Karen Pendleton

{{Short description|American actress (1946–2019)}}

{{More citations needed|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Karen Pendleton

| image = The Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeers Karen Pendleton 1956.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Karen Pendleton as a Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club in circa 1956

| birth_name = Karen Anita Pendleton

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1946|08|01}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{dda|2019|10|6|1946|08|01}}

| death_place = Fresno, California

| other_names =

| known_for =

| children = 1

| spouse = Del Michael De Lauer (1970-1985, divorce)

| occupation = Actress

}}

Karen Anita Pendleton (August 1, 1946 – October 6, 2019){{cite journal |title=Karen Pendleton, 73 |journal=Classic Images |date=December 2019 |issue=534 |page=47 }} was an original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer on the ABC television series from 1955 to 1959. She was one of only nine Mouseketeers who were on the show during its entire original run.{{Citation needed |date=February 2024}}

Pendleton was recruited to audition for the Mickey Mouse Club when Disney producers visited a Los Angeles dance studio seeking young talent.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/obituaries-people-news/karen-pendleton-dead-dies-mickey-mouse-club-1203362622/ |title=Karen Pendleton, 'Mickey Mouse Club' Star, Dies at 73 |last=Harris |first=LaTesha |date=October 7, 2019 |work=Variety |accessdate=October 8, 2019}} She toured Australia in 1959 and 1960 with a number of other Mouseketeers and Jimmie Dodd. She was often coupled with Carl "Cubby" O'Brien in the television series and in live performances, as they were the youngest members of the cast.{{Citation needed |date=February 2024}}

After the show's run, she left show business and graduated from North Hollywood High School. She married Del Michael De Lauer in 1970, had a daughter in 1973, but divorced in 1985. Following an automobile accident in 1983, in which she was paralyzed from the waist down, she returned to college and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Fresno State University.{{cite news |title=One of Disney Mouseketeers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41097646/karen_pendleton/ |accessdate=December 26, 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=October 18, 2019 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=B 5|via = Newspapers.com}} She worked at a shelter for battered women and served on the board for the California Association of the Physically Handicapped.{{Citation needed |date=February 2024}}

Pendleton died of a heart attack at the age of 73 on October 6, 2019.

[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/karen-pendleton-dead-original-mouseketeer-mickey-mouse-club-was-73-1245964 Karen Pendleton, One of the Original Mouseketeers, Dies at 73]