James Dodd was the host of The Mickey Mouse Club TV show, and also wrote the show’s famous theme song. The son of a music store owner and a stenographer, he became interested in music at a young age, and pursued a career in both music and acting. This is the story of his life, his career, and how he came to be the host of one of the most famous children’s TV shows of all time.
Tag - disneyfan
Main Street USA is the “opening act” at all Disney parks, being the part of the park guests walk through before going through the castle to the primary part of the parks that includes the rides and shows. It originally appeared at Disneyland in California, and all the other Main Street USA sections or their equivalents are similar to the first one at Disneyland. This is the story of Main Street...
Lanny Smoot is an Imagineer at The Walt Disney Company, where he has worked for the past twenty-two years. He has an impressive one hundred patents and applications to his credit and is still inventing new things. If you’ve been to a Disney park, you’ve probably enjoyed his incredible work. This is his exciting story.
Captain Hook is the villain in the 1953 Walt Disney animated movie, Peter Pan. Captain Hook is one of the most popular Disney villains, and is also one of the most highly recognizable ones. This is the story of how he was developed, who he is, and who he was based on.
Cruella de Vil is the villain of the Disney cartoon 101 Dalmatians and the novel upon which it is based. She is an innately villainous character, seemingly born that way, with no motive other than to get what she wants, and no empathy. A classic narcissistic sociopath, Cruella is an iconic villain in modern fiction. Read more about this Disney villain here.
Sharon Baird was one of the original Mouseketeers on The Mickey Mouse Club. She was an experienced performer with professional credits to her name before she was cast on the show when she was eleven years old. She also had a full and intriguing career in children’s TV after The Mickey Mouse Club ended. This is her story.
Doreen Tracey was a Mouseketeer on the original Mickey Mouse Club TV show. She appeared on all three seasons of the original show. She went on to have a brief career in TV guest spots on other shows, and as the lead singer of a band that toured American military bases in Vietnam. She did some other interesting and even eyebrow-raising things after her time as a Mouseketeer, too.
Karen Pendleton was one of the original Mouseketeers on The Mickey Mouse Club. She stayed with the show for its entire time on TV, then quit acting after that. In fact, she went on to lead a pretty normal life, though she was always fond of her Mickey Mouse Club years, and always willing to attend reunions. This is her story.
Holidayland is a lost part of the Disneyland park in California. It was only open for a few years in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but it is still remembered fondly today by those who went to it (unless they were little kids at a company picnic). This is the story of Disneyland’s lost park, Holidayland.
Herb Ryman was an artist for the Disney Company, as well as an artist with other movie studios, and a talented independent artist. His lengthy career includes design work on some of the most popular movies of Hollywood's Golden Age, as well as being a sought after artist for private collectors. This is his interesting story.