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Annette Funicello
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LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

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LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

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Annette Joanne Funicello (born October 22, 1942) is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of The Mickey Mouse Club,[1] and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.

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.[2]

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, Walt Disney Presents: Annette (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.[3]

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.[4]

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." They were released by Disney's Buena Vista label. 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. Early in her career, she appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood. [3]

Beach icon and spokeswoman

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, Beach Blanket Bingo, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini and Pajama Party.

When she was cast in her first beach movie, Walt Disney reportedly requested that she only wear modest bathing suits and keep her navel hidden. However, Annette wore a pink two-piece in Beach Party, a white two-piece fishnet suit in the second film (Muscle Beach Party) and a blue and white bikini in the third (Bikini Beach). All three 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.[5]

She and Avalon became so iconic as "beach picture" stars that they were re-united in 1987 for the Paramount film Back to the Beach, parodying their own surf-and-sand 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.[6]

Personal

Funicello was married to her first husband, Jack Gilardi, from 1965 until 1981. They had three children together, Gina (b. 1966), Jack, Jr. (b. 1970) and Jason (b. 1974). In 1986, she married California harness racing horse breeder/trainer Glen Holt.[2] Annette and Glen were frequently seen at Los Alamitos Racetrack and at Fairplex in Pomona in the 1980s and 1990s attending harness horse races. In 1987, Annette reunited with Frankie Avalon for a series of promotional concerts to promote their film Back to the Beach. She began to suffer from dizzy spells, but kept her failing health from her family.

Funicello announced in 1992 that she suffers from multiple sclerosis.[7] She had kept her condition a secret for many years, but felt it necessary to go public to combat rumors that her impaired ability to walk was the result of alcoholism. That same year, she was inducted as a Disney Legend.[8] In 1993, she opened the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders at the California Community Foundation.

Funicello's best friend is Shelley Fabares. She and Fabares have been friends since they were young teenagers, and Fabares was a bridesmaid at Funicello's first wedding. She is also very close to fellow Mouseketeer Sharon Baird and her "Beach" movies co-star, Frankie Avalon.

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 Disney 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 (Eva LaRue), 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.[9] The last collection in the series was made in 2004. She also has her own fragrance Cello by Annette.

Her parents died within two years of each other. On September 2, 2007, Annette mother's, Virginia Funicello, died of pneumonia, a month after her 86th birthday. On May 21, 2009, Annette's father, Joe Funicello, died of natural causes at the age of 93. The only on-screen appearance her parents made was in the above-mentioned A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story.

Discography

Numbers in parentheses indicated peak position in Billboard charts [10]

Albums

  • Annette -- Vista BV-3301—1959
  • Annette Sings Anka (#21) -- Vista BV-3302—1960
  • Hawaiiannette (#38) -- Vista BV-3303—1960
  • Italiannette -- Vista BV-3304—1960
  • Dance Annette -- Vista BV-3305—1961
  • The Story of My Teens -- Vista BV-3312—1962 The above albums were issued in mono only
  • Annette's Beach Party (#39) -- Vista BV-3316 (Mono)/STER-3316 (Stereo) -- July 1963
  • Muscle Beach Party -- Vista BV-3314/STER-3314—April 1964
  • Annette On Campus -- Vista BV-3320/STER-3320—1964
  • Annette At Bikini Beach -- Vista BV-3324/STER-3324—September 1964
  • Pajama Party -- Vista BV-3325/STER-3325—November 1964
  • Something Borrowed Something Blue -- Vista BV-3328/STER-3328—1964
  • Annette Sings Golden Surfin' Hits -- Vista BV-3327/STER-3327—July 1965
  • Annette Funicello -- Vista BV-4037—1972
  • Annette Funicello Country Album -- Starview 4001—1984
  • Best of Annette—Rhino RNDF-206—1984

Also released as a picture disk on Rhino RNLP-702

  • Annette: A Musical Reunion with America's Girl-Next-Door -- Vista 60010—1993
  • A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes -- Time/Warner 520564—released April 16, 1995
  • The Best of Annette -- Vista—Released August 14, 1991

