Thomas Carson ... agreed .. I also thought she was a unique little dancer as she delivered personality into the routine ... best overall talent in the show,I feel
Darlene had a voice like Judy Garland. And like Judy, she should have had a much larger part in history. It’s incredibly sad how much talent we lose because life is too much to bear sometimes.
@@bronxbearbud272 Darlene and her father demanded too much money. Later, after her showbiz career faded, she turned to criminal activity and did jail time for theft and fraud.
@jett woodward Darlene was much more talented than Annette. Singing, dancing, comedy... she had the full stage package. Annette was a good little yes girl though. Disney was somewhat of a tyrant. He didn't like people challenging his authority, so he made sure it was Annette who got the roles and was pushed forward.
@@michael-dy8tz Shoplifting and check fraud etc. It's all on her Wikipedia page. Do some research and you will find out all kinds of things! "In 1997, she was charged with petty theft for helping her then-fiancé Jerry Fraschilla shoplift four women's shirts. She was found guilty and sentenced to three days in jail and three years' probation. Gillespie, then 56 years old, denied the charges and filed preliminary papers to appeal. The disposition is unclear.[3] In December 1998, she was convicted in federal court of aiding her third husband, Fraschilla, to purchase securities using a check-kiting scheme.[4] She was sentenced to two years in prison,[5] 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."
I’m part of the generation that grew up with the reruns in the ‘70s. Darlene was my favourite. I remember reading a book about the Musketeers and sadly discovering that she wasn’t in show business as an adult. Now that I know so much more about what happened, clips like these are poignant. She clearly loves to perform and I wish she had found the right venue for her talents.
Same here. I watched the reruns in the 70s. In spite of what became of her adult life, Darlene will always be my favorite Mouseketeer, along with Tommy.
I fell in love even if I didn't know what it was as an 8 year old even though I didn't know what it was back in 1955. She stood out and shined right from the start. Annette didn't come into her own until 1957 with the promotion from Disney and even then she lacked the natural charisma of Darleen. Annette's charm was superficial and restrained while Darleen was a firecracker with a hot fuse from the beginning. I thought she was beautiful talented and charming and held you're attention when she was present. It is a shame the way things turned out for her b/c she could have soared with the right management and promotion.
Annette was Not Superficial! She was restrained & had to follow specific innocent & shy behaviors her entire career.😢❤ However, I would agree that it is a surprise that Darlene wasn’t a Star as an adult. She seemed very versatile. 😮 She was allowed show a lot more varied talent on the show than Annette as evidenced by these clips😊❤
Disney must have thought she would become the "next big thing". She recorded an album of "teen" songs for Disneyland records, and she was given her own serial "Corky and White Shadow" that was shown during the Mickey Mouse Club. None of her fellow Mouseketeers were promoted like that - until Annette's popularity became apparent and she was given her own serial during the last year of the Mickey Mouse Club. Darlene was, apparently, supposed to co-star in that serial, but her father by that time was probably frustrated at the fact that Darlene's star was fading despite Disney's promotion and the relationship between her family and Disney soured. Darlene ended up not getting cast in the "Annette" serial.
@@rcruz4510 That serial was originally supposed to be called "Annette and Darlene," but Darlene's father was quite demanding while all the while Annette blew smoke up Walt's arse. In the end, Judy Nugent got cast as Jet, in the role that Darlene was originally supposed to have.
While I did watch the MMC as a kid, I was only about three or four years old, and remember very little about it. What brought me here was curiosity brought on by revelations, about 10 years ago when I was working for a local newspaper, about Darlene's "extracurricular" activities. She's surprisingly good. Acting aside, she should have been signed to a record contract and encouraged to record original songs after her days as a "Mouse" were over--she were certainly as good as Connie Francis, Brenda Lee, or most of the female singers of that era.
@@charamcnuggers9534 Annrtte's dancing was good, but that was a about it. Her singing voice was immature and squeaky, Moreover, Darlene had the full stage talent package. She could do comedy and impersonations too. Annette was not a patch on Darlene, but she was very good at blowing smoke up Walt's arse, stealing roles off Darlene
@@PreservationEnthusiast THAT IS absolutely not true - Darlene was talented there isn't any question about that - but Annette was singled out as the favorite from the kids that watched the shows, and had natural charisma and the "IT" factor - she was quite a proficient dancer but never claimed to be a great singer - her intention certainly was not to 'steal' roles from Darlene and she was not aggressive in that kind of way. You can clearly see that Darlene was often featured here, there was no lack of showcasing Darlene - but the Public picks who they like best and guess what - that happened to be Annette -
@@JohnnyGNV The public may have preferred Annette's look, but they were just voting with what was between their legs. Darlene was far more talented in all respects.
