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8 things you never knew about Annette Funicello
The Mouseketeer and beach-movie starlet also made rock 'n' roll history.
Image: The Everett Collection
When The Mickey Mouse Club premiered on television in 1955, the show had no shortage of Mouseketeers. The kids were split into three squads — the Red, White and Blue teams. They included Johnny Crawford, who would go on to a lead role in The Rifleman, and Don Grady, soon to become one of the three sons of My Three Sons.
But by the end of the first season, it was another instant star who was drowning in fan mail. Viewers were sending Annette Funicello more than 6,000 letters per month. The Southern California girl was an instant celebrity, especially among the young Boomer set.
Over the following 15 years, Funicello would surf that fame to a somewhat reluctant recording career and a wave of beach movies at the box office.
One of the first teen idols of the modern era, the Disney Legend remains an icon. Let's kick up some sand and learn more about the adored Annette.
Love The Mickey Mouse Club? See a special Mickey-themed episode of Collector's Call with an Annette collectible on Sunday, June 7, at 9:30PM | 8:30C.
1. She was the last Mouseketeer picked for The Mickey Mouse Club.
At the age of 12, Funicello was bounding about on stage in a Burbank production of Swan Lake when she was plucked for Disney stardom. She was the final Mouseketeer chosen for Disney's new ABC series in 1955.
Image: The Everett Collection
2. Walt Disney selected her himself.
It was the main man himself, Walt Disney, who happened to watch that staging of Swan Lake. Funicello was one of a few castmembers personally selected by the visionary creator, and Mr. Disney would take a protective role over her career for years.
Image: The Everett Collection
3. She was the first woman to have a Top 10 rock 'n' roll hit.
Annette's singing career was fan-initiated. She sang a number called "How Will I Know My Love" on television, and Disney received so much mail about the tune, the studio decided to press it as a record. In the late-'50s, she continued to record singles, many of them written by The Sherman Brothers, the songwriters behind movie classics like Mary Poppins — not to mention "It's a Small World (After All)." One of their biggest collaborations would be "Tall Paul," which rocketed to No. 7 in 1959. It was the first female-fronted rock 'n' roll single to crack the Top 10!
Image: The Everett Collection
4. Walt Disney gave her a role on 'Zorro' as a birthday present.
Walt Disney knew that Annette counted herself as a huge fan of Zorro, the Disney-produced Western series starring Guy Williams. When she turned 16, Annette found herself as a guest star on her favorite show. It was reportedly a birthday present from Mr. Disney. She played Anita Cabrillo in three episodes, and later appeared as Constancia de la Torre.
Image: Disney
5. She was supposed to star in a Disney 'Oz' movie.
Walt Disney yearned to produce a film based on The Wizard of Oz. Unfortunately, another studio snatched up the film rights for the 1939 masterpiece starring Judy Garland. That did not stop Disney. He procured the rights to other Oz books by L. Frank Baum in 1954. Annette was set to star as Princess Ozma (fellow Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie would be Dorothy). Preview segments for the production even appeared on television in a special 4th-anniversary Disneyland celebration on September 11, 1957. But the movie never came to fruition.
Image: Disney / D23
6. Paul Anka wrote "Puppy Love" about her.
Paul Anka crafted one of the biggest hits of 1960 with "Puppy Love." The teen pop anthem was a tribute to Annette by the lovesick Anka. Some reports call it a deep crush, others label their relationship a love affair. Whatever the case, they call it puppy love. A dozen years later, Donny Osmond would record a version of the song, which made it all the way to No. 3 on the charts — one spot lower than the original.
7. Walt Disney did not want her to show her midriff.
Ever controlling of her Mouseketeer image, even after The Mickey Mouse Club ended, Walt Disney requested that Annette not show her navel in her teen beach flicks for American International Pictures, beginning with Beach Party in 1963. However, as you can see from this promotional still for Beach Party, she did not take the note.
Image: The Everett Collection
8. There is a retro Fifties diner named for her in France.
How much is Annette Funicello associated with midcentury nostalia? Travel to Europe to see. Disneyland Paris features a retro diner named Annette's in her honor.
Image: Disneyland Paris / Disney
SEE MORE: What ever happened to the original Mickey Mouse Club Mousketeers?
You know about Annette and Johnny… but what about the rest? READ MORE
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