Dennis W. Day (July 12, 1942 – July 17, 2018) was an American actor, singer, dancer, and theater director, best known as one of the original cast members of ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and briefly returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first te ...

''. After ending his career as a child actor, he went on to work as a theater director before relocating to Oregon in the 1980s. Day disappeared in July 2018, and was found dead several months later. A roommate was charged with his death in 2019.

Life and career

Early life

Day was born in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, and later moved to

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program and Taco Bell. It is ...

. He started acting at age six and after auditioning with his sister, was a Mouseketeer for the first two seasons of ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' in 1955–1957. At age 11, he appeared in a minor uncredited role in the film ''

A Lion Is in the Streets ''A Lion Is in the Streets'' is a 1953 American drama film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney, whose brother William was the producer and his younger sister Jeanne was a member of the cast. The screenplay is based on a 1945 book b ...

'' (1953) with

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

. He came out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

to his family and moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

when he turned 18, though he later told a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' interviewer in 1971 that he was bisexual and had used drugs. He continued to work as an actor and dancer, including at La MaMa Theatre in New York and in Los Angeles.

Later life

Day married Henry Ernest Caswell, his partner since the early 1970s, in 2009. Day and Caswell at one time ran a guesthouse for gay actors in San Francisco; from the 1960s until the early 1980s, Day worked for the Living History Centre, producing

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

and Dickens Christmas fairs, playing Newington Butts at the Renaissance fairs and also coaching other actors. They moved in the mid-1980s to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, first settling in Ashland and then in Phoenix, where they had a house. Caswell also worked for the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional Repertory, repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and conte ...

, while Day made and sold wine jelly and worked seasonally for Harry & David.

Disappearance and death

Day was reportedly last seen on July 17, 2018 when Caswell, who has dementia, had been admitted to hospital after a fall. Day reportedly left on foot, telling a third housemate, a live-in handyman, that he was going to visit friends, but his cat and dog were left behind, and the dog was found roaming by neighbors. One neighbor had a letter written by Day mentioning being assaulted by the handyman, who told police that Day was also exhibiting signs of mental problems. After Day was reported missing, his car was found in the possession of people about away in Coos County, who according to police said that they had permission to take it, possibly in exchange for helping the handyman. In August 2018, police searched the property after neighbors complained of a "bad smell". Friends began asking for help to locate Day starting in November that year, and in February 2019, after his family learned of his disappearance, his case was featured on an episode of ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...

''. In March 2019, his case was profiled on the podcast '' The Vanished''. Phoenix police had searched Day's residence and elsewhere, but in early April 2019, human remains were discovered on the property by the

Oregon State Police The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a Police, law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OSP enforces all of Oregon's criminal laws and assists local law enforcement agencies. Casey Codding has served as Superintendent (police), Superi ...

, who had taken over the case. The remains were reportedly under a pile of clothes. On June 6, 2019, the remains were confirmed as those of Day, though a cause of death was not announced. On July 5, 2019, Oregon State Police arrested the former handyman. The man, 36-year-old Daniel James Burda, was charged with several crimes in connection with Day's death, including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and identity theft. After delays caused by some of the evidence being ruled inadmissible, in February 2023 a date of January 22, 2024 was set for Burda's trial in the case. Burda later pled guilty, and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Dennis 1942 births 2010s missing person cases 2018 deaths American gay actors American LGBTQ dancers American male dancers American male film actors American male singers American male television actors Formerly missing American people LGBTQ male dancers LGBTQ theatre directors Male actors from Las Vegas Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from New York City Male actors from San Francisco Missing person cases in Oregon Mouseketeers People from Ashland, Oregon People from Downey, California People from Phoenix, Oregon