Cheryl Holdridge
Encyclopedia
Cheryl Holdridge was an American actress, best known as a cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club
.
. Her mother, Julie A. Phelps (October 19, 1908 - October 24, 2003), was a former dancer who had performed on Broadway with her partner, Dick Mason; her biological father has not been identified. Julie brought her to Burbank, California
shortly after her birth. In 1950 her mother married Herbert Charles Holdridge, a retired Brigadier General
active in fringe political movements. He adopted her in 1953 and gave her his surname. Holdridge grew up in Sherman Oaks, California. She started dance lessons from an early age with Joyce Cole in North Hollywood, learning both ballet and tap.
in Los Angeles. Her first screen appearance was as an uncredited extra in the 1956 film production of Carousel
.
She auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club in the spring of 1956, was hired, and joined the club's "Red Team"--the most visible and popular of the Mouseketeers. Though a good dancer, her weak singing voice kept her in the background of most musical numbers performed by the Mouseketeers. A competent actress with a pleasant speaking voice, she was employed for two of the show's episodic serials: Boys of the Western Sea and Annette
.
After the show's run ended, Cheryl returned to Van Nuys High School
and graduated from Grant High School with the winter 1961 class. She was cast in two episodes of Leave It to Beaver
in 1959 as 'Gloria Cusick'; she later played an occasional, recurring role as Wally Cleaver
's girlfriend, Julie Foster.
In May 1960, Holdridge went on a live tour to Australia
with other former Mouseketeers. While there, she became involved with Lucky Starr
, an Australian singer. She was later linked in fan magazines and gossip columns with many other celebrities, including Elvis Presley
.
Holdridge's television career prospects improved from 1960. She made guest appearances on over twenty different shows, including The Rifleman
, My Three Sons
, Bewitched
, Bringing Up Buddy
, and The Dick Van Dyke Show
. She was also cast in the lead role of Betty in an unsold television series pilot based on the Archie Comics
. While still in demand, Holdridge left acting abruptly in 1964 to get married to Lance Reventlow, her first husband.
After the death of her third husband, Holdridge made a cameo appearance in the 2000
feature film, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
. In 2005 she appeared at Disneyland for 50th anniversary celebrations of both the opening of the park and The Mickey Mouse Club. More recently, she appeared in televised documentary specials about Cary Grant
(2005) and Barbara Hutton
(2006), and has also appeared in a special feature interview for a Disney DVD
.
in May 1960 with the Mouseketeers, Holdridge was involved in a sex scandal
just before her 16th birthday with local teen singer "Lucky Starr," who was 19.
Holdridge's first husband was sportsman and athlete Lance Reventlow
, the only child of Woolworth
heiress Barbara Hutton
; his father was a Danish count. Reventlow, a pilot, died in the crash of a small plane in 1972.
Her second husband was Albert James "Jim" Skarda. They married in 1974. He ran a car rental service in Aspen, Colorado
.
Her third husband, Manning J. Post (January 3, 1918 - March 13, 2000), was a major figure in Democratic
politics in California. He died of natural causes aged 82. All of her marriages were childless. Holdridge was a long-time supporter of environmental causes and charities including the Children's Burn Foundation
for which she served as a Council Member, and with her third marriage became more active in fund-raising events.
Holdridge died on January 6, 2009 from lung cancer
.
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
.
Early life
Holdridge was born Cheryl Lynn Phelps in New Orleans, LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Her mother, Julie A. Phelps (October 19, 1908 - October 24, 2003), was a former dancer who had performed on Broadway with her partner, Dick Mason; her biological father has not been identified. Julie brought her to Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
shortly after her birth. In 1950 her mother married Herbert Charles Holdridge, a retired Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
active in fringe political movements. He adopted her in 1953 and gave her his surname. Holdridge grew up in Sherman Oaks, California. She started dance lessons from an early age with Joyce Cole in North Hollywood, learning both ballet and tap.
Career
Holdridge first performed professionally at the age of nine, when she landed a role in the New York City Ballet's version of The NutcrackerThe Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
in Los Angeles. Her first screen appearance was as an uncredited extra in the 1956 film production of Carousel
Carousel (film)
Carousel is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the same name which, in turn, was based on Ferenc Molnár's non-musical play Liliom. The 1956 Carousel film stars Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, and was directed by Henry King...
.
She auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club in the spring of 1956, was hired, and joined the club's "Red Team"--the most visible and popular of the Mouseketeers. Though a good dancer, her weak singing voice kept her in the background of most musical numbers performed by the Mouseketeers. A competent actress with a pleasant speaking voice, she was employed for two of the show's episodic serials: Boys of the Western Sea and Annette
Walt Disney Presents: Annette
Walt Disney Presents: Annette was a television serial that ran on The Mickey Mouse Club during the show's third season . It starred Annette Funicello as Annette McCloud, a poor, orphaned country girl who moves into town with her upper-class aunt and uncle...
.
After the show's run ended, Cheryl returned to Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys High School established in 1914, is a high school in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles, California, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District: District 2...
and graduated from Grant High School with the winter 1961 class. She was cast in two episodes of Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
in 1959 as 'Gloria Cusick'; she later played an occasional, recurring role as Wally Cleaver
Wally Cleaver
Wallace "Wally" Cleaver is a fictional character in the iconic American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Wally is the thirteen-year-old son of archetypal 50s suburban parents, Ward and June Cleaver and the older brother of the seven-year-old title character, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver...
's girlfriend, Julie Foster.
In May 1960, Holdridge went on a live tour to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
with other former Mouseketeers. While there, she became involved with Lucky Starr
Leslie Morrison
Leslie Morrison , better known by his stage name Lucky Starr, is an Australian singer. He released the tongue-twisting, "I've Been Everywhere" as a single in 1962, written by the singer-songwriter Geoff Mack, which name-drops numerous Australian towns...
, an Australian singer. She was later linked in fan magazines and gossip columns with many other celebrities, including Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
.
Holdridge's television career prospects improved from 1960. She made guest appearances on over twenty different shows, including The Rifleman
The Rifleman
The Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
, My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
, Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, Bringing Up Buddy
Bringing Up Buddy
Bringing Up Buddy is a 39-episode situation comedy television series which aired on CBS during the 1960–1961 season. In the story line, Frank Aletter, a native of Queens, New York, plays the orphaned Buddy Flower, a bachelor stockbroker, who is reared by his overprotective and meticulous aunts,...
, and The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
. She was also cast in the lead role of Betty in an unsold television series pilot based on the Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
. While still in demand, Holdridge left acting abruptly in 1964 to get married to Lance Reventlow, her first husband.
After the death of her third husband, Holdridge made a cameo appearance in the 2000
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
feature film, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a 2000 comedy film and prequel to 1994's The Flintstones based on the hit cartoon series of the same name, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera and distributed by Universal Studios...
. In 2005 she appeared at Disneyland for 50th anniversary celebrations of both the opening of the park and The Mickey Mouse Club. More recently, she appeared in televised documentary specials about Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
(2005) and Barbara Hutton
Barbara Hutton
Barbara Woolworth Hutton was an American socialite dubbed by the media as the "Poor Little Rich Girl" because of her troubled life...
(2006), and has also appeared in a special feature interview for a Disney DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Personal life
While touring AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in May 1960 with the Mouseketeers, Holdridge was involved in a sex scandal
Sex scandal
A sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with movie stars, politicians, famous athletes or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the...
just before her 16th birthday with local teen singer "Lucky Starr," who was 19.
Holdridge's first husband was sportsman and athlete Lance Reventlow
Lance Reventlow
Lance Reventlow, born Lawrence Graf von Haugwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow was a wealthy playboy, entrepreneur, and racing driver....
, the only child of Woolworth
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
heiress Barbara Hutton
Barbara Hutton
Barbara Woolworth Hutton was an American socialite dubbed by the media as the "Poor Little Rich Girl" because of her troubled life...
; his father was a Danish count. Reventlow, a pilot, died in the crash of a small plane in 1972.
Her second husband was Albert James "Jim" Skarda. They married in 1974. He ran a car rental service in Aspen, Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
.
Her third husband, Manning J. Post (January 3, 1918 - March 13, 2000), was a major figure in Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politics in California. He died of natural causes aged 82. All of her marriages were childless. Holdridge was a long-time supporter of environmental causes and charities including the Children's Burn Foundation
Children's Burn Foundation
The Children’s Burn Foundation is an American non-profit organization founded in 1985 to meet the physical, psychological and financial needs of children who have been severely burned. Located in Sherman Oaks, California, they were founded by Dr. A. Richard Grossman and McLean Stevenson...
for which she served as a Council Member, and with her third marriage became more active in fund-raising events.
