Karen Pendleton, one of the original Mouseketeers on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” died on Sunday, September 6, 2019, after suffering from a heart attack. She was 73-years-old. Pendleton was one of the original nine children who appeared during the show’s entire original run from 1955 to 1959. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the child actress was born on August 1, 1946, in Glendale, California. Pendleton was recruited to appear on the show after producers toured danced schools around the Los Angeles area, looking for the perfect candidates for “The Mickey Mouse Club.” After appearing on the show, the young girl decided to leave show business behind.
Instead, she finished high school, got married, and had a daughter, Staci, in 1973. Pendleton would later divorce in 1981 and two years later was involved in a terrible car accident, which left her paralyzed from the waist down. However, she never allowed her wheelchair to slow her down. She went back to school to obtain her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Pendleton also worked at a shelter for abused women and would later become an advocate for others with disabilities as a board member for the California Association of the Physically Handicapped. And even though she left Hollywood after her time on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” Karen always enjoyed returning for reunion shows and parades at Disneyland.
Karen Pendleton, one of the original Mouseketeers, dies at 73 https://t.co/YVBj9rWdtw pic.twitter.com/hOQw1K5Pmc
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 7, 2019
Karen also appeared at several conventions and fan shows.
“My mom loved her Mouseketeer family,” her daughter said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Getting together with [her co-stars] was always a high point.
“It gave her the opportunity to relive great memories and to me so many ‘Mickey Mouse Club’ fans that watched the show as kids and loved her. Many told her that they named their daughters Karen in her honor.”
Pendleton is survived by her daughter and two grandchildren.
We send out our thoughts and prayers to Pendleton’s family and friends as they grieve the loss of a remarkable woman.
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Source: Western Journal
