Annette Funicello, America’s sweetheart who rocketed to fame as one of TV’s original fresh-faced “Mouseketeers” and later teamed with Frankie Avalon in a series of successful 1960s “Beach Party” movies, died yesterday after a 25-year battle with multiple sclerosis.
She was 70.
Born in upstate Utica, Funicello grew up in California and, at the age of 12, was cast as a Mouseketeer in ABC’s “The Mickey Mouse Club” after being spotted by series creator Walt Disney.
With her sunny disposition and girl-next-door looks, Funicello became the kiddie variety show’s standout star after its 1955 premiere, and remained with the series until it ended in 1960.
Disney was so enamored of Funicello that he created a series for her, “Walt Disney Presents: Annette” — which aired as part of “The Mickey Mouse Club” — and she was the only Mouseketeer he kept under contract after the show ended.
The Walt Disney Co. revived “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the 1990s with now-famous Mouseketeers, including Keri Russell, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling.
After her contract with Disney ended, Funicello embarked on a recording career and followed that with a string of corny-yet-profitable “Beach Party” movies in the mid-1960s.
The flicks, aimed at the teen market, co-starred Funicello’s fellow teen idol Avalon, and included “Beach Blanket Bingo,” “Bikini Beach,” “Pajama Party” and “How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.”
She later appeared in ads for Skippy peanut butter, wrote her autobiography and, after suffering a series of dizzy spells for about five years, announced in 1992 that she was suffering from MS.
The disease eventually confined Funicello to a wheelchair and robbed her of the ability to walk and to speak.
Funicello had three children from her first marriage to Jack Gilardi and, in 1986, married her second husband, Glen Holt.
“Annette was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word ‘Mouseketeer,’ and a true Disney legend,” Disney chief Bob Iger said in a statement.