Mike Smith (1945-1982)
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Gone Too Soon
Mike was a first year Mouseketeer who managed to stay on the Red Team and in Roll Call all throughout the season. He had both singing and dancing skills, and after he left the show acted in a film and appeared in episodes of a few television series.
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Background
Michael Allen Smith was born August 29th, 1945, in Burbank, California. The Disney publicity releases said his special talents were singing, tap dancing, and square dancing. His hobbies were horseback riding, skating, and swimming, and he hoped to become a professional singer and dancer. He had already appeared in episodes of two television shows, December Bride and Shower of Stars, by the time he auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club.
Performance
Mike was only nine when he joined the show, but was already a fair dancer. He could sing with gusto and enthusiasm, both solo and in groups. His singing and dancing earned him a spot on the Red Team and Roll Call, which he managed to keep throughout the first season of filming.
Like most kids his age, Mike had a little trouble sitting still for the camera. He can be seen fidgeting slightly in several scenes, but on the whole was quite composed for a nine year old. His roll call participation was a little disconcerting; he used to go right up to the camera, close his eyes and open his mouth and shout out his name.
Mike seemed to get along well with Sharon, who was two years older. She can be seen teasing and flirting on camera with a slightly bewildered Mike in a couple of ad-libbed group scenes.
Aftermath
Mike tried to stay in show business after being dropped from the Mickey Mouse Club in January 1956, but was unable to make a go of it. He appeared in an episode of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, performed in a revue at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Hollywood, and had uncredited parts in the films Merry Andrew (1958) and The FBI Story (1959). He had a small part in a Grade B gangster flick called Ma Barker's Killer Brood (1960), which also featured Don Grady.
Mike's adult life had it's gritty side, which will be passed over here. He went to junior college for a while, but didn't graduate. He performed in the chorus of some Las Vegas shows, but thereafter seems to have been limited to working as a casual laborer in a variety of unskilled positions. In 1975 he listed his occupation in Keith Keller's book as "wallpaper hanger", and in 1980, took part in the televised reunion. He died December 3, 1982, in Hollywood, of unknown causes.
