Cheryl Lynn Holdridge was born on June 20, 1944. Her surname at birth was Phelps. Her mom, Julie Phelps, was a Broadway dancer with a dance partner named Dick Mason. To date, the identity of Cheryl’s biological father has never been made known to the public. It is not known if Cheryl herself even knew the identity. Her mom raised her as a single mom, which was unusual for the 1940s, until 1950, when she married a retired Army Brigadier General named Herbert Charles Holdridge. Cheryl’s step-father formally adopted her in 1953 and gave her his surname, which she used from that point on in her life.

Cheryl’s adoptive father was into politics, and was an idealist and visionary, with dreams of a national utopia. This made him a bit too “out there” for traditional politics, though this did not stop him from frequently running for President of the United States (which he obviously was never elected to). Because of his military background and well-known pacifist political views, he frequently made the news, including his adoption of Cheryl, which was reported in the Los Angeles Times along with a photo of the happy new family. Thanks to the adoption, Cheryl gained a brother John Holdridge, who was a career diplomat who was twenty years older than her...

Don Louis Agrati was born June 8, 1944, in San Diego, California. His parents were Mary B. Castellino, a talent agent, and Lou Anthony Agrati, a sausage maker. He had a sister named Latina who became an actress going by the name of Lani O’Grady. Don was raised in Lafayette, California before he was signed by the Disney Company to be on The Mickey Mouse Club, which led to him moving closer to the Disney studios in Burbank, California. He graduated from Burbank High School in 1962.

Don came onto the show in its third and final season, and like most of the other replacement cast members, was relegated to the secondary Blue Team. Don was used much more than the other Blue Team members, though, since the show’s director, Sidney Miller (who personally recruited Don to the show) liked him. Don was a musical prodigy, and was proficient on several musical instruments before he was hired for the show as a kid, and also had taken some singing and dancing lessons. Sidney recognized that Don had that elusive star quality, and made sure he was used to the best extent possible on the show...