In Walt’s Disneyland, there were many live characters who were not directly related to his films. For instance, Sheriff Lucky kept law and order in Frontierland, while in Tomorrowland a very tall Space Man and Space Girl represented the world of the future attired in silver spacesuits and helmets.
These characters offered wonderful photo opportunities for eager guests and added an extra sense of reality to the various lands. The costumes for the space couple had many changes over the decade they inhabited Tomorrowland but the people who portrayed them were always taller than the regular guests.
I’ve written about Disneyland’s Last Space Girl before.
Thanks to the kindness of Chris Strodder (author of The Disneyland Encyclopedia), I was put it touch with Terry Jo Steinberger, who performed in 1964 as a Disneyland Space Girl. She very graciously and patiently answered my questions about this character and what it was like at Disneyland at this time.
Born in August 1946, Steinberger got the job not long after she graduated high school.
Terry Jo Steinberger at the front entrance of Disneyland in 1964 with the White Rabbit. Photo copyright Terry Jo Steinberger
Jim Korkis: Let’s talk a little about what you were doing before you were hired at Disneyland.
Terry Jo Steinberger: I was a Senior at Rancho Alamitos High School in Garden Grove, California in 1963-1964. My terrific father, a career Naval Officer (pilot), had just been transferred to Los Alamitos Naval Air Station, where he was second in command. When we moved to California, we lived in Garden Grove. Before that, our former residence was in Massapequa, Long Island, New York, where I attended the other three years of high school and felt extremely out of place in being tall. I always felt awkward about being tall!
After Garden Grove, we lived on the Los Alamitos Naval Air Station, transferring to the residence of Executive Officer Quarters. To build my confidence in being tall, while at Rancho Alamitos High School, I attended some modeling classes in Anaheim, and did some ramp modeling and restaurant fashion show modeling while living in Garden Grove.
At that time, while living in Garden Grove, I was approached by a neighbor to represent his company, Imperial Cleaners, in the local Miss Garden Grove Strawberry festival Beauty Pageant. I had never done anything close to this before and I felt like it was a good confidence builder. I was first runner-up in this pageant. After that, I was approached by Dr. Leonard Stallcup, director of the Miss Universe Pageant to be a contender as Miss California in the Miss Universe pageant, but I had to have a town title.
I was in many pageants, including Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Anaheim and more, competing with many of the same girls in all of these pageants. After many pageants, I was finally given the title Miss Los Alamitos, even though Los Alamitos did not have an actual contest.
I was made Miss Los Alamitos, as, by that time I was living at the Los Alamitos Naval Air Station where my father was then the executive officer of the Reserve Training Center. I also served as Ms. Alamitos Race Track, where I got to put the roses on horses in the winner's circle.
So I finally had a town title, Miss Los Alamitos, and entered the Miss Universe contest in Los Angeles. It was good to be tall. I came in fifth runner-up.
JK: Do you feel your experience in beauty pageants helped you as a Space Girl?
TS: Yes. It definitely made a big difference. After walking around in a bathing suit in high heels, going up and down stairs and never looking down (and in evening gowns, as well), being interviewed for publicity shots and waving on floats, being in the Space Girl costume was much easier to do.
I always found it easy to be out going and easy to talk to people. As a Navy brat, moving around a lot to different places, I learned to be outgoing with people. I have always been blessed with easy knack to strike up conversations with people.
JK: How did you get the job as Space Girl at Disneyland?
TS: After graduation and the pageants, I think it was a suggestion from my high school friend who was a Tour Guide at Disneyland Park in Anaheim (which was a highly respected job), that I apply for a job at Disneyland. I think this was in September 1964.
I went innocently to the Human Resources Department (with my mother) and this was the first job I ever applied for. I showed my resume, listing all the beauty pageants and I was asked if I wanted to be the Space Girl.
I had no idea of what that was and the interviewer just said, “you walk around Tomorrowland in a costume, cordially greeting quests and take pictures with them.” That was the only description Disney ever gave me about the character and what was expected.
All that I was ever told was that I would be the “Hostess of Tomorrowland” with the Space Man. Just welcome guests to Tomorrowland and be friendly with guests. No other specifics.
The implication was that we were tall people from the future. I guess people in the future were going to be taller for some reason.
We weren’t given any particular names, just Space Man and Space Girl.
JK: What was your Space Girl costume like?
TS: They said I was two inches shorter than the previous Space Girl who was 6-foot 2-inches tall. “Go to wardrobe and see if you fit the costume.” I did fit the costume, which was a dress, cape and high-heeled silver boots. It was lucky I fit the costume because they only had one of them, no backups.
There were no backup performers for our characters, but we never got sick and were always there.
The dress was lined inside with cotton but some kind of silver metallic fabric on the outside.
It was really quite comfortable, except for the shoes, which were too loose. The shoes did not fit perfectly on me. They were slightly too large for me, and the heels were wobbly and worn out, but I managed.
I was bare legged. I tried to remember if I ever wore nylons, but probably not because it would have been tacky to stand out there with a run in my stockings.
