Mickey Mouse - Whose the leader of the club?...MICKEY MOUSE! Mickey Mouse came to television in the 1950s in the form of THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB/ABC/1955-59 which focused on the activities of a group of youngsters called the Mousketeers who worshipped at the tiny paws of this popular rodent. The kids wore black hats with mouse ears, white Mickey Mouse T-shirts and danced, sang, and watched cartoons. They ended each program by saying "M-I-C...(See you real soon)...K-E-Y...(Why? because we like you)...M-O-U-S-E-." Originally called Mortimer Mouse, the Mickey Mouse character was created by Ub Iwerks and debuted in Steamboat Willie (11/18/28), the first animated cartoon with synchronized sound. Mickey actually debuted in two previously made 1928 silent cartoons entitled Plane Crazy and Gallopin' Goucho which were released after Steamboat Willie and later given soundtracks. Mickey's rodents voice was first supplied by Walt  Disney (1928-47) and later by James MacDonald (1947-83) and currently by Wayne Allwine (1983-present). The first daily newspaper comic strip to feature Mickey Mouse appeared on January 30, 1930. In 1937, Mickey Mouse was aired on the radio program THE MICKEY MOUSE THEATER OF THE AIR. He later starred in a segment of the animated movie Fantasia (1940) called the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" as a young magician who foolishly played around with a sorcerer's magic book of incantations and caused a flood. Mickey's girlfriend is Minnie the Mouse (voice of Marcellite Garner/Thelma Boardman/Ruth Clifford)) who debuted in 1928 cartoon Plane Crazy. Mickey also owned a dog named Pluto and had two nephews Ferdy and Morty who debuted in the 1933 cartoon Giantland. From his conception, Mickey has been a success not only in cartoons, but in merchandising products. In the 1930s Mickey's image first appeared on a school writing tablet and followed that success by being featured on the face of a watch manufactured by Ingersoll-Waterbury Company that sold over 2 million. The first Mickey Mouse doll was designed by animator Bob Clampett  (of BEANY & CECIL fame). Mickey's image is now hawked worldwide in all of the Disney theme parks located in California, Florida, Japan and France. He's known as Topolino in Italy, Musse Pigg in Sweden, and Miki Kuchi in Japan. On November 17, 1978, Mickey celebrated his fiftieth birthday and his presence as a reigning icon of Americana has no end in sight. As of the 1990s, Mickey starred with Goofy, Donald Duck and Pluto in The Prince and the Pauper, an all-new 35-minute film short and Runaway Brain in the summer of 1995. See also - "Rickey Rat"