Mouseketeer Roll Call: Sharon Baird
Those early Mouseketeers had one thing in common. With the exception of Bobby Burgess, they were all short. But none turned out to be shorter than Mouseketeer Sharon Baird, who topped off as an adult at just 4’10”.
Baird was already a seasoned show biz professional when she was given her ears in 1955, having appeared in a Martin & Lewis film (Artists & Models) as well as being a regular on the early Eddie Cantor Colgate Comedy Hour TV program. She became a part of the core cast of Mouseketeers who stayed with the show through all 4 seasons of filming new material.
An exceptionally talented dancer, Sharon was often paired with Burgess, far and away the best of the male dancers. The disparity in their heights (Burgess was around 5’10” and Baird just 4’8” during their Mouse Club years) added a bit of comedy to their routines. Baird’s ability at the jitterbug was also highlighted in the “Annette” serial which aired during the show’s 3rd season.
When The Mickey Mouse Club stopped producing new episodes, Baird continued to make personal appearances on behalf of Disney for a few years. She completed high school but found professional opportunities as an under-sized entertainer limited. So, after graduating college in 1963, she worked for a number of years as a secretary, while simultaneously trying to get a singing career going as Two Cats and a Mouse, with her husband Dalton Lee Thomas and another male friend.
The marriage and singing career came to an end in 1969. Sharon was resigning herself to diving back into the secretarial pool when an entirely new career opened up for her. In the 1970s, Sid & Marty Krofft produced a number of Saturday morning kid shows for the networks: H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, Land of the Lost and more. They had an urgent need for dancers and performers who were shorter than average (to fit into the puppet-like costumes most of the characters wore). It was a match made in show biz heaven. Sharon Baird became one of their star performers playing multiple roles in most of their productions.
Baird continued to find work as a voiceover artist and performer for many years thereafter, including a stint in Raquel Welch’s Las Vegas revue and as an assistant to the comedian Gallagher. She never remarried and has since moved from Southern California to Reno, Nevada, where she resides to this day.
