Darlene Faye Gillespie (born April 8, 1941) is a Canadian-American
former child actress, most remembered as a singer and dancer on the
original The Mickey Mouse Club television series from 1955 to 1959.
Her Irish father and French Canadian mother were a former vaudeville
dance team. When Darlene was two years old, her family moved to Los
Angeles, where she became a naturalized U.S. citizen in September 1956
at the age of fifteen. After her career in entertainment ended, she
became a nurse.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.
former child actress, most remembered as a singer and dancer on the
original The Mickey Mouse Club television series from 1955 to 1959.
Her Irish father and French Canadian mother were a former vaudeville
dance team. When Darlene was two years old, her family moved to Los
Angeles, where she became a naturalized U.S. citizen in September 1956
at the age of fifteen. After her career in entertainment ended, she
became a nurse.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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