Cheryl Holdridge

Cheryl Lynn Holdridge (née Phelps; June 20, 1944 – January 6, 2009)[1] was an American actress, best known as an original cast member of The Mickey Mouse Club.[2]

Cheryl Holdridge
Holdridge in The Mickey Mouse Club (1957)
Born
Cheryl Lynn Phelps

(1944-06-20)June 20, 1944
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedJanuary 6, 2009(2009-01-06) (aged 64)
Other namesCheryl Reventlow Post
OccupationActress
Years active1955–2000
Spouses
(m. 1964; died 1972)
    Albert James Skarda
    (m. 1974; div. 1988)
      Manning J. Post
      (m. 1994; died 2000)

      Early life

      Holdridge was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her mother, Julie A. Phelps, was a dancer who performed on Broadway. Shortly after Cheryl was born, Julie moved with her new daughter to Burbank, California. In 1950, Julie married Herbert Charles Holdridge, a retired Brigadier General active in politics. He adopted Cheryl in 1953 and gave her his surname.[3] Her stepbrother was diplomat John H. Holdridge, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Singapore and Indonesia.

      Holdridge grew up in Sherman Oaks. She started dance lessons at an early age with Joyce Cole in North Hollywood, from whom she learned ballet and tap.

      Career

      Holdridge first performed professionally at the age of nine in the New York City Ballet's version of The Nutcracker in Los Angeles. Her first screen appearance was as an uncredited extra in the 1956 film production of Carousel.

      She auditioned for Walt Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club in the spring of 1956, and was hired for the show's second season.[4] Though a good dancer, her weak singing voice kept her in the background of most musical numbers. A competent actress with a pleasant speaking voice, she was employed for two of the show's episodic serials: Boys of the Western Sea and Annette.

      After the show's run ended, Holdridge returned to Van Nuys High School and graduated from Grant High School with the winter 1961 class. She was cast in two episodes of Leave It to Beaver in 1959 as Gloria Cusick; she later played an occasional, recurring role as Wally Cleaver's girlfriend,[4] Julie Foster. She reprised her role as Julie Foster in two guest appearances in The New Leave It to Beaver in 1985 and 1987.

      From 1960, Holdridge made guest appearances on over twenty different shows, including The Rifleman, Wagon Train, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, My Three Sons, Bewitched, Bringing Up Buddy, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Bachelor Father.

      Holdridge retired from acting in 1964 to marry race car driver Lance Reventlow,[5] to whom she was wed until his death in 1972.

      After the death of her third husband, Holdridge made a cameo appearance in the 2000 feature film, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. In 2005, she appeared at Disneyland for 50th anniversary celebrations of both the opening of the park and The Mickey Mouse Club. She was cast in televised documentary specials about Cary Grant (2005) and Barbara Hutton (2006), and also appeared in a special feature interview for a Disney DVD.

      Personal life

      Lance Reventlow and Cheryl Holdridge's wedding portrait

      In May 1960, Holdridge went on a live tour to Australia with other former Mouseketeers. While there, she became involved with Lucky Starr, an Australian singer.[6] She was later linked in fan magazines and gossip columns with many other celebrities, including Elvis Presley.

      Holdridge's first marriage, on November 8, 1964, was to sportsman and playboy Lance Reventlow.[7] Reventlow, a pilot, died in 1972, in the crash of a small plane in which he was a passenger in Aspen, Colorado. She had the title Gräfin von Haugwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow.

