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Original Mouseketeer, Karen Pendleton, dies at 73 according to author and historian

Disney historian Lorraine Santoli announced that Pendleton died Sunday, according to multiple reports.
Credit: AP
Aug 20, 1957, file photo, Walt Disney's Mouseketeers enter a large trailer on the Disney lot in Hollywood, California

WASHINGTON — Karen Pendleton was known as one of the original Mouseketeers on the famous Disney show. Pendleton was among the youngest of the children on The Mickey Mouse Club.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney historian and author Lorraine Santoli issued a statement saying Pendleton died of a heart attack Sunday in Fresno, California.

Karen Pendleton was born in Glendale, California on August 1, 1946. She was asked to audition for The Mickey Mouse Club after producers saw her at a dance school in Los Angeles. Pendleton co-starred in various reunion shows for The Mickey Mouse Club and could be seen at Disneyland parades, fan shows and conventions.

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Pendleton later quit show business to finish school and start a family.

She is survived by her daughter and two grandchildren.

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