Vtg Darlene Gillespie Walt Disney Mouseketeer Micky Mouse Club Teen Fan Photo

Description

Darlene Gillespie
Teen Mouseketeer
Mickey Mouse Club
Original, vintage, from the 1950s, Promotional Fan Publicity Small Photo.
Measures approx 5" x 4"
There are 2 names signed on the back...one being Darlene Gillespie.  I do not believe this is her signature.
Good condition showing some handling wear....corners show wear (top surface has spots worn at corners, and they are creased at the tips.   This is NOT a reproduction.
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Gillespie was born in
Montreal
,
Quebec
, Canada. At age ten, she started singing lessons with Glen Raikes, and took dance lessons with Burch Mann, founder of the American Folk Ballet Company. She auditioned for
The Mickey Mouse Club
in March 1955, was hired, and appeared on the program for all three seasons of its original run. She was the leading female singer and starred in the serial
Corky and White Shadow
during the first season. In the third season, she appeared in the serial
The New Adventures of
Spin and Marty
with
Tim Considine
and
David Stollery
.
She was cast as Dorothy in a musical number from the proposed live-action
Disney
film
Rainbow Road to Oz
on an episode of the
Disneyland
television series
in September 1957. The movie was never made, and after
The Mickey Mouse Club
stopped filming in 1958, her short acting career neared its end. Her last television appearance was as Beth Brian in the 1962 episode "The Star" of the
NBC
family drama series
National Velvet
starring
Lori Martin
as a budding thoroughbred rider.
Gillespie made many recordings under the various Disney labels, including an album of 1950s
rock and roll
standards called
Darlene of the Teens
(1957). She recorded albums from Disney animated films in which she not only sang but narrated the stories, such as
Alice in Wonderland
and
Sleeping Beauty
. In 1975, attempting to revive her singing career, she formed her own record company, Alva Records, and released a
45 rpm record
of
country
songs under the name
Darlene Valentine
.
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