Such wonderful times! I should have been born back then!! They were all so wonderful and yes, Darlene was such a natural talent, vocally. Miss those show...
This is Amazing!!! She's my FAVORITE and in my opinion, the BEST out of ALL of them. I wish there was a way of personally having ALL of those episodes.....
I don't suppose you have a copy of Corky and White Shadow which she starred in? I've been looking for it for years. I remember it fondly from when I was a child.
@ Chattyroz Since you've asked,I was wondering the same thing. I only got to see episodes on Vault Disney during the 90's. None of the episodes of that serial were on those episodes. Another thing I wondered is whether or not any episodes of this show in general were ever released on home video.
Thank you for uploading this. :) Darlene Gillespie will always remain my favorite Mouseketeer along with Tommy Cole. Eta: Darlene's eldest sister sure had a beautiful voice of her own! Runs in the family I guess.
Darlene was loaded with talent...and a 24 carat smile.💎💖💎 Such a shame troubles and disappointments ended her performing career in the 1960's. It's complicated what happened for sure...but it included poor choices for sure...the why? is not easily discerned. I remember her as 🎶🎯the top talent🎯🎶 in the Mouseketeers Club,...along with Bobby the dancer - singer.
It is obvious how great Darlene's talent was a this early age. She clearly was on the way of becoming a major Disney star. But it seems there were problems between her and the Disney Studio then and for years afterward. Even with the end of her run on this show, she surely had the abilities to move on as most of the other kids did. Why she didn't remains a mystery because she was clearly the most talented of the Mouseketeers.
Ray Pointer Many years ago I remember reading an article about Annette and Darlene - I remember this line the author wrote 'it was the old story of beauty versus talent and beauty always winning in the end'. It is sad that Walt Disney chose to nurture Annette after the MMC years and seemed completely oblivious to the huge potential that Darlene had in being a huge singing star of that era in her own right. :(
Margare Tudor, Lonnie Burr was on an Stu's Show last night and went into some intimate details, confirming my thoughts. The real reason why Walt Disney chose to promote Annette over Darelene was something that was self-inflicted by Darlene and her father. In the first season, Darlene was given more featured exposure, even starring in her own series, CORKY AND THE WHITE SHADOW. According to Lonnie, Darlene and her father were very cruel towards Annette. Darlene and her father was became an irritant about wanting more money, an issue that Darlene continued to push with Disney on her own in later years. With this in mind, it would seem that grooming Annette would have been in retaliation against the behavior of Darlene. And as you may know, she was involved with criminal actions in the 1990s with her then husband, one of which was a fraudulent stocks scam, which sent her to jail. There is something to be said about how one presents one's self if they are interested in career in the entertainment business, then and now.
Annette had talent to Jackster01.'' Annie '' was a first rate dancer and had charm and charisma to spare and i don't care what people say i enjoy her pop records and beach movies. Sure Duhlene had a semi-decent voice but she was no Jo Stafford or Helen Forrest that's for sure. Stop defending that convicted criminal she's not worth it.
I read an article that Annette and Darlene met at a Mousketeer reunion sometime before Annette's death (this was after Darlene got over her legal troubles) and they both made up there. They both apologized for how they treated each other and were on good terms from then on. They had tried to make plans to get together again and have lunch one day since it had been years since they seen and talked to each other. However by the time Darlene could set a date, Annette had died.
During the show's original run I was in love with Darlene (in a six-year- old kind of way) when all of the other little guys really liked Annette. Darlene certainly had the looks and talent, but her career had peaked by 1958, and stalled completely shortly thereafter. I wonder what happened?
tsmgguy I watched the reruns of the original MMC as a child in the '70s. I always pretended that I was Darlene and wore my hair in pigtails just like she did.
Annette Funicello got all the attention, but WHO didn’t like Darlene???!!! I think of all the Mouseketeers, that she was the one who got the shaft by not getting more of the spotlight (and PR to boot). Just another sad story from the Mouseketeers!!!
