Oof. I’m so sad to see a lot of fabulous people leaving us lately. First Lilly Pulitzer. Then Roger Ebert. And now Annette Funicello, who passed away a few weeks ago April 8, 2013. We just love Annette! Legend has it the shy teen was the final Mouseketeer cast for the Mickey Mouse Club in 1955—and one of the few cast-members to be personally selected by Walt Disney himself. She was so popular, by the end of the first season of Mickey Mouse Club, she was receiving nearly 6,000 fan letters a month. WOW!
Sweet and charming, everyone considered Annette to be the ultimate girl next door. I loved that her dark Italian beauty have her a very different look than the typical American girl of the day.
While Annette was the most popular Mousketeer, her success didn’t dim after the Mickey Mouse show. As the 1960s rolled around, Annette became a totally popular teen idol starring in a series of Beach Party movies with Frankie Avalon. These included Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Pajama Party (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). Oh yeah!
In 1968, Annette reunited with her fellow Mouseketeers for a special appearance at Disneyland park. Look how cute she looks!
Annette, we’ll miss your classy style and wholesome beauty!
images: disney, disney parks blog
Annette and Franky Avalon were on top of the list of my early teen years with the ‘Beach” movies. Totally meaningless movies, but what do you expect for a teen to like? Boys, Boys, Boys, yeah!
I remember seeing her in reruns on the mouseketeers and honestly, there really was something magical about her. She really had that star quality. Walt was right about her! I remember thinking of her as a mod Darla from the Little Rascals, another favorite of mine as a kid.