Darlene Gillespie
Encyclopedia
Darlene Faye Gillespie is a former child actor
. She is best known for having been a singer and dancer on the original Mickey Mouse Club
television show from 1955 to 1958. Her Irish father and French-Canadian mother were a former vaudeville dance team. When Darlene was two years old, her family moved to Los Angeles
, California
, where she became a naturalized US citizen in September 1956.
, Canada
. At age ten Darlene started singing lessons with Glen Raikes, and at age eleven, dance lessons with Burch Mann, founder of the American Folk Ballet company. She auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club in March 1955, was hired, and appeared on the show for all three seasons of its original run. She was the show's leading female singer, and starred in the serial Corky and White Shadow during the first season. In the third season, she appeared in the serial The New Adventures of Spin and Marty
. She was cast as Dorothy in a musical number from the proposed live-action Disney film, Rainbow Road to Oz, on an episode of the Disneyland television show in September 1957. The movie was never made, and after Mickey Mouse Club
stopped filming in 1958, her short career in television was over.
While still with Disney, she made many recordings under the various Disney labels, including an album of fifties rock and roll standards called Darlene of the Teens (1957). She also recorded albums of songs from Disney animated films, such as Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty
. In 1975, she released a 45 rpm record of country songs under the name
Darlene Valentine.
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
. She is best known for having been a singer and dancer on the original Mickey Mouse Club
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...
television show from 1955 to 1958. Her Irish father and French-Canadian mother were a former vaudeville dance team. When Darlene was two years old, her family moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where she became a naturalized US citizen in September 1956.
Early life and career
She was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. At age ten Darlene started singing lessons with Glen Raikes, and at age eleven, dance lessons with Burch Mann, founder of the American Folk Ballet company. She auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club in March 1955, was hired, and appeared on the show for all three seasons of its original run. She was the show's leading female singer, and starred in the serial Corky and White Shadow during the first season. In the third season, she appeared in the serial The New Adventures of Spin and Marty
Spin and Marty
Spin and Marty was a popular series of television shorts that aired as part of ABC's Mickey Mouse Club show of the mid-1950s produced by Walt Disney. There were three serials in all, set at the Triple R Ranch, a boys' western-style summer camp. The first series of 25 eleven-minute episodes,...
. She was cast as Dorothy in a musical number from the proposed live-action Disney film, Rainbow Road to Oz, on an episode of the Disneyland television show in September 1957. The movie was never made, and after Mickey Mouse Club
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...
stopped filming in 1958, her short career in television was over.
While still with Disney, she made many recordings under the various Disney labels, including an album of fifties rock and roll standards called Darlene of the Teens (1957). She also recorded albums of songs from Disney animated films, such as Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
. In 1975, she released a 45 rpm record of country songs under the name
Darlene Valentine.
Controversy
In December 1998, she was convicted in federal court of aiding her third husband, Jerry Fraschilla, to purchase securities using a check-kiting scheme. She was sentenced to two years in prison, but was released after serving only three months. In 2005, she and her husband were indicted on federal charges of filing multiple fraudulent claims in the settlement of a class-action lawsuit.External links
- Darlene Gillespie profile
- Darlene Gillespie: Walt Disney's Bad Seed Tribute to Darlene Gillespie at Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict