Sharon Baird

Sharon Baird is an American actress, singer, dancer and puppeteer, possibly best known for being part of the 1951-1956 roster of Mouseketeers. 
Born in Seattle, Washington on August 16, 1943, her parents were Eldon Baird, an aerospace worker, and Nikki Marcus, a future talent agent. She also has one younger brother, Jimmy, who was also a former child actor. 
At age three, she started taking dance lessons, winning a "Little Miss Washington" contest at the age of five. She and her family later moved to Los Angeles, California, where she continued her dance lessons. 
In 1950, Baird appeared in her first film, "Bloodhounds of Broadway, and at nine years old, she made regular appearances on the TV series "The Colgate Comedy Hour" with Eddie Cantor. In 1954, she appeared on "The Donald O'Connor Show" just before becoming a Mouseketeer on "The Mickey Mouse Show." She made numerous TV appearances including "Death Valley Days," "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show," "I Married Joan" with Jim Backus and "Annette" with fellow Mouseketeer Annette Funicello. She also starred in the Martin and Lewis film "Artists and Models" where she danced with Dean Martin. 
After leaving "The Mickey Mouse Show," Baird finished high school at Hollywood Professional School and went on to attend Los Angeles Valley College where she made the National Honor Society and made President of her Class. She briefly interrupted her education in May 1959 for a short performing tour of Australia with the Mouseketeers, then graduated from college in 1963 with degrees in mathematics and secretarial science. 
In 1964, Baird married singer Dalton Lee Thomas, and became a part of a nightclub act called "Two Cats and a Mouse", which went no where along with her marriage. In 1969, she started the next successful collaboration of her life with Sid and Marty Krofft and had several roles in "H.R. Pufnstuf," "The Bugaloos," "The New Zoo Revue," "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters" and "Land of the Lost," where she played the female Pakuni, Sa. 
Baird also did voice work for the 1978 Ralph Bakshi animated version of "The Lord of the Rings." She was also the live-action model for the part of Frodo Baggins, but she did not receive screen credit for her work. 
In 1980, Baird and the other surviving Mouseketeers appeared in a television special for "The Wonderful World of Disney," reprising her famous tap dancing routine. She also joined a smaller number of her colleagues in performing live shows at Disneyland on weekends for several years during the early 1980s. 
In 1984, Baird appeared on stage in the comedy special "Gallagher: Over Your Head," doing a tap dancing routine and assisting Gallagher during his famous Sledge-O-Matic routine. She also starred in the TV shows "Dumbo's Circus" and "Day By Day" and the film "Rat Boy," where she played the main character while credited as S.L. Baird. Unfortunately, the film ended up becoming a critical and commercial failure. 
Today, Baird still makes appearances with the Mouseketeers, although she gradually ceased doing professional engagements in the 1990s. She soon relocated from Southern California to Reno, Nevada at that time, where she lives in semi retirement.
Category: Cast
Category:Actresses