James Wesley Dodd (March 28, 1910 â€" November 10, 1964) was an
American actor, singer and songwriter, best known as the master of
ceremonies for the popular 1950s Walt Disney television series The
Mickey Mouse Club, as well as the writer of its well-known theme song
"The Mickey Mouse Club March." A different version of this march, much
slower in tempo and with different lyrics, became the alma mater that
closed each episode.Dodd had some early film roles in The Three
Mesquiteers series of westerns. Coincidentally, he performed in two
unrelated series whose names were plays on "musketeers". He made his
first screen appearance in the 1940 William Holden film Those Were the
Days! in a minor role. He also appeared in many theatrical films in
the 1940s and 1950s, often uncredited. He appeared with John Wayne in
the war films Flying Tigers (1942), Janie (1944), in which he sings a
bit of Keep Your Powder Dry with star Joyce Reynolds, and with Harry
Carey in China's Little Devils (1945), another film involving the
Flying Tigers. He also played the taxi driver in the MGM film Easter
Parade (1948), starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. Dodd had a
small, but important part in the Mickey Rooney hit Quicksand (1950).
Two of his films were biographies of baseball players: The Jackie
Robinson Story (1950), in which Jackie Robinson played himself, and
The Winning Team (1952), in which future president Ronald Reagan
portrayed pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander. He played a taxi driver
again in Phffft (1954).In addition to his small role in an early
episode of Adventures of Superman titled "Double Trouble," Dodd
appeared as a deputy in the 1955 episode "Sontag and Evans" of the
syndicated television series Stories of the Century. The segment was
based on the California train robbers Chris Evans and John Sontag.The
Mickey Mouse Club aired each weekday. Dodd always wore "Mouseke-ears",
played his "Mouse-guitar", and sang self-composed songs. His tunes
contained positive messages for kids. In addition, among his other
musical contributions is a song that a generation of kids has used for
nearly a half century to spell "encyclopedia". He performed a regular
segment on the show singing "Proverbs Proverbs they're so true"...and
then would expound on a Proverb from the Bible and give an explanation
of its value in everyday life. He wrote some themes for Zorro and
performed songs in several of his movies. He also wrote "Lonely
Guitar", a Billboard Top 50 charted hit for fellow Mousketeer Annette
in 1959. The original Mouseketeers, frequent guests at the Dodd home
for backyard barbecues and sing-alongs, said Dodd treated them as part
of his own extended family.
American actor, singer and songwriter, best known as the master of
ceremonies for the popular 1950s Walt Disney television series The
Mickey Mouse Club, as well as the writer of its well-known theme song
"The Mickey Mouse Club March." A different version of this march, much
slower in tempo and with different lyrics, became the alma mater that
closed each episode.Dodd had some early film roles in The Three
Mesquiteers series of westerns. Coincidentally, he performed in two
unrelated series whose names were plays on "musketeers". He made his
first screen appearance in the 1940 William Holden film Those Were the
Days! in a minor role. He also appeared in many theatrical films in
the 1940s and 1950s, often uncredited. He appeared with John Wayne in
the war films Flying Tigers (1942), Janie (1944), in which he sings a
bit of Keep Your Powder Dry with star Joyce Reynolds, and with Harry
Carey in China's Little Devils (1945), another film involving the
Flying Tigers. He also played the taxi driver in the MGM film Easter
Parade (1948), starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. Dodd had a
small, but important part in the Mickey Rooney hit Quicksand (1950).
Two of his films were biographies of baseball players: The Jackie
Robinson Story (1950), in which Jackie Robinson played himself, and
The Winning Team (1952), in which future president Ronald Reagan
portrayed pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander. He played a taxi driver
again in Phffft (1954).In addition to his small role in an early
episode of Adventures of Superman titled "Double Trouble," Dodd
appeared as a deputy in the 1955 episode "Sontag and Evans" of the
syndicated television series Stories of the Century. The segment was
based on the California train robbers Chris Evans and John Sontag.The
Mickey Mouse Club aired each weekday. Dodd always wore "Mouseke-ears",
played his "Mouse-guitar", and sang self-composed songs. His tunes
contained positive messages for kids. In addition, among his other
musical contributions is a song that a generation of kids has used for
nearly a half century to spell "encyclopedia". He performed a regular
segment on the show singing "Proverbs Proverbs they're so true"...and
then would expound on a Proverb from the Bible and give an explanation
of its value in everyday life. He wrote some themes for Zorro and
performed songs in several of his movies. He also wrote "Lonely
Guitar", a Billboard Top 50 charted hit for fellow Mousketeer Annette
in 1959. The original Mouseketeers, frequent guests at the Dodd home
for backyard barbecues and sing-alongs, said Dodd treated them as part
of his own extended family.
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