A Tarnished Mouseketeer

You never know when you're going to find out something unpleasant about some one you had high regards for. As a young boy I grew up with watching not the Muppets but the Mickey Mouse Club. This Disney show was on TV between 1955 and 1959. On the show there were a group of clean cut, All-American type kids called the Mouseketeers who were led by two grown up Mouseketeers, named Jimmy and Roy.

There were a total of 39 Mouseketeers that appeared over the 4 year run of the show but only nine were on it for the entire time. One of them was Darlene (Gillespie), a favorite of mine along with everybody's favorite, Annette (Funicello).

I know that Annette went on to bigger and better things. She made several Disney films, including Zorro, The Shaggy Dog & Babes in Toyland, as well as a series of movies beginning with Beach Party in 1963 in which she co-starred with Frankie Avalon. She recorded a number of hit singles, including Tall Paul and Pineapple Princess. In 1987, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. More recently, she has begun business ventures with a line of collectable teddy bears and her own perfume (Cello by Annette) the proceeds from which go to neurological research.

I never knew what happened to Darlene until this morning when I read that she became a nurse and performed as a country and western singer under the name Darlene Valentine. As I read on further, I was shocked to find that this little squeaky clean Mouseketeer that I remember and had a crush on as a little boy has been convicted on dozens of counts of securities fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury. Another Martha Stewart.

Gee, the people I had on my pedestals are all falling down. I wonder what I'm going to find out about Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans? I'm glad I'm old enough to handle these setbacks.