Annette Funicello: The Favorite Mouseketeer

With elegant beauty, dark hair, a kind-hearted smile, and a beautiful singing voice, Annette Funicello gained fame starring in Disney movies and television, as well as beach-themed movies. As her career skyrocketed in the 1950s, the whole world knew her primarily by her first name. If someone said “Annette” no one ever needed to say Funicello because they knew of whom you were speaking. Despite physical challenges in adulthood, she was an exceptional talent and had a special career that lasted for over 30 years. And she has the distinction of being considered one of the very first “celebrity crushes”—at least for the males of her “baby boomer” generation!

Annette Joanne Funicello was born in Utica, New York on October 22nd, 1942. Her parents were Italian Americans Joseph Edward and Virginia Jeanne Funicello. Together they relocated to southern California when Annette was four. There, she took up dancing and music lessons. She performed the lead role of the “Swan Lake” ballet in her school’s end-of-the-year recital, and the performance caught the attention of Walt Disney. He cast her in his upcoming project The Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1959), one of the last of 24 cast members selected, and one of the few to be picked by Disney himself. While on “Mickey Mouse Club,” she appeared in several serials that aired within the show, including Adventure in Dairyland, Walt Disney Presents: Annette, and the second and third Spin and Marty serials, which would be her first pairing with Tommy Kirk, Tim Considine, and Kevin Corcoran. In the “Annette,” serial she performed the song “How Will I Know My Love,” which launched her career as a singer. All of this led to her becoming the most popular cast member of “Mickey Mouse Club,” receiving a total of 6,000 letters a month by the end of the first season.

When “Mickey Mouse Club” ended Annette remained under contract to Walt Disney and appeared in other television shows produced by the studio: Zorro (1957-1959), The Horsemasters (1961), and Elfego Baca (1962). She made her Disney film debut in 1959 with The Shaggy Dog, which reunited her with Considine and Kirk. In 1961, she played the role of Mary Quite Contrary in Babes in Toyland, and it was around this time that The Wizard of Oz (1939) had gained popularity on television, making Walt Disney consider doing an “Oz,” film of his own. “Rainbow Road to Oz,” would have starred Annette along with some of the other Mouseketeers, but script developing for this film fell apart, and it was replaced with “Toyland.” (Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran both appeared in “Toyland,” as well.) The same year she made this movie, she sang “The Parent Trap,” title song and an arrangement of “Let’s Get Together,” for The Parent Trap (1961).

Three years after “Toyland,” Annette made The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964) which again reunited her with Tommy Kirk, and was followed by a sequel, The Monkey’s Uncle (1965) the following year. The year prior to making “Misadventures,” she received an offer from American International Pictures to star in a fun-on-the-beach movie entitled Beach Party (1963)). She wanted to accept and Disney agreed to loan her for the film, on the condition that she would wear a one-piece bathing suit that completely covered her navel. Walt was overprotective of her, and he didn’t want the image she had created at his studio to be altered in another movie since she was still under contact at the time. “Beach Party,” was a hit, and it led to Avalon and Funicello making the films: Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), Doctor Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965), and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). Around the time that she made each of these movies, she continued her singing career with the songs written by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman who were employed by Disney in the ‘60s: “Tall Paul,”   “First Name Initial,” “O Dio Mio,” “Train of Love,” (which was actually written by Paul Anka) and “Pineapple Princess.” Anka had a crush on her, though she married his agent, Jack Gilardi, on January 9th, 1965.

Annette and Jack had three children together, Jason, Jack Jr., and Gina. She continued to act in movies with Fireball 500 (1966), Thunder Alley (1967), and Head (1968), the first two of which reunited with Frankie Avalon and she also became the spokesperson for Skippy Peanut Butter. Though she always valued her family first, her marriage unfortunately ended after 18 years on March 21st, 1983. She remarried, three years later to harness racing horse breeder/trainer Glen Holt on May 3rd 1986. The following year, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Embarrassed by the condition, she never formally acknowledged it until 1992, but became the most famous spokesperson for the disease, opening the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders at the California Community Foundation in 1993. Prior to that, she reunited with Frankie Avalon for a tenth and 11th time in Back to the Beach (1987) and Troop Beverly Hills (1989). She and Avalon also made guest appearances together in an episode of the sit-com Full House in 1991. She wrote an autobiography entitled A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes in 1994, and it was made into a television movie in 1995.

Annette died on April 8th, 2013 due to complications from multiple sclerosis at the age of 70. It is extraordinary that she did not let her multiple sclerosis keep her from performing, and she will always be remembered as the Mouseketeer who grew into the Beach Party film star. When the Disney Channel Network produced the film Teen Party Beach Movie (2013), they dedicated the film to her when the film aired not long after her death on July 19th, 2013. There is also restaurant called Annette’s diner (named after her) located in the dining area of Disneyland Paris.   

Live-Action Disney Villains 411

The villains in animated Disney movies resonate a great deal with us, sometimes even more than the heroes. From the Evil Queen and Cruella De Vil, to Ursula and Jafar, the “baddies” thrill with their wicked laughter, their diabolical actions, and often their show-stopping tunes. But have you ever wondered about villains in live-action Disney films? Unlike the cartoon villains, real human villains don’t have evil laughter or show-stopping music. Instead they reverberate through bad actions, spoiled/selfish personalities, verbal threats, and/or greedy desires. In this blog, I’d like to acknowledge for you some of Disney’s live-action villains and why they are bad, but at the same time entertaining.

