Robert Wilkie "Bobby" Burgess is an American former dancer and singer, who was one of the original Mouseketeers on the 1950s show Mickey Mouse Club.
Burgess was born in Long Beach and began performing at a young age and took dance lessons at Call's Fine Arts Center in Long Beach, learning ballet, ballroom, Latin, jazz dancing, and more. Soon, he began performing in talent contests, charity events and benefits, and television commercials and shows, such as The Donna Reed Show and The Ozzie and Harriett Show while also still attending school.
When he auditioned for the Disney Studio, Burgess initially wanted a role on the upcoming Spin and Marty serial. After seeing him dance, the studio offered a spot on Mickey Mouse Club instead. For the next three seasons, Burgess would perform more of the physically challenging dances during the show and was partnered with various cast members, such as Sharon Baird, Bonni Kern, Darlene Gillespie, Doreen Tracey, and Annette Funicello for duo dances. He also performed in a "Father-Son" routine with host Jimmie Dodd in the third season and was prepared to play the Scarecrow in the projected Disney film Rainbow Road to Oz, and did a Disneyland episode in which he and Doreen danced to some of the music written for the film. When the show ended in 1959, Burgess returned to school where he graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School. After graduation, he joined Dodd and several Mouseketeers for a promotional tour of the show when it began airing in Australia.
After leaving Disney behind him, Burgess continued to perform with in talent contests and benefits with childhood friend and Mouse Club Talent Day winner, Barbara Boylan. The duo became regulars on The Lawrence Welk Show throughout the 1970s. As years passed, Burgess married, had children, and opened his own cotillion school where he teaches etiquette and dance since 1987. While also continuing to dance and tour, he also continued to appear in various reunions of the Mouseketeers and helped to promote new incarnations of the Mickey Mouse Club and has written a light-hearted autobiography called Ears & Bubbles which was published in 2014.
Gallery[]
Row two: Charley Laney, Sharon Baird, Darlene Gillespie, Jay-Jay Solari
Row three: Tommy Cole, Cheryl Holdridge, Larry Larsen, Eileen Diamond
Row four: Lonnie Burr, Margene Storey, Doreen Tracey
Back row: Jimmie Dodd, Bobby Burgess.