I had a major crush on Darlene Gillespie. In the first season, I was like, nah. Then she turned beautiful on the second season and she can sing very well. I read somewhere why Darlene didn't became the major star as promised her by the Disney Studios. Answer: Simply because Darlene was her own worst enemy. She and her father/manager was making demands to boss, Walt Disney to make her a major movie/recording star; plus, they demanded more money from Disney as well. Darlene was a major tyrant POS to other Mousketeers; so bad, that Mouskeeter leader/songwriter Jimmie Dodd told Walt Disney he didn't want her to the MMC nationwide tour. Most importantly, Darlene was SUPER jealous with several other Mouskeeters that went on to bigger success after the series ended. Especially towards the show's biggest star, Annette Funicello (Whom Darlene btw, blames Annette for 'stealing' her MMC serial vehicle that she was supposed to star in. Of course, it was called 'Annette'). Through the years of broken promises, two failed marriages (she had two kids from her first marriage), along with a failed country music career was just eating Darlene alive. But she made a worse decisions, especially when she and her third husband , served jail time for writing bad checks. I am surprised that Darlene's still alive after all these years of self-destructing her once promised career. If she hadn't being such a major colossal bitch, making bad choices and just humbled herself, she would've done well. Unfortunately, the stars align wasn't not in her favor. We
David Gibson After reading everything about Walt Disney (who is my idol and hero) favoring Annette over Darlene ( who actually had talent) i feel betrayed
You sound more like a Darlene backstabber to me. Of course, I have no idea what went on behind the scenes. But, if she had her father managing her, and she demanded too much money, that could explain a lot of things. Darlene basically was a bad fit for MMC, all along, as the acting talent of the others were pretty much none existent. The MMC was basically all singing and dancing.
The serial was due to be called Annette and Darlene. However, Annette sucked up to Walt and he had a hissy fit over Darlene. Judy Nugent was cast as Jet. Jet was the character that Darlene was supposed to play. After Darlene was removed, the action in the plot was revised and the title shortened to just Annette.
Darlene was indeed a superior vocalist. But she lacked the "x" factor which Annette had in spades. Annette was a warm and natural performer. Darlene projects an aura of over confidence while Annette was real and unaffected radiating charm and warmth... Easily likable. Darlene had a hard demeanor which became evident after she grew up and became a a forger, passing off bad checks. Annette had charisma. Darlene had talent but she became terribly bitter accusing Annette's family of writing fan mail in Annette's favor but it's impossible that ones family would be committed to writing 3000 letters a week. b
What X-factor? Disney went with the insipid Annette (who sang flat) because at that time Disney wasn't going to develop a young female performer who displayed a knowing kind of adolescent sexuality. Annette was safe and they marketed her well. The fan male she got was genuine, I bet, and she had a few years of movie and recording success during that awful "clean teen" period in American pop music (Bobby Rydell, Shelley Fabres, Paul Peterson, Marcie Blane, Neil Sedaka, Ricky Nelson, et al.).
What's an X-Factor? Is that something you get from the shows on TV that insist only popular kids are worth emulating? Is that where you get your taste? From promotion and being told what you SHOULD like? Darlene's unfortunate life of crime didn't happen for decades after the Mickey Mouse Club, so that part of your comment is especially inane.
I read an article that Annette and Darlene met at a Mousketeer reunion sometime before Annette's death (this was after Darlene got over her legal troubles) and they both made up there. They both apologized for how they treated each other and were on good terms from then on. They had tried to make plans to get together again and have lunch one day since it had been years since they seen and talked to each other. However by the time Darlene could set a date, Annette had died.
David Whitman Character Actor After reading everything about Walt Disney (who is my idol and hero) favoring Annette over Darlene ( who actually had talent) i feel betrayed. I have nothing against Annette at all, I think she's a great actress and I'm sad she died 4 years ago (what's even worse is that I didn't know about it until last year) but i feel betrayed that Walt Disney would actually have favoritism and it's with CHILDREN.
@@superjackster0165 The problem was Darlene was a prima donna bee-atch. Even Jimmie Dodd begged Walt to exclude her from the worldwide Mouseketeer tour.
Yep, Darlene Gillespie was my favorite. Even when I was eight I thought "Aww, you can have goody-goody Annette and the overly perky Bobby, Doreen, and the two little ones (he played drums sometimes and she giggled). I like Darlene!" Sad how she ended up, isn't it?
