Imagine . . . There could have been a "Mouseketeer Courtney"! On December 17, 1999 on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," singer Courtney Love talked to Rosie about how she had auditioned for "The New Mickey Mouse Club" back in 1976 and was devastated that she didn't get picked as a New Mouseketeer . . .
ROSIE: Did you always want to act because you're an amazing actress.
COURTNEY: You see, you don't even know this . . . well, yes I did . . .
ROSIE: What should I know? I just know that you're a rocker and you have a beautiful baby . . .
COURTNEY: When Tatum O'Neal won that Oscar . . . I ran away from home. Two days later, they found me in Coburg, Oregon, I lived in Eugene, with my suitcase. I was going to go to Hollywood and I asked my mother, put me in Interlocken [acting school] . . . I wanted an agent and my mother wouldn't get me an agent, but I started kind of sneaking around . . . I started doing commercials and stuff anyway in Portland, Oregon, and went up for the New Mouseketeers [smiling].
ROSIE: And . . .?
COURTNEY: And I made the finals and I went up to Seattle . . . I did some poem that was very similar to the lyrics I have today . . . quite tragic . . . but for some reason I made the finals and I lost out to Lisa Whelchel.
ROSIE: From "The Facts of Life"? Oh Blair, no wonder . . .
COURTNEY: I could have been a Mouseketeer! I'd have gotten in none of that trouble.
ROSIE: You're right.
COURTNEY: So at that point, I just said, you know, fine, I'll get a guitar.
ROSIE: Then you became a rock star . . .
