15 Mickey Mouse Club Cast Members: Where Are They Now?
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The Mickey Mouse Club was a variety show that was created by Walt Disney. It first ran from 1955 to 1959 and aired on ABC. It was essentially a variety show for kids and included comedy, music, a newsreel and a cartoon. The cast was dubbed “Mouseketeers” and featured the Mouseketeer Roll Call where they’d introduce themselves. Jimmie Dodd hosted the series in its original run and sometimes even featured an appearance by Mickey Mouse. The series was cancelled in 1959 for various reasons. In the 70s, the series was revived and aired from 1977 to 1979. This included all of the hallmarks of the previous series run. The entire series featured a different theme everyday, such as Guest Star Day, Circus Day and Let’s Go.
The series was revived a third time and aired for 7 seasons from 1989 to 1996 on The Disney Channel. It’s widely regarded as the most memorable run of the series and was known as The All-New Mickey Mouse Club or MMC. It continued the tradition of Theme Day and the Roll Call but also included music videos, live concerts and sketch comedy. The Mickey Mouse Club featured many performers that would go on to have very successful careers. For some they would continue to contribute to the entertainment industry while others quietly disappeared from the spotlight. However, there are several performers that went on to become some of the biggest and most popular actors, musicians and entertainers in Hollywood. Here is a look at 15 Mickey Mouse Club Cast Members: Where Are They Now?
15. J.C. Chasez
J.C. Chasez auditioned for The All-New Mickey Mouse Club in 1989, after his mother saw an advertisement in the newspaper. He officially joined the cast around 1991 and remained with the series until its cancellation in 1996. He worked alongside several future superstars, including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling. It was during this time that he met future band member Justin Timberlake. After they both left the series they would become the lead vocals for the iconic boy band N'SYNC. N'SYNC is widely regarded as one of the most popular boy bands. They released three highly praised studio albums: N'YSNC, No Strings Attached and Celebrity. Later, JC decided to go solo and released the 2004 album Schizophrenic. He has since focused on writing and producing for other musical acts. He has worked with several music acts, such as Matthew Morrison, David Archuleta and Girls Aloud. His career all started from The Mickey Mouse Club.
14. Tony Lucca
At the age of 14, Tony Lucca had his first major opportunity when he joined the cast of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. He remained with the series for 4 seasons and left once it was cancelled. He dated fellow castmate Keri Russell on and off for 8 years starting around that time. He later appeared in the short-lived teen drama Malibu Shores, along with Keri Russell. In 1997, he released his first solo album, So Satisfied. Additionally, he’s released the albums Shotgun, Canyon Songs and Come Around Again. In 2012, he auditioned for the reality series The Voice, which featured his former Mickey Mouse Club cast member Christina Aguilera as a judge. He made the show and ended up joining Adam Levine’s team. He placed third in the entire competition. He has toured with several incredible music acts, such as N'SYNC, Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5.
13. Deedee Magno
Deedee Magno joined the cast of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club in 1989. She remained on the series until 1991 but would occasionally make appearances in 1992. In 1990, Disney formed a pop band consisting of members of the Mickey Mouse Club. Deedee joined Chase Hampton, Albert Fields, Damon Pampolina and Tiffini Hale to form the group known as The Party. They had major success with the singles “Summer Vacation”, “I Found Love” and “That’s Why”. During that time they appeared on an episode of Live with Regis and Kathie Lee and later on an episode of Blossom. They also toured and opened for Color Me Badd and Vanilla Ice. The group broke up in 1993 but reunited in 2013. They began working on a new album and later in 2013 released the single “Salute to Summer”. Additionally, Deedee has performed in several Broadway productions most notably Wicked and Miss Saigon. She currently provides the voice of Pearl in the animated series Steven Universe.
12. Dale Godboldo
Dale Godboldo had his first big break when he was a cast member of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. He joined the cast in 1991 and remained with the series for four seasons. He worked alongside several future pop stars including Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. He also worked with future movie stars Keri Russell and Ryan Gosling. After he left the series he landed a recurring role in the series Goode Behavior and guest starred on the TV series Moesha. He continued to land acting gigs and guest starred in several TV series, such as ER, The Drew Carey Show and Bones. Additionally, he appeared in numerous films, including Dirt Merchant, The Sum of All Fears and Thor. Recently, he had a recurring role as lawyer Carl E. Douglas in the critically acclaimed FX series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. His journey all began way back in the 90s with a little show called The All-New Mickey Mouse Club.
