Cheryl Holdridge

Cheryl Holdridge
File:Cheryl Holdridge MMC 1957.jpg Holdridge in The Mickey Mouse Club (1957)
Born	Cheryl Lynn Phelps (1944-06-20)June 20, 1944 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	January 6, 2009(2009-01-06) (aged 64) Santa Monica, California, U.S
Cause of death	Lung cancer
Other names	Cheryl Reventlow Post
Education	Van Nuys High School Grant High School
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1955–2000
Spouse(s)	Lance Reventlow ​ ​ (m. 1964; died 1972)​ Albert James Skarda ​ ​ (m. 1974; div. 1988)​ Manning J. Post ​ ​ (m. 1994; died 2000)​

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

Early life

Holdridge was born Cheryl Lynn Phelps in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her mother, Julie A. Phelps (1908–2003), was a dancer who performed on Broadway with her partner, Dick Mason; Cheryl's biological father is unidentified. 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 fringe political movements. He adopted Cheryl in 1953 and gave her his surname.

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 club's "Red Team" — the most visible and popular of the Mouseketeers. 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, Julie Foster.

From 1960, Holdridge made guest appearances on over twenty different shows, including The Rifleman, 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, 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

Relationships and marriages

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. She was later linked in fan magazines and gossip columns with many other celebrities, including Elvis Presley.

Holdridge's first marriage was to sportsman and playboy Lance Reventlow, the only child of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton; his father was a Danish count. During their 1964 honeymoon in Hawaii, Holdridge became the last Mouseketeer to visit with the show's original host, Jimmie Dodd, before Dodd's death from cancer. Reventlow, a pilot, died in 1972, in the crash of a small plane in which he was a passenger.

Her second husband was Albert James "Jim" Skarda. They married in 1974. He ran a car rental service in Aspen, Colorado.

Her third husband, Manning J. Post (1918-2000), was active in Democratic politics in California. He died at the age of 82. All of her marriages were childless.

Philanthropy

Holdridge was a long-time supporter of environmental causes and charities, including the Children's Burn Foundation, for which she served as a Council Member. With her third marriage, she became more active in fund-raising events.

Death

Holdridge died on January 6, 2009 from lung cancer, aged 64.

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	Episode: Bewitched	Liza Randall	"The Girl Reporter"
1984–1987	The New Leave It to Beaver	Julie Foster	2 episodes

External links

• Cheryl Holdridge at IMDb
• Cheryl Holdridge at the TCM Movie Database
• Images of Holdridge from her appearance on Bewitched
• Cheryl Holdridge, before and after the Mickey Mouse Club
• Cheryl Holdridge profile
• Cheryl Holdridge at Find a Grave