I wore a helmet and Astro Jets on my back. It wasn’t difficult to breathe or talk wearing the helmet. It never “fogged up” because there was a hole in the middle of the front that people could not easily see.
I did have to be careful about balancing the helmet and standing upright. It was not easy if you leaned over. Many times guests would put their arm around me, hitting the Astro Jets when taking photos and that kind of forced the helmet up into my face putting it into an awkward position, but I made it work. That happened especially if the guests were shorter than I was, and mostly they were.
We never walked around without the helmets, except on breaks.
JK: Were you required to wear your hair in a certain style?
TS: No. I was a natural strawberry blonde and I was never given any direction to wear my hair differently than I normally did.
JK: Had you ever been to Disneyland before being hired?
TS: Probably, but if I did, I don’t recall anything about those times, just the time I worked at the park. It was magical and fun. I liked Main Street USA, especially [Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln]. Of course, I loved riding the Jungle Cruise and the Submarine Voyage. In many ways, Tomorrowland seemed boring in comparison to other lands to me. It seemed like there were too many kiddie rides like at a carnival, and all the cool rides were in other lands.
JK: What type of training did you receive?
TS: I don’t recall any orientation training at all. Maybe I got a map of my area and was told to stay in that area only unless a supervisor sent me somewhere else. I know I must have been sent to the Main Gate area, because I have a photo of me in costume there with the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.
I remember primarily hanging out by the Submarine area and some places where portrait artists were working at the Art Corner and some of the band areas. I remember our supervisor checked up on us frequently. I was probably making minimum wage, like everyone else, although I don’t remember exactly. Nor do I remember what my working shift was like. Maybe four to six hours each day.
JK: What was a typical work day like for a Space Girl?
TS: I think I parked at a parking lot on the South Side, kind of behind the wardrobe building which was two stories. I think I clocked in at the wardrobe building because I got my costume there on the second floor. They gave me a locker for personal items.
I think we were allowed two 15-minute breaks during the day and a lunch. We went backstage for breaks and there were picnic tables there. We took off our helmets. We would sometimes take “secret breaks” high in the rafters of the 20,000 Leagues exhibit. I do recall us being in that basketball court in the Matterhorn at least once.
At the end of the day, I just returned the costume to wardrobe.
After my shift, I don’t remember hanging around the park, except to look for my friend Harold who was a Monorail driver and I was dating him at the time; or my friend, who was a tour guide, to see her do her thing. Harold never let me drive the Monorail but told me many stories about his job that I loved to hear. He was a great guy.
Terry Jo Steinberger in Tomorrowland 1964 with Space Man Pete. Photo copyright Terry Jo Steinberger
JK: Tell me about the Space Man.
TS: Pete (and I am so sorry I don’t remember his last name) had been hired long before I was and he helped me tremendously. He was about 6-foot 9-inches tall and I was only about 5-foot 11 3/4-inches tall.
He taught me the most important thing about the job was to have a good sense of humor about it. In the photo I sent, you see me standing on the curb next to him to try and look taller.
He and I sometimes stood motionless, posing as statues, and then suddenly moved our eyes and scared the guests.
I remember standing in the entrance to America the Beautiful, completely still like we were statues and one lady came up and looked at me very closely. I moved my eyes and really scared her.
We also posed as mannequins in the Monsanto House of the Future, at the table, and scared guests when we moved.
Our supervisor reprimanded us and said, “Stop doing that! You could give someone a heart attack!” But we still did because it was fun, just not very often.
Pete and I also figured out how to get high up in the rafters of the 20,000 Leagues exhibit. No one ever noticed us up there.
We had to be careful the light didn't reflect the shine of our metallic silver space suits, when guests entered this exhibit. We never got caught. That was an adventure.
Pete was a great partner. Very gentle, sweet guy and younger than I. It was a privilege to do this job together with him. I loved it.
If anyone reading this has a way of communicating with Pete, please let him know how much I appreciated working with him and to this day, I can always gauge how tall men are after working with him. I would love to get back in touch with him if anyone knows him.
I think I recall meeting his twin brother who was in street clothes and standing next to him. I was amazed how much they looked alike. I do not think I ever saw Pete in street clothes, just only in his costume.
JK: What did you do as Space Girl?
TS: Always talked with the guests. I think mostly I just said, “Hi!” or “Welcome to Tomorrowland!” I asked if they were having fun and answered their questions about the rides and where they were. I sometimes asked if they had seen Mickey Mouse.
Paul Castle was Mickey Mouse at that time. What an amazing guy! I had some conversations with him and he talked about putting extensions on the foot pedals of his MG so his daughter could drive it. What a fabulous ambassador of Mickey Mouse he was. He was a lot older than I was.
I remember him being very fatherly and always kind but I could tell when he was back stage he needed to rest. People tell me he smoked but I never saw him smoke.
JK: Did you ever get any unwarranted attention from male guests?
TS: No. Generally, everyone was very respectful and realized we were just portraying characters. Other characters sometimes joked around with us. Those costumes were very hot. I think they had a fan in there or sometimes a radio. Mickey, Goofy and others would come by and hang out with us.
JK: Did you do a lot of autographs?