      Her second husband was Albert James "Jim" Skarda. They married in 1974. He ran a car rental service in Aspen.[8] They divorced in 1988. She maintained a second home in Aspen and lived there for six months out of the year from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.[9]

      Her third husband, Manning J. Post (19182000), a prominent California Democratic Party fundraiser and controller, was 26 years her senior.[10] He died at the age of 82.[11]

      Death

      Holdridge died at her Santa Monica home[4] on January 6, 2009, from lung cancer, aged 64.[12]

      Filmography

      Film
      Year Title Role Notes
      1956 Carousel Young Girl #2 Uncredited
      1959 A Summer Place Girl in dormitory at Briarwood School for Girls Uncredited
      2000 The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas Genevieve
      Television
      Year Title Role Notes
      1956–1958 The Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer Cheryl
      1957–1980 The Wonderful World of Disney Mouseketeer Cheryl 2 episodes
      1958 Walt Disney Presents: Annette Madge Markham 2 episodes
      1959–1963 Leave It to Beaver Gloria Cusick
      Julie Foster
      8 episodes
      1960–1961 Bachelor Father Lila Meredith 4 episodes
      1960–1964 My Three Sons Judy Doucette
      Juliet Johnson
      3 episodes
      1961 Westinghouse Playhouse Mona Morgan Episode: "A Date for Buddy"
      1961 Bringing Up Buddy Sharon Episode: "Buddy and the Teenager"
      1962 Life with Archie Betty Television pilot
      1961–1962 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Joyce Maynard
      Norma Lane
      4 episodes
      1962 The Rifleman Sally Walker Episode: "Young Man's Fancy"
      1962 The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis Daphne Winsett Episode: "The Big Blunder and Egg Man"
      1962 King of Diamonds Chick Hendricks Episode: "Rain on Wednesday"
      1962 Dennis the Menace Helen Franklin Episode: "Dennis' Lovesick Friend"
      1962 The Donna Reed Show Pat Walker Episode: "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary"
      1963 Hawaiian Eye Mary Anne Sayer Episode: "Go Steady with Danger"
      1963 Ripcord Angie Carter Episode: "The Inventor"
      1964 The Dick Van Dyke Show Joan Delroy Episode: "The Third One from the Left"
      1964 Mr. Novak Betty Episode: "The Private Life of Douglas Morgan, Jr."
      1964 Dr. Kildare Nurse Reynolds Episode: "Quid Pro Quo"
      1964 The Eleventh Hour Judy Gormley Episode: "Does My Mother Have to Know?" (Parts 1 and 2)
      1964 Wagon Train Annabelle Episode: "The Race Town Story"
      1964 Bewitched Liza Randall Episode: "The Girl Reporter"
      1984–1987 The New Leave It to Beaver Julie Foster 2 episodes

      References

      1. "Cheryl Holdridge, a Mouseketeer Known for Her Smile, Dies at 64". The New York Times. January 10, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
      2. "Ex-Mouseketeer". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. June 22, 1962. p. 5.
      3. Retired General Adopts Daughter of His Wife, Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1953, pg 12
      4. "Mouseketeer went on to TV roles". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. Los Angeles Times. January 10, 2009. p. Section 1, p 23. Retrieved December 25, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
      5. Thomas, Bob (May 1, 1964). "Actress Cheryl Holdridge Yields Career To Marriage". Ford Lauderdale News. Florida, Fort Lauderdale. Associated Press. p. 6 E. Retrieved December 25, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
      6. Forever Hold Your Banner High, by Jerry Bowles, 1976, pg 65 ISBN 0-385-11622-5
      7. "Ex-Mouseketeer, Hutton Son Wed". The Atlanta Constitution. Georgia, Atlanta. Associated Press. November 9, 1964. p. 16. Retrieved December 25, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
      8. "Did You Know?". Star-News (Pasadena, California). July 3, 1977.
      9. "Cheryl Reventlow Post". Aspen Times. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
      10. "Manning J. Post; Democratic Fund-Raiser Advised Party's Candidates for 40 Years". Los Angeles Times. March 15, 2000. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
      11. Manning J. Post; Democratic Fund-Raiser Advised Party's Candidates for 40 Years
      12. "Cheryl Holdridge dies at 64; popular Mouseketeer". Los Angeles Times. January 9, 2009.

      13. Cheryl Holdridge Graduation picture, 1961 Grant High School https://www.classmates.com/siteui/yearbooks/124952?page=31

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