The Mouseketeer That Roared

It All Began with a Club

As one of Walt Disney's original Mouseketeers, Eileen Rogosin (née Diamond) graced Americans' television sets with the likes of Bobby Burgess and Annette Funicello. When the Mouse ended, Eileen's career didn't end with it-it had just begun! This is her show-biz story.

From her childhood in the Hollywood Hills to her later years as the co-owner with her husband, Roy, of repertory theatres and playhouses, Eileen Rogosin was no stranger to the spotlight. Even before The Mickey Mouse Club, she danced with the New York City Ballet in Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, and her talent as a dancer and as a pianist were featured in episodes of the Disney show.

Eileen went from Mouseketeer to one of Elvis Presley's harem girls in the King's 1964 film Roustabout, and she proudly traded her ears for a bikini in an episode of the popular television series Route 66.

In her memoir, The Mouseketeer That Roared, Eileen takes you from the Hollywood Hills to the Disney Studio, from studio audiences to live audiences, from stage shows around the country to her own theatres in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Ogunquit, Maine. Packed with photos, it's a warm, endearing narrative of a life before, with, and after Mickey.