Frank Iannuzzi David Whitman Character Actor After reading everything about Walt Disney (who is my idol and hero) favoring Annette over Darlene ( who actually had talent) i feel betrayed. I have nothing against Annette at all, I think she's a great actress and I'm sad she died 5 years ago (what's even worse is that I didn't know about it until last year) but i feel betrayed that Walt Disney would actually have favoritism.
I agree with Chris - as you can tell from these clips, Annette wasn't pushed out front and Darlene was certainly featured on many solos. The viewers are the ones that decide who has "it" - Annette had the "it" factor - she was not as strong a vocalist as Darlene, there's no disputing that - and there have been many accounts of Darlene being difficult at times, where there's smoke there's fire - also, I think Disney wanted Darlene for other projects (such as POLLYANNA) but sometimes things just don't pan out - I like Darlene, I'm not knocking her, but even as a very little child I felt her competitive edge particularly towards Annette.
There is no question that Darlene had talent, she was certainly featured in many musical moments. The audience responded to Annette in a way that was unique, and Disney recognized that. Annette, were she still with us, would be the first to say that she didn't consider herself a great vocalist (although she was a proficient dancer) and was surprised that she was the only mouseketeer to remain under contract at Disney Studios.
@@Juliaflo I like the thought of all the MMC 1950's episodes, which I saw back then, being released on DVD, but Disney is funny and unpredictable. No use writing to them, because I did and they politely replied that they don't take suggestions from outsiders; only those from inside the Disney employment.
After her showbiz career ended, she became a surgical nurse and was apparently very good at it. But then she bizarrely turned to crime (fraud/forgery) with her sleazy boyfriend/husband. We really can be our own worst enemies.
Unfortunately, Disney was more interested in promoting Annette and giving her all the attention. He practically threw Darlene and all the other mousketeers out in the snow
I think she made a mistake, in going blonde, I think that's what made her features stick out, like that (especially on a B&W TV), but, I would still take her over Annette.
@@lucillebadger6554 I felt sorry for her too BUT she got involved with his criminal activities SEVERAL times, willingly. She was not forced. And stayed with him quite a while. So a lot of the blame is HERS.
I was in love with Annette...no Darlene...no Annette...no Darlene. Yes she should have been a star. Broadway, TV, movies. She had the talent for all of them.
I've been hearing a lot about the so-called rivalry between Darlene and Annette. I'm sorry but I've never bought into it. They were both equally talented in my opinion. I'm sorry I don't by into that bit about the rivalry. I never did and I never will.
@@harperstacey9604 Let's face it though, Annette had a weak squeaky singing voice which could not match the depth of Darlene. Annette could dance as well as Darlene, but she couldn't act or do comedy or impersonations like Darlene could. There were no way equal. Darlene was much more talented than Annette.
Darlene could twirl faster than the other Mouseketeer girls. She had nice legs and would show them off when the opportunity arise during a dance number.
shoknifeman2 mikado Judy was only a Mouseketeer during the show’s first year, so it makes sense that not many people remember her or the other 1 year kids (save for a few like Johnny Crawford who later starred on the rifleman, Don Grady from my three sons, Bonnie Lynn Fields, and Sherry)
@@mickeymouseclubchannel9733 Several of the first year Mouseketeers were let go for vandalism. They broke into the closed ink locker which held blends for production cartoons and mixed them. This cause a lot of damage and lost work. Walt wasn't happy.
Only the Rooney Brothers (Mickey Jr. and Tim) were let go for vandalism. They went and messed with the studio paint department. Other Mouseketeers were let go that year for other reasons - Dallas Johann cried whenever the camera turned his way, Paul Peterson punched a casting director, the producers thought Johnny Crawford wasn’t working out for the show anymore, and the others didn’t get their contract options renewed for the Next year, save for the 10 that actually DID make it to year 2. I believe Nancy Abbate was the only mouse that year that quit the show on her own, the others that didn’t make it to season 2 got dropped .
+Saratoga Sam Same here. Even when I was a little girl (in the '70s) I noticed Darlene had a beautiful voice. Is there any more footage of her singing with Tommy in what appears to be a Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher number? I don't remember that one - it is delightful and they're both my favorite Mousketeers! :)
+Margaret Tudor You can hear them perform a slightly different version of 'Do-Mi-So' for a Hansen Records recording at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6k0d9ha8BcA.html though
+Saratoga Sam Thank you so much!! :) Now that I've heard the song in full I see that Tommy is Little Boy Blue and Darlene is Mary Mary Quite Contrary in the skit - and not Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher as I had thought lol!