Vicky Robinson (played by Joanna Barnes) who was the main antagonist in The Parent Trap (1961). Vicky wants to marry Mitch Evers, father of twin sisters Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick (both played by Hayley Mills), but strictly for his money, not because she loves him. She takes an instant dislike to Susan in their meeting scene at Mitch’s pool, in which Susan jokingly describes her father as a womanizer and that Vicky is no better than any other woman that Mitch has ever been with. Vicky indicates to her mother that she has an evil plot to send both Susan and her sister to a boarding school in Switzerland, but her plot is foiled when they all go camping together and Vicky loses her temper-very selfish-though humorous when her tent is sabotaged by the twins.

When Disney readapted The Parent Trap 37 years later (1998), with Lindsay Lohan in the dual role of the twin sisters, the film’s then husband-and-wife producer/director team Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer cast Joanna Barnes as Vicki Blake, mother of Meredith Blake (played by Elaine Hendirx), the gold digger in the remake. One could guess that Joanna Barnes is actually playing Vicki Robinson again in the remake, but has since married and has a daughter named Meredith, who is repeating her mother’s evil plan. “Aunt Vicki” refers to Lindsay Lohan as “pet” in a sickeningly sweet way, just like her mother referred to Hayley Mills in the original. 

    

Alonzo P. Hawk (played by Keenan Wynn) was the villain in The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and its sequel Son of Flubber (1963). Hawk is a ruthless, scheming businessman who has been completely consumed by greed. He wants to destroy Medfield College and replace it with apartment complexes, but when he discovers Professor Philip Brainard’s creation of “Flubber,” he immediately believes it could make more money than doing away with the college. He offers Brainard a chance to share in the money with him, though Brainard refuses, and hence, Hawk robs Brainard of his chance to show Flubber to the government. Later Brainard tricks Hawk into wearing Flubber on a pair of shoes and leaves him stuck bouncing all day, creating a scene all around town. Hawk continues his attempt to steal Flubber in “Son of Flubber,” and he even winds up taking Professor Brainard to court when it is believed that Flubber caused property damage all over town. Once again, he fails when it is discovered that the property damage was caused by something else, and that in addition for the ability to fly, Flubber could also be used to grow vegetables.

Kennan also portrayed the character of Alonzo Hawk in the movie Herbie Rides Again (1974), Disney’s second sequel to The Love Bug (1968). In this film he does not seek Flubber, but like both Flubber movies, he continues to destroy buildings that have great history in order to make more modern buildings like shopping malls and skyscrapers. Keenan Wynn also appeared alongside his father, fellow Disney legend Ed Wynn, and even his own son, Ned Wynn, in both Flubber movies.

Dan and Iggy (played by Neville Brand and Frank Gorshin respectively) were the two bank robbers in That Darn Cat! (1965). They robbed a bank and greedily kidnapped one of its tellers, Margaret Miller, holding her hostage in their hideout apartment. Miss Miller attempts to send a help signal by scratching the word help on her watch and replacing it on D.C. (the cat’s) collar. Dan and Iggy rudely shove her out of the way when it looks as though she is attempting to escape and keep her bound and gagged. D.C. leads his owner, Patti Randall (played by Hayley Mills) , and her friend, F.B.I. agent Zeke Kelso (played by Dean Jones), to Dan and Iggy and through brilliantly choreographed fights Dan and Iggy are arrested and Margaret is saved.

Although “Darn Cat,” was his only Disney role, Frank Gorshin is also know for having played the Riddler, one of Batman’s main antagonists, in the original Batman television series (1966-1968) as well as Batman: the Movie (1966). “Darn Cat,” was also Neville Brand’s only Disney role too, though beyond that he is known for playing Duke in Billy Wilder’s Stalag 17 (1953), which won William Holden the Best Actor Oscar. 

  

Peter Thorndyke (played by David Tomlinson) was the greedy car salesman in The Love Bug (1968). Thorndyke is also unkind and impatient and that all blindsides him from realizing that Herbie is a car who experiences feelings and emotion in the same way that a human would. He treats Herbie just like any other car and doesn’t realize that Herbie is special, but he starts paying attention to him when he discovers that Herbie can be a real racing car. He later offers to take Herbie back from Jim Douglas (played by Dean Jones) if he wins a race that Jim is competing in. Jim accepts the offer, though he wins the race, and many more. Outraged, Thorndyke cheats his way to victory in another by pouring coffee in Herbie’s gas tanks, but loses yet again, and Thorndyke is consigned to becoming a mechanic. 

David Tomlinson is also known at Disney for having played Mr. George W. Banks, the father in Mary Poppins (1964) and Professor Emelius Brown in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). He can also be heard as the voice of Mary Poppins’ parrot handle at the very end of “Poppins.”  

Live-actions villains in Disney films are memorable too. Even though they are brought to life by real people instead of an animator and voice actor, they also serve as assets to their movies. It is ironic that some of them are connected to sequels and remakes of the original stories.