The Wonderful World of Color Kid

Today, January 16, is the birthday of Roger Mobley. During the 1960s, Roger (a child actor who was already known for co-starring in the TV series, Fury) became one of the most popular stars to regularly appear on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. In 1964, Roger made his World of Color debut in For The Love of Willadean, a two-part comedy about a group of kids and their countryside misadventures. (Roger is seen in the still above [a black-and-white photo, unfortunately] on the far right, with his Willadean co-stars, including Lost in Space’s Billy Mumy on the left and Disney favorite Ed Wynn in the center.) That same year Roger starred as Gustav in the theatrical release Emil and the Detectives (below), which was telecast on World of Color in 1966. Later in the decade, Roger was the hero of the action-adventure The Treasure of San Bosco Reef, which debuted in 1968. But the young star’s biggest Disney TV success was as Gallegher, the clever, ever resourceful “boy reporter” who outwitted not only criminals and cheats but also his adult betters at the newspaper where he works. Debuting in 1965, Gallegher ran for eleven episodes, climaxing in 1968 with The Mystery of Edward Sims. So Happy Birthday to my friend Roger, the Wonderful World of Color Kid... and to everyone else, watch this blog for news on an upcoming, in-depth article all about that “sharp as a thorn, natural-born newspaperman,” Walt Disney’s Gallegher.