Jimmie Dodd

Where he was an outstanding amateur tennis player, even reaching the round of 16 twice at his hometown tournament, now known as the Cincinnati Open. Later, a heart ailment made him ineligible to serve in combat in World War II, but his wife Ruth and he traveled extensively, entertaining the troops.

• Name — Jimmie Dodd • Birth Name — James Wesley Dodd • Born — 28 March 1910 • Birthplace — Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. • Died — 10 November 1964 • Place of death — Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. • Occupation — Actor, singer-songwriter • Years Active — 1937–1959

• Illustration — In 1956, Dodd was the television host for the Hudson's Thanksgiving parade. Dodd moved from Cincinnati to Florida, where he worked in radio before moving to California to become a songwriter. Of the estimated 400 songs he wrote, his best-known are "Amarillo", "He Was There", "I Love Girls", "Nashville Blues", and "Rosemary", though not all were published.

In addition to his small role in an early episode of Adventures of Superman titled "Double Trouble", Dodd appeared as a deputy in the 1955 episode "Sontag and Evans" of the syndicated television series Stories of the Century. The segment was based on the California train robbers Chris Evans and John Sontag.

Dodd came to the attention of Walt Disney after submitting a song for the show. Disney was impressed by Dodd's outgoing personality and rapport with the younger members of the cast and signed him to a seven-year contract. The Mickey Mouse Club aired each weekday. Dodd always wore "Mouseke-ears", played his "Mouse-guitar", and sang self-composed songs. His tunes contained positive messages for kids. Among his other musical contributions is a song that a generation of kids used for nearly a half-century to spell "encyclopedia". He performed a regular segment on the show singing "Proverbs, proverbs, they're so true"... and would then expound on a proverb from the Bible and give an explanation of its value in everyday life. He wrote some themes for Zorro and performed songs in several of his movies. He also wrote "Lonely Guitar", a Billboard Top 50 charted hit for fellow Mouseketeer Annette Funicello in 1959. The original Mouseketeers, frequent guests at the Dodd home for backyard barbecues and sing-alongs, said Dodd treated them as part of his own extended family. John Updike's novel Rabbit, Run makes reference to Dodd and his appearance on a Mickey Mouse Club episode.

Dodd died of a staphylococcal infection at age 54 on November 10, 1964, in Honolulu. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife, Ruth.