On January 10, 2018, a beloved Mouseketeer from the original 1950's show "The Mickey Mouse Club" has passed away. At the age of 74, Doreen Tracey lost her fight against pneumonia and her two-year battle with cancer. Despite the sad news, Tracey left a legacy of happiness and talent behind.
Doreen Tracey: The early years
She was born in St. Pancras, London, England in 1943 to two American dancers, Elizabeth Hay and Sydney Tracey (originally known as Murray Katzelnick). Her father was of Jewish descent and had immigrated from Russia as a child.
Tracey's career started at the early age of four.
She practiced her singing and dancing at her father's studio, which opened upon their return to the United States. Many studio clients and instructors helped Doreen Tracey become the well-known actress she would become.
According to originalmmc, She later was hired on, at age twelve, for "The Mickey Mouse Club." Doreen Tracey later admitted that she had been answering the phone at her father's studio when a Disney agent called looking for children to audition for the show. She tried to use an adult voice to give the name of the child she saw fit for the position - herself.
Her last television appearance was in 1958 at the age of fifteen. Appearing for three seasons, Doreen Tracey continued to perform in future Mouseketeer reunion shows.
Her ties with Disney had been severed for a period when she posed nude in only mouse ears; however, the relationship was soon reconciled.
Career
After the "mouse" years Tracey appeared on the "Annette" show with a fellow Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello.Her musical career flourished as she formed a rock group " Doreen and the invaders." Her group toured Vietnam in 1968, in the midst of the Vietnam war.
Tracey's career continued as she became a publicist for Frank Zappa. Tracey would argue that she was never a publicist but a Promotion Director for a recording studio. Her training came from Warner Brother Records from 1972-1974. Tracey became the author of her autobiography "Confessions of a Mouseketeer."
Although the "Mickey Mouse Club" show was in black and white, its popularity rose.
Because Disney was able to create a show that was an example of the times, it was able to feature new stars such as Doreen Tracey. Tracey may be gone, but her face lives on, on the silver screen. The pigtails that she wore will be forever cemented in rolls of film. She is survived by one son and two grandchildren.
