Annette Funicello

Infobox actor


bgcolour = red
name = Annette Funicello
birthname = Annette Joanne Funicello
birthdate = birth date and age|1942|10|22
location = Utica, New York, U.S.
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername =
yearsactive = 1955–1995
spouse = Jack Gilardi (1965–1981) 3 children
Glen Holt (1986–present)
homepage =
notable role = several characters named Annette
academyawards =
emmyawards =
tonyawards =

Annette Joanne Funicello (born October 22, 1942) is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular MouseketeerFact|date=August 2008, and went on to appear in a series of beach movies.

Biography and career

Early life and early stardom

Born in Utica, New York to Italian-Americans Joseph and Virginia Funicello, she took dancing and music lessons as a child to try to overcome shyness. Her family moved to Southern California when she was four years old.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Annette Funicello Biography (1942-)
work = Crystal Reference, Biography.com
publisher = A&E Television Networks
date = 2003
url = http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542632
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-30]

In 1955, the 12-year-old was discovered by Walt Disney as she performed as the Swan Queen in "Swan Lake" at a dance recital in Burbank, California. On the basis of this appearance, Disney cast her as one of the original "Mouseketeers". She was the last to be selected, and the only one picked by Walt Disney. She soon proved to be very popular. By the end of the first season of "Mickey Mouse Club", she was receiving 6,000 letters a month, according to her Disney Legends biography.

In addition to appearing in many of the Mouseketeers' sketches and dance routines, Funicello starred or co-starred in a number of serials on "The Mickey Mouse Club". These included "Adventure in Dairyland", her own self-titled serial, "" (which co-starred Richard Deacon), and the second and third Spin and Marty serials,"The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty" and "The New Adventures of Spin and Marty". It was in a hayride scene in the "Annette" serial that she performed the song that was to launch her singing career. The studio received so much fan mail about "How Will I Know My Love", written by the Sherman Brothers, that Walt Disney decided to issue it as a single, and to give Funicello, somewhat unwillingly, a recording contract.cite web
last =
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title = Oct 22nd Happy 65th Birthday Annette
work = You Remember That.com
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url = http://www.yourememberthat.com/media/1780/Oct_22nd_____Happy__65th_Birthday__Annette/
format = video interview
doi =
accessdate = 2007-12-22 ]

Actress and singer

After the Mickey Mouse Club she remained under contract with Disney for a time, with television roles in "Zorro," "Elfego Baca" and "The Horsemasters." For "Zorro" she played Anita Cabrillo in a three-episode storyline, about a teen-aged girl who arrives in Los Angeles to visit a father who does not seem to exist. This role was reportedly a birthday present from Walt Disney, and the first of two different characters played opposite Guy Williams as Zorro. Annette also co-starred in Disney-produced movies such as "The Shaggy Dog," "Babes in Toyland," "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones," and "The Monkey's Uncle."cite book
last = Cotter
first = Bill
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Wonderful World of Disney Television
publisher = Hyperion Books
date = 1997
location = New York
pages =
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0-7868-6359-5 ]

Although uncomfortable being thought of as a singer, Annette had a number of pop record hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, mostly written by the Sherman Brothers and including: "Tall Paul", "First Name Initial", "O Dio Mio", "Train of Love" (written by Paul Anka) and "Pineapple Princess". Annette also recorded "It's Really Love" in 1959, a reworking of an earlier Paul Anka song called "Toot Sweet"; Anka reworked the song for a third time in 1962 as "Johnny's Theme" and it opened "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" on television for the next three decades. In an episode of the Disney anthology television series titled "Disneyland After Dark", Annette can be seen singing live at Disneyland. Walt Disney was reportedly a fan of 1950s pop star Teresa Brewer and tried to pattern Annette's singing in the same style. However, Funicello credits "the Annette sound" to her record producer, Tutti Camarata, who worked for Disney in that era. Camarata had her double-track her vocals, matching her first track as closely as possible on the second recording to achieve a fuller sound than her voice would otherwise produce.

Beach icon and spokesperson

After maturing, she moved on from Disney and became a teen idol, starring in a series of "Beach Party" movies with Frankie Avalon for American International Pictures. These included "Beach Party", "Muscle Beach Party", "Bikini Beach" and "Beach Blanket Bingo".

When she was cast in her first beach movie, Walt Disney himself -- for the sake of her virginal image -- asked her not to appear in any provocative scenes or wear any attire that showed her navel. She (perhaps unintentionally) did not fully comply with the latter request. She is seen wearing a two piece fishnet suit in the second film ("Muscle Beach Party") and a blue and white bikini in the third ("Bikini Beach"). Both swimsuits showed her navel, particularly in "Bikini Beach", where it is visible extensively during close up shots in a sequence early in the film when she meets Frankie Avalon's "Potato Bug" character outside his tent. [Documented at http://www.beachpartymoviemusic.com/TheMythoftheHiddenNavel.html]

She and Avalon became so iconic as "beach picture" stars that they were re-united in 1987 for "Back to the Beach", parodying their own films of two decades earlier. They then toured the country as a singing act.

In 1979, Funicello began starring in a series of television commercials for Skippy peanut butter. [cite web
last =
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authorlink =
coauthors =
title = History of Skippy
work =
publisher = Unilever
date = 2007
url = http://www.peanutbutter.com/history.asp
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-30 ]

Personal

Funicello was married to her first husband, Jack Gilardi, from 1965 until 1981. They had three children together, Gina (b. 1965), Jack, Jr. (b. 1970) and Jason (b. 1974). In 1986 she married Glen Holt.

Funicello announced [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
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title = Annette Funicello Fund For Neurological Disorders
work =
publisher = California Community Foundation
date = 2008
url = http://www.calfund.org/8/giving_funicello.php
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-01-28 ] in 1992 that she suffers from multiple sclerosis. She had kept her condition a secret for many years, but felt it necessary to go public to combat rumors that her impaired carriage was the result of alcoholism. That same year, she was inducted as a Disney Legend. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Disney Legends
work =
publisher = Disney
date = 2005
url = http://legends.disney.go.com/legends/detail?key=Annette+Funicello
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-09-27 ] In 1993, she opened the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders at the California Community Foundation.

Funicello's best friend is Shelley Fabares. Shelley and Annette have been friends since they were young teenagers, and Shelley was a bridesmaid at Annette's first wedding.

Her autobiography, published in 1994, is "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: My Story". The title is taken from a song from the movie "Cinderella". A made-for-TV movie based on the book, "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story", was made in 1995. In the final scene, the actress portraying Funicello, riding in a wheelchair, is turned away from the camera — turning back, it is Funicello herself, who delivers a message to a group of children. During this period she also produced her own line of teddy bears for the Annette Funicello Collectible Bear Company.Fact|date=August 2007 The last collection in the series was made in 2004.

Positions in Billboard

*"Tall Paul" #7 (1959)
*"Jo Jo the Dog Faced Boy" #73 (1959)
*"Lonely Guitar" #50 (1959)
*"My Heart Became of Age" #74 (1959)
*"First Name Initial" #20 (1959)
*"O Dio Mio" #10 (1960)
*"Train of Love" #36 (1960)
*"Pineapple Princess" #11 (1960)
*"Talk to Me Baby" #92 (1960)
*"Dream Boy" #87 (1961)

Filmography

*"The Shaggy Dog" (1959)
*"Babes in Toyland" (1961)
*"Elfego Baca: Six Gun Law" (1962) (compilation of episodes from "Wonderful World of Disney" serial)
*"Beach Party" (1963)
*"The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" (1964)
*"Muscle Beach Party" (1964)
*"Bikini Beach" (1964)
*"Pajama Party" (1964)
*"Beach Blanket Bingo" (1965)
*"The Monkey's Uncle" (1965)
*"Ski Party" (1965) (Cameo)
*"How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" (1965)
*"Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine" (1965) (Cameo)
*"Fireball 500" (1966)
*"Thunder Alley" (1967)
*"Head" (1968)
*"Back to the Beach" (1987)
*"Troop Beverly Hills" (1989) (Cameo)

Television work

*"Mickey Mouse Club" (1955-1959)
*"The Danny Thomas Show" (cast member in 1959)
*"The Horsemasters" (1961)
*"Escapade in Florence" (1962)
*"Easy Does It... Starring Frankie Avalon" (1976) (canceled after 4 episodes)
*"Frankie and Annette: The Second Time Around" (1978) (unsold pilot)
*"The Mouseketeer Reunion" (November 23, 1980)
*"Lots of Luck" (1985)
*"Growing Pains" episode "The Seavers and the Cleavers" (guest star, 1985)
*"Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" (guest star, 1988)
*"Full House" episode "Joey Goes Hollywood" (guest star with Frankie Avalon, March 29, 1991)
*"A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story" (1995)

Book

*Funicello, Annette and Patricia Romanowski. "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes: My Story" 1994, ISBN 0-7868-8092-9

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0002088|name=Annette Funicello
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6NatiMGTH4 Annette Funicello - Mouseketeer]
* [http://calfund.org/8/giving_funicello.php California Community Foundation - The Annette Funicello Fund For Neurological Disorders]
* [http://www.fiftiesweb.com/annette.htm Classic TV - The Mickey Mouse Club]
* [http://legends.disney.go.com/legends/detail?key=Annette+Funicello Disney Legends - Annette Funicello]
* [http://www.annettefunicello.net/ Annette Funicello Information Site]
* [http://www.originalmmc.com/annette.html Annette Funicello Profile]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJqIE8V8AsU Annette Funicello - Video]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgcb8bfKB2I Annette Funicello - Video 2]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe-_flwBMg Annette Funicello - Video 3]