Mickey Mouse Ears - Black  felt cap with large round black "Mouse Ears" worn by The Mouseketeers on THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB in the 1950s. The idea for the Mickey mouse ears came from Roy "Moose" Williams, a storyman at Disney Studios for more than thirty years who played the "Big Mooskeeter" on THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB. He invented the "Mouse Ear Hat" after seeing a gag in the 1929 short The Karnival Kid where Mickey tips his ears to Minnie. For years, the only way to get a Mickey Mouse Ear was to visit the Disney Theme Parks and buy a hat for the gift shop at the Magic Kingdom, but with the internet, anyone can purchase similar items on the web at sites like www.mouseshoppe.com. Mickey Mouse and his famous ears made their film debut in the b&w  theatrical cartoon release "Steamboat Willie" (the first sound cartoon) at the Colony Theatre in New York City on November 18, 1928. Since then Mickey's ears have inspired such items as a porcelain  jewelry box sold by Artoria Peint Main, Limoges, France as well as cookie jars, matching salt and pepper shakers, pens and pencils adorned with mouse ears, a Mickey Mouse Ears Plastic Bank with Stopper, a Mickey Mouse Wrist Watch which sold over one million at $3.00 a pop and even a Mickey Mouse bridal veil sporting a white cap and ears with a lacey trailing veil for that special wedding.

Mousketeer Annette Funnicello	Walt Disney & The Mouseketeers	Mickey Ears Cookie Jar
Plastic  Mickey Mouse Ears Plastic Bank with Stopper	"The Leader of the Club"	Minnie Mouse Ears

TRIVIA NOTE: Mickey Mouse's ears are always shown as two perfectly round circles, no matter the angle at which he holds his head. Mickey mouse was initially to be called "Mortimer the Mouse" until Walt Disney's wife Lillian suggested the name Mickey. Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse character with the help of his head animator Ub Iwerks in the 1920s. Disney once remarked "I hope we never lose sight of one fact, that this was all started by a mouse." Today, Walt's (Mickey's) empire is now one of the largest entertainment companies in the world and Mickey Mouse has become a cultural ambassador who traverses continents. His black ears can be seen in Tokyo, France, as well as on both the East Coast in Florida and in the West Coast at the original Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. When Disney began construction of their theme park in France, critic Yves Eudes, printed a photograph of the Mona Lisa wearing a pair of Mickey Mouse ears (“La société Disney”) to illustrate his fears that Disney's American influences would distort or unduly influence French culture. See also - "The Mousketeers"