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12 Best-Kept Secrets of the Original ‘Mickey Mouse Club’

From jealousy to young romance to thrown punches, you won't believe these wacky Mouseketeer facts!

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Even if you never missed an episode of the original Mickey Mouse Club when you were a kid (we’re singing the “Mickey Mouse March” in our heads right now!), there was a lot going on behind the scenes that the audience never really knew. After all, the Mickey Mouse Club, which aired on ABC from October 3, 1955 to September 25, 1959, came way before the days of social media or reality television. Back then, if you wanted an inside scoop on the original Mickey Mouse Club secrets, you had to wait for a star to spill the beans to a reporter.

And oh, did the original cast of the Mickey Mouse Club do some spilling! Over the years, the show’s original cast and crew members have revealed some of the hit TV program’s biggest, most shocking truths and little-known facts.

Related: Pull Up Your Rocking Chair and Enjoy Funny Facts About ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ Cast

For instance, did you know that the show’s creator, Walt Disney, asked casting directors to specifically avoid choosing kids who were really cute? Disney had a much different quality he was looking for in his young stars — and it makes total sense once you hear it.

Disney also wanted the kids to call him by a pretty funny nickname — but most of the kids outright refused!

Related: Did You Know the Actors Who Voiced Mickey and Minnie Mouse Are Married?

Promotional portrait of Jimmie Dodd (left) (1910 - 1964) and Roy Williams (1907 - 1976), hosts of "The original Micky Mouse Club" television show, c. 1957
Jimmie Dodd (left) and Roy Williams (right) on the set of Mickey Mouse Club, 1957 Hulton Getty / Staff/Getty

Plus, do you know which super-famous Mickey Mouse Club cast member almost turned down his spot on the show? (We’re so glad he didn’t.) Take a wild guess at which Mouseketeer slowly gained a reputation for being jealous and difficult to work with, and which young star was fired for punching a member of the crew (don’t worry — he went on to star in another popular 1950s show.)

Wacky secrets about the original Mickey Mouse Club

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