Jimmie Dodd
Encyclopedia
James Wesley Dodd was best known as the MC of the popular 1950s Disney
TV show The Mickey Mouse Club, as well as the writer of its well-known theme song, "The Mickey Mouse Club March". A slowed-down version of this march, with different lyrics, became the "Alma Mater" that closed the show.
series of westerns. Coincidentally, he performed in two unrelated series whose names were plays on "musketeer
s".
Dodd made his first screen appearance in the 1940 William Holden
film Those Were the Days! in a minor role. He also played the taxi driver in the MGM film Easter Parade starring Fred Astaire
and Judy Garland
. Dodd had a small role in an early episode of Adventures of Superman
, titled Double Trouble. He also appeared in many theatrical films in the 1940s and 1950s, often uncredited. Two of those films were biographies of baseball players: The Jackie Robinson Story
, in which Jackie Robinson
played himself, and The Winning Team
, in which future president Ronald Reagan
played pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander
. He also appeared with John Wayne
in the film Flying Tiger.
The Mickey Mouse Club
aired each weekday. Dodd always wore Mouseke-ears, played his Mouse-guitar and sang self-composed songs. His tunes contained positive messages for kids. In addition, among his other musical contributions is a song that a generation of kids has used for almost 50 years to spell "encyclopedia." Dodd also wrote some themes for Zorro and performed songs in several of his movies.
The original Mouseketeers were frequent guests at the Dodd home for backyard barbecues and sing-alongs. They said that Dodd treated them as part of his extended family.
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
TV show The Mickey Mouse Club, as well as the writer of its well-known theme song, "The Mickey Mouse Club March". A slowed-down version of this march, with different lyrics, became the "Alma Mater" that closed the show.
Career
Dodd had some early film roles in The Three MesquiteersThe Three Mesquiteers
The Three Mesquiteers is the umbrella title for a series of 51 western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943, including 8 films starring John Wayne...
series of westerns. Coincidentally, he performed in two unrelated series whose names were plays on "musketeer
Musketeer
A musketeer was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman...
s".
Dodd made his first screen appearance in the 1940 William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
film Those Were the Days! in a minor role. He also played the taxi driver in the MGM film Easter Parade starring Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
. Dodd had a small role in an early episode of Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
, titled Double Trouble. He also appeared in many theatrical films in the 1940s and 1950s, often uncredited. Two of those films were biographies of baseball players: The Jackie Robinson Story
The Jackie Robinson Story
The Jackie Robinson Story is a 1950 biographical film starring baseball legend Jackie Robinson as himself. The film focuses on Robinson's struggle with the abuse of racist bigots as he becomes the first African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era...
, in which Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
played himself, and The Winning Team
The Winning Team
The Winning Team is 1952 film directed by Lewis Seiler. It is fictionalized biography of the life of major league pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander starring Ronald Reagan as Alexander, Doris Day as his wife, Aimee and Frank Lovejoy as Rogers Hornsby...
, in which future president Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
played pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander
Grover Cleveland Alexander
Grover Cleveland Alexander , nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.-Career:Alexander was born in Elba, Nebraska, one of thirteen...
. He also appeared with John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
in the film Flying Tiger.
The 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...
aired each weekday. Dodd always wore Mouseke-ears, played his Mouse-guitar and sang self-composed songs. His tunes contained positive messages for kids. In addition, among his other musical contributions is a song that a generation of kids has used for almost 50 years to spell "encyclopedia." Dodd also wrote some themes for Zorro and performed songs in several of his movies.
The original Mouseketeers were frequent guests at the Dodd home for backyard barbecues and sing-alongs. They said that Dodd treated them as part of his extended family.