Ronnie Steiner

Canadian-born Ronnie Steiner came from a show-business family. His parents had performed in vaudeville, as did an aunt. He and his two brothers took tap-dancing lessons as children. In 1952 their aunt got a job as a dancer on The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950). She brought the boys to a cookout party at the house of Dean Martin (she had been hired to dance on the shows hosted by Martin and his partner Jerry Lewis). While at the party the boys performed some tap-dance routines for the guests. An agent saw them and signed them, and they were soon performing at local amateur shows and on local television. Ronnie was hired by Walt Disney Studios as a Mousketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) and, although he was trained as a dancer, his dancing skills were barely utilized and he was used mostly in speaking parts. After the first season was completed, he performed in a variety of shows at Disneyland. Unfortunately, just before the show's second season commenced, Ronnie and most of the other Mousketeers were let go. After he left the show, Ronnie and his brothers put together an act and appeared on TV shows like The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956) and in Las Vegas as an opening act for such performers as Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope. After the act retired he moved back to his home town of Winnpeg, Canada, married and became a medical technician. He appeared in The Mouseketeer Reunion (1980) in 1980.