predict them in the studio, with the help of some Mouseketeers.

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Jay-Jay has a new horseless carriage but after it malfunctions he has to supply the horsepower himself. His friends enjoy being entertained by Herman's German Band and its vocalist Fraulein Darlene.

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This was an exhibition of gymnastic events by interscholastic athletes and their coaches. It is not known whether any Mouseketeers participated, though Charley Laney, whose background included gymnastics, may have taken part.

The Bill Dedrick's Pranksters (dog and pony act) later performed at a mini Disneyland Circus with some of the Mouseketeers at Portland's 1956 Rose Festival.

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The Mouseketeers take their pig Lulu Belle to the county fair. Darlene, Jimmie, and Bob play judges. This wasn't broadcast until eight months after it was filmed.

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Promotional show for the Disney live-action film 'Johnny Tremain' starring Hal Stalmaster.

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The PianoCade, led by Mr. E. S. Thompson, featured sixteen spinets (each manned by two players) and from one to three grand pianos for performances. The PianoCade had thirty-five performers, but the kids sat two to each spinet, so there were only seventeen pianos on stage. The group that was eventually filmed had six boys (including Phil Odom) and twenty-six girls. The PianoCade first appeared on national television on The Ed Sullivan Show from New York City, Christmas evening, December 25, 1955, playing a selection of Christmas favorites. Walt Disney watched the ...