Cubby O'Brien

Cubby O'Brien
Cubby O'Brien as a Mousketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club, circa 1956
Born	Carl Patrick O'Brien (1946-07-14) July 14, 1946 (age 70) Burbank, California
Years active	1955 - present
Spouse(s)	Marilyn Miller (1967-1976) 1 child Terry Wilemon (1978-1999) Holly Sims (2002-today)

Carl Patrick O'Brien (born July 14, 1946), better known by the nickname of "Cubby", is an American drummer and former child actor, best known as one of the original Mouseketeers on the weekday ABC television program, The Mickey Mouse Club from 1955–1958.

O'Brien was the third son of musician Haskell "Hack" O'Brien, a well-known drummer for several big band era ensembles. When he was an infant, his mother thought he resembled a bear cub, and tagged him with his lifelong nickname. He has two older brothers, Haskell O'Brien, Jr., a trumpet player, and Warren O'Brien, also a drummer.

Although born in Burbank, O'Brien grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Shadow Hills, between Sun Valley and Sunland. He began studying music at the Carl Babcock School of Music from age five, and later performed with the Roger Babcock Dixieland Band at charity events and for local television. In 1962 he graduated from Hollywood Professional School, where he was president of his class.

O'Brien, like Annette Funicello, was personally selected to audition for The Mickey Mouse Club by Walt Disney, in the spring of 1955. Disney had been alerted to him by a staff member, who caught his live performance at a charity gala.

Though he had little prior experience in singing or dancing, O'Brien was placed on The Mickey Mouse Club's first-string "Red Team" right from the start. He quickly picked up enough dance skills to perform in musical numbers, though his solo performances remained centered around his drums. He remained with the show for all three seasons (1955–1958) of original programming, and after filming stopped, went on live-performance tours with other Mouseketeers to Australia in 1959 and 1960.