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One of the Mouseketeers from the original The Mickey Mouse Club Cheryl Holdridge died at 64 at her Santa Monica, Calif., home Tuesday following a two-year battle with cancer. She was 64.
At age 11, Holdridge auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club in 1956 but she didn't join the cast of the show -- which featured 24 young singers, dancers and actors -- until its second season, according to the Los Angeles Times. The show ran to 1959.
"What's amazing is that Cheryl and I have gone through so many things together, I'm glad I could have been there in the end too," said Doreen Tracey, another Mouseketeer who worked with Holdridge.
"She was a good technical dancer, but I think she was picked mostly because she had this angelic look and a great smile; she's known for her smile," Tracey told the LA Times. With a laugh, she added "We used to try to keep her quiet when she started singing because she sang off key."
Tracey added that Holdridge was wildly popular and received loads of fan mail. She wasn't as popular as the Mouseketeers' break-out star Annette Funicello, but she was close, Tracey said.
Holdridge's career after the Mouseketeers included playing Wally Cleaver's girlfriend, Julie Foster, for two seasons on Leave It to Beaver. And she had guest roles on shows such as The Rifleman, Bachelor Father, My Three Sons, Bewitched and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Another Mousketeer, Tommy Cole said of Holdridge "Being one of the prettiest girls on the set, I always considered her Miss Sunshine. She'd walk into the room and this ray of sunshine would happen every time she smiled."
