Teddy, Disneyland's Shoeshine Boy

Just a few weeks ago I was contacted by Teddy, of Teddy & Kenny Shoeshine Boys fame at Disneyland. He came across these photos of himself from the early days of New Orleans Square. Here's what he had to say:

I was blown away when I stumbled across this picture of me (Teddy Miller) with the Royal Street Bachelors, around 1966/67 (above). The four years I worked at Disneyland were very memorable. I can tell you I really enjoyed those years of my youth, until I outgrew the character and moved on to become one of the costumed Three Little Pigs for a short while.



I remember Kenny Bell the other shoeshine boy and I were the youngest Disneyland employees; we had free run of the place, like it was our personal playground. We would get to ride all the rides for free, especially the Autopia before the park opened. The Royal Street Bachelors kept us out of trouble, cautioning us about not spending all our tips on junk. Most of mine was spent in the Magic Shop on Main Street, before New Orleans Square was built.

I also had a parallel career as a child actor. I was in such classic television shows as "Ozzie and Harriet," "My Three Sons," "The Fugitive," "The Lucy Show," "Mission Impossible," "Family Affair," "Mod Squad," as well as the Rex Harrison movie, "Dr. Doolittle."

With Disneyland's proximity to Camp Pendleton and admiring all of the Marines and other service members visiting the park, I was inspired to become a soldier. Thanks for capturing the memories.



I wonder if that was Teddy in costume behind me in this photo?



See more vintage & current Disneyland New Orleans Square photos on my New Orleans Square web page.

Teddy and Kenny, The Shoeshine Boys

Before New Orleans Square came to be in 1966, The Shoeshine Boys (aka Teddy & Kenny) performed in Town Square, just outside the Opera House. Not very much has been written about these two; were they actually named Teddy & Kenny or was that just a Disney name for their "characters? In addition to showing Teddy & Kenny, this March 1965 image also shows some pretty serious vintage camera equipment!

This December 1962 shot shows that the Shoeshine stand was around for quite a number of years; again, whether Teddy & Kenny were always part of it is unknown to me.



Looking at the photos in my collection, it is at least apparent that their costume changed a little bit over the years, as the patterns on their shirts is different in almost every photo.





By August 1966, Teddy & Kenny had moved to New Orleans Square.



The 1967 Disneyland brochure gives this description of the two:

Shoeshine Boys — Teddy and Kenny are dancing and shining in New Orleans Square from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

This publicity photo also shows the Royal Street Bachelors, who typically provided the music for Teddy & Kenny's dance routines:



The 1968 Disneyland brochure still mentions the duo:

Shoeshine Boys — Teddy and Kenny are dancing and shining in New Orleans Square.

By 1969 though, it appears that their time at Disneyland was over, as there is no mention of them in the park brochure.

See more vintage and current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland photo web pages.