Lonnie Burr was a member of the original cast of The Mickey Mouse Club. But being on the show wasn’t Burr’s first experience with life in the entertainment industry. In fact, he grew up in it, with Vaudeville star parents, “Dot and Dash,” showing him the ropes. When he was just five years old, he got his first paid job in the business.
He slowly but surely began to rack up more and more experience on all sorts of radio and television shows. His smooth dance moves combined with his husky voice earned him the nickname of “Velvet Smog,” and also played a hand in him dating costar Annette Funicello. After his teenage years, he went back to school and earned a master’s degree from UCLA.
Annette’s Fatal Diagnosis
In 1987, Funicello starred in the last of her 7-film Beach Party series with costar Frankie Avalon. The final film was dubbed Back to the Beach. But when she and Avalon reunited for the film’s promotion, she seemed to be suffering from some type of illness. In fact, some people initially attributed the strange signs to alcoholism, but it turned out to be something much worse. In 1992, she ended up going public with the news that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
In the spring of 2013, the beloved Disney star lost her life to the disease. But fans weren’t willing to let her go so easily. Aside from Annette leaving her own legacy, in the form of the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders, she also has a restaurant named for her in Disneyland Paris and will forever reign as a Legend of Disney.
The Life of Bobby Burgess
Burgess was another one of the original red team Mouseketeers that was handpicked by Walt Disney. While he was enjoying his newfound success, he wound up making appearances on other shows, such as The Lawrence Welk Show, and The Donna Reed Show. But after his contract with Disney was over, he decided to pursue his degree from Long Beach State University, where he pledged Sigma Pi and began dancing with his longtime friend, Barbara Boylan.
Today, Burgess lives in the Hollywood Hills with his wife of many years, Kristie Floren, with whom he had four children. The couple actually got introduced while working together on Lawrence Welk and hit it off right away. Burgess still loves to dance, and does so while teaching at his own studio, or touring with partner Elaine Balden.
What Lonnie Burr is Up to Now
After Burr pursued his degree in Theatre Arts, he returned to his career in the entertainment industry. He continued to act throughout his adult life, appearing on an array of television shows and in some films. Burr appeared in Newsies in 1992 and Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, in 1994. He also played a guest role in an episode of Murder She Wrote. Over his years in acting, Burr appeared in more the 25 movies alone.
Aside from his roles in film and television, he also maintained a pretty stable career on Broadway. When Lonnie wasn’t on the stage or on set, he was spending his time writing. He published a few fairly successful books, along with writing multiple articles for different publications, like The LA Times.
The Launch of Johnny Crawford’s Career
Johnny Crawford’s time on The Mickey Mouse Club was fairly short lived, as he remained on the show only throughout its first season. But even after he broke away from The Mouseketeers, he continued his acting career. In fact, Crawford found himself nominated for an Emmy at 13 years old for his role as Mark McCain in The Rifleman. Over his two and a half years as a freelancer in TV, he made more than 60 appearances on various shows.
Some of the credits Crawford racked up include the starring role in Little Boy Lost, and a guest role in the hit series, The Lone Ranger. Crawford also made an appearance on The Donna Reed Show, like his fellow Mouseketeer, Bobby Burgess. Crawford enlisted in the Army for a couple of years, and later ended up playing a soldier on Hawaii-Five-O, in 1968.