Holdridge died on January 6, 2009 from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1956 | Carousel Carousel (film) Carousel is a 1956 film adaptation of the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the same name which, in turn, was based on Ferenc Molnár's non-musical play Liliom. The 1956 Carousel film stars Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, and was directed by Henry King... |
Young Girl #2 | Uncredited |
| 1959 | A Summer Place A Summer Place (film) A Summer Place is a 1959 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sloan Wilson. It was directed by Delmer Daves and stars Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee... |
Girl in dormitory at Briarwood School for Girls | Uncredited |
| 2000 | The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a 2000 comedy film and prequel to 1994's The Flintstones based on the hit cartoon series of the same name, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera and distributed by Universal Studios... |
Genevieve | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1956–1958 | The Mickey Mouse Club | Mouseketeer Cheryl | |
| 1957–1980 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Mouseketeer Cheryl | 2 episode |
| 1958 | Walt Disney Presents: Annette Walt Disney Presents: Annette Walt Disney Presents: Annette was a television serial that ran on The Mickey Mouse Club during the show's third season . It starred Annette Funicello as Annette McCloud, a poor, orphaned country girl who moves into town with her upper-class aunt and uncle... |
Madge Markham | 2 episodes |
| 1959–1963 | Leave It to Beaver Leave It to Beaver Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood... |
Gloria Cusick Julie Foster |
8 episodes |
| 1960–1961 | Bachelor Father | Lila Meredith | 3 episodes |
| 1960–1964 | My Three Sons My Three Sons My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS... |
Judy Doucette Juliet Johnson |
3 episodes |
| 1961 | Westinghouse Playhouse Westinghouse playhouse Westinghouse Playhouse is an American sitcom that aired from January to July 1961 on NBC. Starring Nanette Fabray, the series was also known as The Nanette Fabray Show, Westinghouse Playhouse Starring Nanette Fabray and Wendell Corey, and ran under the title Yes, Yes Nanette in... |
Mona Morgan | 1 episode |
| Bringing Up Buddy Bringing Up Buddy Bringing Up Buddy is a 39-episode situation comedy television series which aired on CBS during the 1960–1961 season. In the story line, Frank Aletter, a native of Queens, New York, plays the orphaned Buddy Flower, a bachelor stockbroker, who is reared by his overprotective and meticulous aunts,... |
Sharon | 1 episode | |
| 1962 | Life with Archie | Betty | Television movie |
| 1961–1962 | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years... |
Joyce Maynard Norma Lane |
4 episodes |
| 1962 | The Rifleman The Rifleman The Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran... |
Sally Walker | 1 episode |
| The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie... |
Daphne Winsett | 1 episode | |
| King of Diamonds | Chick Hendricks | 1 episode | |
| Dennis the Menace | Helen Franklin | 1 episode | |
| The Donna Reed Show The Donna Reed Show The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September... |
Pat Walker | 1 episode | |
| 1963 | Hawaiian Eye Hawaiian Eye Hawaiian Eye is an American television series that ran from October 1959 to September 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company television network.-Premise:... |
Mary Anne Sayer | 1 episode |
| Ripcord Ripcord (TV series) Ripcord is an American syndicated television series that ran for 76 episodes from 1961 to 1963 about the exploits of a skydiving operation by the same name.-Overview:... |
Angie Carter | 1 episode | |
| 1964 | The Dick Van Dyke Show The Dick Van Dyke Show The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff.... |
Joan Delroy | 1 episode |
| Mr. Novak Mr. Novak Mr. Novak is an American dramatic series starring James Franciscus in the title role, which aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965.-Overview:... |
Betty | 1 episode | |
| Dr. Kildare | Nurse Reynolds | 1 episode | |
| The Eleventh Hour The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series) The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:... |
Judy Gormley | 2 episodes | |
| Wagon Train Wagon Train Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65... |
Annbelle | 1 episode | |
| Bewitched Bewitched Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban... |
Liza Randall | 1 episode | |
| 1984–1987 | The New Leave It to Beaver The New Leave It to Beaver The New Leave It to Beaver is an American sitcom sequel to the 1950s and '60s series, Leave It to Beaver. The New Leave It to Beaver began with the 1983 CBS TV movie Still the Beaver, and was picked up in 1984 as a Disney Channel series with the same name; however, it only lasted one season... |
Julie Foster | 2 episodes |