11. Marc Worden
Marc Worden started his career by performing in stage plays such as The Wizard of Oz and The King and I as a child. He had his first big break when he was a cast member on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. He joined the series in 1990 and remained until its cancellation. He performed alongside several future stars including Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake and Keri Russell. He was also a cast member of the Mickey Mouse Club spin-off Emerald Cove. He appeared in several memorable TV series, such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, NYPD Blue and Six Feet Under. In 1998, he reunited with former cast member Keri Russell when he appeared in an episode of Felicity. He also does extensive voice work for numerous animated series, such as Teen Titans, Justice League and Planet Hulk. He has also done voice over work for video games, including Grand Theft Auto V, Batman: Arkham Knight and Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
10. Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Whelchel was a cast member of The Mickey Mouse Club during its second run in the 70s. She was 12 years old when she was discovered by talent scouts in Texas. She joined the cast of The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1977 and left in 1978. She would go on to be the most successful cast member of the second run. She is best known for her memorable role as the rich and stylish Blair Warner in The Facts of Life. The Facts of Life aired for 9 seasons from 1979 to 1988. During the 80s, she also released a Christian pop album, All Because of You, that reached number 17 on the Billboard Contemporary Christian music charts. Later, she would become an inspirational speaker and would tour with the Women of Faith conferences. In 2012, she was a contestant in the reality series Survivor: Philippines. She kept her celebrity status a secret until it was revealed at the final tribal council. She ended up tying for second place and was voted the Sprint Player of the Season winning $100,000 in the process.
9. Lindsey Alley
Lindsey Alley had one of the longest tenures on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. She joined the series in 1989 and remained until the series was cancelled. Prior to her time on The Mickey Mouse Club she had minor acting roles as a child. Her most prominent role was in the 1988 film Ernest Saves Christmas. After The Mickey Mouse Club ended she returned to school to complete her education. In 2002, she played the character of Lisa Seltzer on the roller derby show WSL Rollerjam. She performed her own one-woman show, Look, Ma…No Ears! (A Show for One-Woman and the Voices in Her Head). In 2011, she performed in the musical production Having It All to rave reviews. She’s performed stand up comedy where she joked about her time as Mouseketeer in The Mickey Mouse Club. She mentions performing the roll call along with Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. She also appeared in the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
8. Matt Morris
Matt Morris had his first big break when he joined the cast of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. He joined in 1991 when he was in the 6th grade. He worked alongside several artists that he would collaborate and write for in the future. He remained with the series until its cancellation but attempted to distance himself from the industry after it was over. He’s been very successful as a songwriter and has worked with several major acts, including Cher, Sarah McLachlan and Mary J. Blige. He co-wrote several songs for Christina Aguilera’s Stripped and for Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds. Additionally, he performed a cover of “Hallelujah” with Justin Timberlake and Charlie Sexton for the Hope For Haiti Now telethon. It became one of the most downloaded songs at the time. He has released three studio albums, which are UnSpoken, Backstage at Bonnaroo and Other Acoustic Performances and When Everything Breaks Open.
7. Rhona Bennett
Miss R&B aka Rhona Bennett first gained recognition when she was a cast member on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. She joined the cast in 1991 and worked alongside several future movie stars and pop icons. She also appeared in the Disney series Emerald Cove with several Mickey Mouse Club cast members. After the series was cancelled she had minor roles in Martin and Living Single. In 2000, she portrayed Nicole in the WB series The Jamie Foxx Show. In 2001, she released her solo album Rhona. The single from the album Satisfied was a big success in Japan. She later joined the group En Vogue and was a member for 5 years before returning to her solo career. She has also released the singles, “Letting You Go” and “Take Me There”. She has occasionally reunited with En Vogue for live performances and tours.
6. Nikki DeLoach
Nikki DeLoach started her career as a child with minor modeling gigs and won several titles in the child pageant circuit. Soon she had her first taste of success in the entertainment business. In 1993, she joined the cast of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. She was a cast member with several future superstars, including Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. She dated fellow cast member and N'SYNC member JC Chasez for several years. She made minor TV appearances after the series was cancelled. In 1998, she joined the girl group Innosense, which was managed by Lynn Harless who happens to be Justin Timberlake’s mother. The girl group had very little success but did tour and open for Britney Spears and N'SYNC. She has since turned her attention to acting and has appeared in several TV series, including Castle, Grey’s Anatomy and Mad Men. Currently, she portrays Lacey Hamilton in the MTV series Awkward.
5. Keri Russell
Before she was attending the fictional University of New York and before she was a KGB agent living in America, Keri Russell was just a teenager hanging out with her buddies in the Mickey Mouse Club. At age 15, Keri Russell had her first TV exposure when she was a cast member on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. She joined the series in 1991 and worked alongside with future superstars Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. After leaving the series she appeared in Honey, I Blew up the Kid, Married…with Children and Boy Meets World. She had her big breakthrough with her role as Felicity Porter in the series Felicity. She later starred in several memorable films, such as Mission Impossible III, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Waitress. She currently stars as KGB spy Elizabeth Jennings in the FX series The Americans. She remains close with former Mouseketeer Lindsey Alley.
4. Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera is an international superstar that has released several albums, sold out arenas around the world and won numerous awards. However, her career started long ago in a little club known as The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. She auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club in 1991 but was turned down because she was deemed too young. Two years later she finally joined the cast and worked alongside many future superstars. She had her big breakthrough a few years later when she released her debut album Christina Aguilera. She released numerous memorable albums, including Stripped, Back to Basics and Bionic. She starred in the 2010 musical film Burlesque and has served as a judge on the reality competition series The Voice. She has won 5 Grammy Awards and was dubbed the “Pop Princess” in the early stages of her career. She clearly has come a long way but none of it would have been possible without a tiny little mouse with white gloves.
3. Justin Timberlake 1993-1994
Before Justin Timberlake was a Grammy Award wining international phenomenon he was a Mouseketeer tearing up Disney. In 1993, at roughly 12 years old Timberlake was added to the cast of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. He would meet many people that would be a part of his life going forward. In fact, his future ex-girlfriend Britney Spears, was a cast member as was future band member JC Chasez. He left the series in 1994 and not too long after had his big breakthrough. He first rose to fame as a member of the boy band N'SYNC. They would go on to be one of the best selling boy bands of all time. He then pursued a solo career and released several critically and commercially acclaimed albums, including Justified, FutureSex/LoveSounds and The 20/20 Experience. He then decided to focus on his acting career and appeared in several memorable films, such as Alpha Dog, The Social Network and Inside Llewyn Davis. Regardless of where his career goes he’ll always have his roots in the Mickey Mouse Club.
2. Britney Spears
“The Princess of Pop” Britney Spears, is widely regarded as one of the best selling solo artists. Her success in the late 90s helped revitalize teen pop. However, her long journey began years ago with The All New Mickey Mouse Club. At the age of 8, Britney auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club but was rejected because of her age. She finally joined the cast in late 1992. She would join future ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake and future pop icon Christina Aguilera as cast members. She had her big breakthrough with her debut album Baby One More Time. She went on to become an international phenomenon. She released several more universally praised albums, such as Oops!... I Did it Again, In the Zone and Circus. Additionally, she starred in the film Crossroads and guest-starred in the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother. She is also a highly controversial figure as her personal struggles and difficulties were often reported on. However, her Grammy Award winning career all started back on The Mickey Mouse Club.
1. Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling is often praised for his incredible talent, charm and good looks. He is a Golden Globes winner and has been nominated for several Oscars. Before all of his great success, he was a cast member on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. In 1993, 12-year-old Ryan Gosling was given a two-year contract with the series. He worked alongside many future superstars and in particular became very close with future pop icon Justin Timberlake. They even lived together during that period. However, Gosling wasn’t featured as much because the other kids were considered to be much more talented. After the series cancellation, he appeared in Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps. He later gained wide recognition for his role in the romantic-drama The Notebook. He went on to star in several memorable films, including Crazy Stupid Love, Drive and The Ides of March. He has received widespread praise for his roles in numerous critically acclaimed films, such as Blue Valentine, The Big Short and La La Land. Additionally, he’ll be starring in the sequel to Blade Runner.
Sources: nydailynews, refinery29
