Karen Anita Pendleton (August 1, 1946 – October 6, 2019) was an original ''

Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...

'' Mouseketeer on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television series from 1955 to 1959. She was one of only nine Mouseketeers who were on the show during its entire original run. Pendleton was recruited to audition for the ''Mickey Mouse Club'' when

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

producers visited a Los Angeles dance studio seeking young talent. She toured Australia in 1959 and 1960 with a number of other Mouseketeers and

Jimmie Dodd James Wesley Dodd (March 28, 1910 – 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 write ...

. She was often coupled with Carl "Cubby" O'Brien in the television series and in live performances, as they were the youngest members of the cast. After the show's run, she left show business and graduated from

North Hollywood High School North Hollywood High School (NHHS) is a public high school in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is located in the San Fernando Valley and enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Several neighborhoods, inc ...

. She married Del Michael De Lauer in 1970, had a daughter in 1973, but divorced in 1985. Following an automobile accident in 1983, in which she was paralyzed from the waist down, she returned to college and earned a bachelor's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

. She worked at a shelter for battered women and served on the board for the California Association of the Physically Handicapped. Pendleton died of a heart attack at the age of 73 on October 6, 2019.Karen Pendleton, One of the Original Mouseketeers, Dies at 73
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Filmography

* ''

Westward Ho the Wagons! ''Westward Ho the Wagons!'' is a 1956 American Western film starring Fess Parker and Kathleen Crowley and produced by Walt Disney Productions. Based on Mary Jane Carr's novel ''Children of the Covered Wagon'', the film was produced by Bill Wal ...

'' (1956) * '' Walt Disney's Disneyland'' (1954)

References

External links

Karen Pendleton
a
Original MMC Show
* 1946 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Glendale, California American child actresses American television actresses California State University, Northridge alumni People with paraplegia Mouseketeers North Hollywood High School alumni {{US-screen-actor-stub