Original Cast Member Paul Petersen Reveals Why He Was ‘Discharged’ From ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’

Three months before The Mickey Mouse Club went on the air, Walt Disney introduced the Mouseketeers to the world on live television at the opening of Disneyland in 1955. Along with his costars, Paul Petersen grinned and stomped his way through a dance routine dressed in western gear.

Paul’s tenure as a Mouseketeer would be brief, but the experience and friendships he made lasted a lifetime. “It ended up being one big family,” Paul, 79, whose theater arts teacher suggested he audition, tells Closer. “Of the 5,000 boys they saw, they hired 16 of us.”

Days on The Mickey Mouse Club set were busy. “When you came to work, you were immediately either in school or in rehearsals,” says Paul, who was 9 when he was hired for $260 for a six-day week. “For the kids, it was fun getting to learn new songs and new dance routines. It was a giant playtime.”

Paul admits that as a child performer he was “not very disciplined.” He was also sensitive about being shorter than some of the other boys. When a casting director began calling him “Mouse,” Paul asked him to stop. “One Friday, he came up behind me and said, ‘Hey, Mouse, how are you doing?’” Paul remembers. “I turned, punched him in the stomach and said, ‘Don’t call me that, Fatso.’ And standing behind him was Walt Disney. I was discharged by phone that afternoon.”

Paul Petersen’s Life After ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’

Paul was heartbroken. “I thought I’d have to give my bike back,” he recalls. He would, however, go on to other jobs, including playing Jeff Stone on The Donna Reed Show. In the 1990’s, Paul also established A Minor Consideration, an organization to support child performers.

He remains in touch with his former MMC costars. “Here we are 70 years later, and the friendships have endured,” he says. “The lessons that all of us took away from early fame have been put to good use by mentoring, counseling, and supporting today’s versions of the Mouseketeers.”