Customer Reviews

Walt, Mickey and Me, confessions of the first ex-Mouseketeer

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Ex-Mouseketeer William Paul Peterson spent a grand total of three weeks on the Mickey Mouse Club, in 1955, before being fired for: Conduct Unbecoming. He quickly wiped the tears away, bounced back and became Donna Reed's teevee son. Today, I understand, among his many interests, he is a fierce advocate of child actors who get chewed-up and spit out by "the star-making machinery"; becoming emotional wrecks in the process.

Paul spent some time writing about the great Walt Disney, who appeared to his television audience as the embodiment of a kindly uncle; very concerned about "the leaders of the 21st Century". In reality he was a tight-fisted movie mogul who locked his mouseketeers into iron-clad contracts without a second thought. And he absolutely hated rock 'n roll-consequently that uniquely American musical form, which was exploding all over the world, was not heard within the confines of the hermetically sealed Mickey Mouse Club.

Inside stories are reveled about Paul's brother and sister mouseketeers including: Darlene, Cubby, Karen, Lonnie and especially Annette-the last mouseketeer to join Walt's club. The last will become first. Her path to super-star mousedom is meticulously revealed. As Lonnie Burr put it, "Who wouldn't be a star with all that attention? An eyebrow pluck, big (expletive deleted), and wham, a star is manufactured." Walt's advice to her when she joined AIP's Beach Party froth: Don't expose your bellybutton.

The author writes in a very smooth, intelligent; witty style. A very pleasant read. It's a shame this book has been out-of-print for over twenty-five years.

I read this book so long ago, and I loved every word. It revealed that all was not as golden as I had dreamed it was back then. The writing is wonderful, and the author's experiences certainly indicate what has motivated him to work so hard for the rights of kid-actors today.

Paul, are you listening? We need an update! Walt, Mickey and Me has been out of print for way too long. Darlene's life, alone, could add on another fifty pages of drama.

It is beautifully ironic that the very best Mouseanthology should emanate from the shortest-lived and probably least-known Mouseketeer. Paul isn't even ranked among the 24 in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Club Magazine's premier issue. Moreover, his book precedes, to my knowledge, all other Mousekabooks save the Mickey Mouse Club Scrapbook in 1975, which was just that, and by 12 years Lorraine Santoli's in 1995, which was virtually an in-house publication AND replete with errors, especially in captioning. "Why? Because We Still Like You!", published a year ago, is well worth the price as an update and an affirmation that there remain many true believers among us. Yet Paul remains one of the survivalists (Look at Jay-Jay, for instance; not to mention the sad or saddening fortunes of Darlene, Karen, Annette, Bonni, possibly Tommy, yes Doreen, and what-the-hell-ever-happened-to Mark?) penned ages ago, is still the most readable, objective and informative history of that halcyon era I've yet encountered. Paul has, moreover, earned his stripes in the field and continues to campaign for the "Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage, Mrs. Worthington" mentality, much like the travesty of current teeny beauty contests.
Kudos! And, please someone, let's run a second printing. An "Authors Guild Backimprints,com Edition" might be the place to start.)
... And I hope everlovin' Lonnie doesn't see this.
Best wishes,
Mark