Singles

  • "How Will I Know My Love"/"Don't Jump To Conclusions" -- Disneyland 102 (1958)
  • "That Crazy Place In Outer Space"/"Gold Doubloons and Pieces of Eight" -- Disneyland 114 (1958)
  • "Tall Paul" (#7)/"Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me" -- Disneyland 118 (1959)
  • "Jo Jo the Dog Faced Boy" (#73)/"Lonely Guitar" -- Vista 336 (1959)

Later pressings feature "Love Me Forever" as the B-side

  • "Lonely Guitar" (#50)/"Wild Willie" -- Vista 339 (1959)
  • "Especially For You"/"My Heart Became Of Age" -- Vista 344 (1959)
  • "First Name Initial" (#20)/"My Heart Became of Age" (#74) -- Vista 349 (1959)
  • "O Dio Mio" (#10)/"It Took Dreams" -- Vista 354 (1960)
  • "Train of Love" (#36)/"Tell Me Who's The Girl" -- Vista 359 (1960)
  • "Pineapple Princess" (#11)/"Luau Cha Cha Cha" -- Vista 362 (1960)
  • "Talk to Me Baby" (#92)/"I Love You Baby" -- Vista 369 (1960)
  • "Dream Boy" (#87)/"Please, Please Signore" -- Vista 374 (1961)
  • "Indian Giver"/"Mama, Mama Rosa (Where's The Spumoni)" -- Vista 375 (1961)
  • "Hawaiian Love Talk"/"Blue Muu Muu" (#107) -- Vista 384 (1961)
  • "Dreamin' About You" (#106)/"Strummin' Song" -- Vista 388 (1961)
  • "That Crazy Place From Outer Space"/"Seven Moons (Of Batalyre) (By Danny Saval & Tom Tyron) -- Vista 392 (1962)
  • "The Truth About Youth"/"I Can't Do The Sum" -- Vista 394 (1962)
  • "My Little Grass Shack"/"Hukilau" -- Vista 400 (1962)
  • "He's My Ideal"/"Mr. Piano Man" -- Vista 405 (1962)
  • "Bella Bella Florence"/"Canzone d'Amoure" -- Vista 407 (1962)
  • "Teenage Wedding"/"Walkin' and Talkin'" -- Vista 414 (1962)
  • "Treat Him Nicely"/"Promise Me Anything" (#123) -- Vista 427 (1963)
  • "Merlin Jones"/"The Scrambled Egghead" -- Vista 431 (1964)

Duets with Tommy Kirk

  • "Custom City"/"Rebel Rider" -- Vista 432 (1964)
  • "Muscle Beach Party"/"I Dream About Frankie" -- Vista 433 (1964)
  • "Bikini Beach Party"/"The Clyde" -- Vista 436 (1964)
  • "The Wah-Watusi"/"The Clyde" -- Vista 437 (1964)
  • "Something Borrowed, Something Blue"/"How Will I Know My Love" -- Vista 438 (1965)

B-side is a new version of Annette's first recording

  • "The Monkey's Uncle"/"How Will I Know My Love" -- Vista 440 (1965)

A-side features Annette with The Beach Boys

  • "Boy To Love"/"No One Else Could Be Prouder" -- Vista 442 (1965)
  • "No Way To Go But Up"/"Crystal Ball" -- Vista 450 (1966)
  • "What's A Girl To Do"/"When You Get What You Want" -- Tower 326 (1967)

Annette's name is misspelled on both sides as "Annettte"

  • "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes"/"Merlin Jones" -- Vista 475 (1970)
  • "(Together We Can Make A) Merry Christmas"/"The Night Before Christmas" -- Pacific Star 569 (1981)

Duets with Frankie Avalon

  • "The Promised Land"/"In Between and Out Of Love" -- Starview 3001 (1983)

Filmography

Television work

  • 6 months later...

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