Dennis Day (Mouseketeer)

Dennis W. Day (July 12, 1942 – c. July 17, 2018)[1] was an American actor, singer, dancer and theater director, best known as one of the original cast members of The Mickey Mouse Club. After ending his career as a child actor, he went on to work as a theater director before relocating to Oregon in the 1980s.

Dennis Day
Dennis Day as a Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club, c. 1956
Born
Dennis W. Day

(1942-07-12)July 12, 1942
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
DisappearedJuly 17, 2018 (aged 76)
Phoenix, Oregon, U.S.
Body discoveredApril 7, 2019 (2019-04-07)
Jackson County, Oregon, U.S.
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer
  • dancer
  • theater director
Years active1948–1980s
Spouse(s)
Henry Ernest Caswell
​
​
(m. 2009)​

Day disappeared in July 2018 and was found dead several months later.[2][3] A roommate was charged with his death in 2019.[4]

Life and career

Early life

Day was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and later moved to Downey, California.[1] He started acting at age six and after auditioning with his sister, was a Mouseketeer for the first two seasons of The Mickey Mouse Club in 1955–1957.[1][5][6] At age 11, he appeared in a minor uncredited role in the film A Lion Is in the Streets (1953) with James Cagney.[7]

He came out as gay to his family and moved to San Francisco when he turned 18,[5] though he later told a Rolling Stone interviewer in 1971 that he was bisexual[1] and had used drugs.[8] He continued to work as an actor and dancer, including at Theatre La MaMa in New York and in Los Angeles.[9]

Later life

Day married Henry Ernest Caswell, his partner since the early 1970s, in 2009.[10] Day and Caswell at one time ran a guesthouse for gay actors in San Francisco;[1] from the 1960s until the early 1980s, Day worked for the Living History Centre, producing Renaissance and Dickens Christmas fairs,[9] playing Newington Butts at the Renaissance fairs and also coaching other actors.[11] They moved in the mid-1980s to Oregon, first settling in Ashland, and then in Phoenix, where they had a house. Caswell also worked for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, while Day made and sold wine jelly and worked seasonally for Harry & David.[6][9][12]

Disappearance and death

Day was reportedly last seen on July 17, 2018[13] after Caswell, who has dementia, was admitted to the hospital after a fall.[12] Day reportedly left on foot, telling a third housemate, a live-in handyman, that he was going to visit friends,[5][14][15] but his cat and dog were left behind, and the dog was found roaming by neighbors.[16] One neighbor had a letter written by Day mentioning being assaulted by the handyman,[16] who told police that Day was also exhibiting signs of mental problems.[15] After Day was reported missing, his car was found in the possession of people approximately 200 miles (320 km) away in Coos County, who, according to police, said that they had permission to take it,[12][14][13][2] possibly in exchange for helping the handyman.[15] In August 2018, police searched the property after neighbors complained of a "bad smell".[13] Friends began asking for help locating him starting in November that year, and in February 2019, after his family learned of his disappearance, his case was featured on an episode of Dateline NBC.[6][5][14] In March 2019, his case was profiled on the podcast The Vanished.[17]

Police had searched Day's residence and elsewhere,[5][12][13] but in early April 2019 human remains were discovered on the property.[14][2][18] On June 6, 2019, it was announced that the remains were confirmed as those of Day, though a cause of death was not announced.[19] On July 5, 2019, Oregon State Police arrested the former handyman in connection to Day's death.[13] The man, 36-year-old Daniel James Burda, was charged with several crimes in connection with Day's death, including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and identity theft.[4]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1953 A Lion Is in the Streets Uncredited walk-on role [7]
1955–1957 The Mickey Mouse Club Himself Main cast member [6]

References
  1. "Dennis Day". The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  2. Moniuszko, Sara M. (April 8, 2019) [April 6, 2019]. "Body found at home of missing original Disney Mouseketeer Dennis Day". USA Today. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  3. "Body found at Oregon house identified as missing Disney Mouseketeer Dennis Day". usatoday.com. 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  4. Bennett, Anita (July 6, 2019). "Original Mouseketeer Dennis Day's Ex-Handyman Arrested In His Death". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  5. Hillier, Bianca (February 25, 2019). "Missing in America: Family searching for original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer Dennis Day, missing from Oregon since July 2018". NBC News. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  6. Morgan, Nick (February 28, 2019). "Missing Mouseketeer profiled on Dateline NBC". Mail Tribune. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  7. Johnson, Alex (June 6, 2019). "Original Mouseketeer Dennis Day's body identified in Oregon, police say". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019.
  8. Bowles, Jerry G. (1976). Forever Hold Your Banner High!: The Story of the Mickey Mouse Club and What Happened to the Mouseketeers. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-385-11622-0.
  9. "Searching for missing Mouseketeer". Mail Tribune. December 9, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  10. French, Julie (January 12, 2009). "Same-sex couples wed in protest of law". Ashland Tidings. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  11. Morgan, Nick (April 9, 2019). "'We're not going to say until we know'". Mail Tribune. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  12. Puente, Maria (February 27, 2019). "Original Disney Mouseketeer Dennis Day is missing, hasn't been seen in 7 months". The Herald-Mail. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  13. "Man arrested in connection with death of Dennis Day". KOBI. July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  14. Stelloh, Tim (April 7, 2019). "Body found at Oregon home of missing Mouseketeer Dennis Day". NBC News. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  15. Nolasco, Stephanie (March 5, 2019). "Original Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer Dennis Day was 'reclusive' before he went missing, lieutenant says" (with video, 1 min 55 secs). Fox News. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  16. Rose, Amanda (January 8, 2019). "'Perplexing' disappearance of former Mouseketeer" (with video, 1 min 57 secs). KOBI. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  17. "Episode 168: Dennis Day". The Vanished Podcast. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  18. Rose, Amanda (May 6, 2019). "Remains sent to Portland lab as Dennis Day investigation continues". KOBI.
  19. Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (June 6, 2019). "Missing Mouseketeer: Remains found in southern Oregon home confirmed to be Dennis Day". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
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