Karen Pendleton (born August 1,
1946) was an original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer on ABC television from
1955-1958. She was one of only nine Mouseketeers who were on the show during
its entire original run. Karen toured Australia in 1959 and 1960 with a number
of other Mouseketeers and Jimmie Dodd. She was often coupled with Carl
"Cubby" O'Brien in the television series and in live performances as
they were the youngest members of the cast.
After the show's run, she left
show business and finished school. She got married in 1970, had a daughter in
1973, but divorced in 1981. Following an automobile accident in 1983, in which
she was paralyzed from the waist down, she returned to college and earned a
Bachelor's degree in psychology. She worked at a shelter for battered women and
served on the Board for the California Association of the Physically Handicapped.
She is my 154th choice to be named a Disney Legend.
