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Mouseketeer remembered for her angelic look

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  • Allison Miles •
  • Originally published January 10, 2009 at 9:36 p.m., updated January 10, 2009 at 9:36 p.m.

Come along and sing a song

and join the jamboree!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Most of my little friends, going back to the 1950s when I was a pre-teen, thought Annette Funicello was the prettiest of the Walt Disney Mousketeers.

Not me. True enough, Annette was pretty, but from the first moment I saw Cheryl Lynn Phelps walk onto that Mousekeeters set on TV, I had a king-size crush on her.

She was beautiful, and when she smiled the whole room seemed to light up - seriously. Cheryl, to me, wasn't just beautiful. She also had a special warmth that emanated from her and carried across the young medium of television through that gorgeous smile.

She was broadcast in black and white, but it didn't matter to me. I guess you could say I loved her.

That's part of the reason I was so saddened to hear of Cheryl's death in California last Tuesday.

Gosh, at 64 she was younger than I, but she lost a battle with cancer, as so many others before her.

Reading her obituary story on the Associated Press wire, it became pretty obvious that Cheryl was a favorite with her fellow Mouseketeers.

Fellow club member Doreen Tracey told the Los Angeles Times, "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."

Even when Doreen spoke of Cheryl's shortcomings, she did it with love. "We used to try to keep her quiet when she started singing because she sang off-key."

Next to Annette, Doreen says, Cheryl got the most fan mail from viewers, and it wasn't far behind Annette's volume.

So after leaving the Mickey Mouse Club show, Cheryl won acting jobs elsewhere in television, most notably on the "Leave It To Beaver" program.

It's hard to say goodbye to an early love from your childhood, a person who has been so endearing in your mind for over half a century. But the time has come, so here goes:

Now it's time to say goodbye to all our company,

M-I-C, See you real soon!

K-E-Y, Why? Because we like you!

M - O - U - S - E

Thanks for the smiles, Cheryl.

Jim Bishop is a senior edior for the Advocate. Leave him a message at 361-574-1210 or jbishop@vicad.com.



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