Robert Wayne Amsberry (June 2, 1928 – November 21, 1957)[1] was an American actor, and one of the original cast members on the first two seasons of Walt Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club, working as both a writer and actor.[2] Amsberry also worked as a voice actor, with a posthumous credit in Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959).
Bob Amsberry | |
|---|---|
 Amsberry on The Mickey Mouse Club | |
| Born | Robert Wayne Amsberry June 2, 1928 Boring, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | November 21, 1957 (aged 29) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, writer |
Early life edit
Amsberry was born in 1928 in the small town of Boring, Oregon, the third child of Ernest and Cassie Amsberry.[2] Amsberry graduated from Franklin High School in Portland, where he was a friend and classmate of Johnnie Ray.[3] Amsberry was musically inclined from a young age, and in 1954, began an entertainment radio program in Portland titled Uncle Bob's Squirrel Cage on the KEX radio station.[2]
Career edit
Amsberry's friend, George Bruns, whom he had grown up with in Oregon, worked as an acclaimed film composer for Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles, and invited Amsberry to join the Disney studio department in 1955.[2]
Amsberry worked on The Mickey Mouse Club,[4] a then-new series, writing skits as well as acting on the show in various characters.[5] Bob-O, a clown character played by Amsberry on the series, became a minor celebrity, and the character was featured as a live character impersonator at the Disneyland theme park.[6] Bill Walsh maintained Amsberry's contract with Disney until September 1957, and Amsberry appeared on Disney's Hardy Boys television serial installment Mystery of Ghost Farm, which premiered on September 13, 1957.[7] His voice work also appears in Sleeping Beauty (1959) as one of Maleficent's goons.[8]
On the morning of November 21, 1957, Amsberry was involved in a car accident as a passenger with Roy Williams, another Disney employee, in Portland. Amsberry died of injuries sustained in the accident.[1] Roy Williams, known drinker[9] implicated but other local sources claim Amsberry was the driver, alone, not a passenger, and went off a cliff; he went through a utility pole and the pole impaled him and his vehicle.[10]
Filmography edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-57 | The Mickey Mouse Club | Uncle Bob; various | Television series |
| 1957 | The Hardy Boys: Mystery on the Ghost Farm | Farmer Sam | Television series |
| 1958 | Paul Bunyan | Joe Muffaw | Voice, Uncredited, Released posthumously[11] |
| 1959 | Sleeping Beauty | Maleficent's Goon | Voice, Uncredited, Released posthumously[8] |
References edit
- ^ a b "Former 'Uncle Bob' of Mouse Club Killed". The Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, Oregon. Associated Press. November 21, 1957.[dead link]
- ^ a b c d "The Mickey Mouse Club Cast: Bob Amsberry". The Original Mickey Mouse Club. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- ^ Wood 1956, p. 152.
- ^ Monji, Jana (August 20, 2015). "Mickey Mouse Club Reunion at D23". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
- ^ Hollis & Ehrbar 2006, p. 13.
- ^ Pierce, Todd James (September 2, 2011). "Clowns in the Magic Kingdom". Disney History Institute. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- ^ "The Mystery of the Ghost Farm". TV.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- ^ a b Beck 2005, p. 252.
- ^ "The True Story of Roy 'Big Mooseketeer' Williams".
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/groups/ForgottenOregon/permalink/2338209829780275/ [user-generated source]
- ^ Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media. p. 599.
Bibliography edit
- Beck, Jerry (2005). The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago Review Press. p. 252.
bob amsberry disney.
- Hollis, Tim; Ehrbar, Greg (2006). Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-57806-849-4.
- Wood, Carlyle (1956). TV Personalities: Biographical Sketch Book, Volume 2. TV Personalities.
External links edit
- Bob Amsberry at IMDb