Sweet memoir from the woman who was America’s sweetheart for a long period of time. Funicello comes across exactly like you’d imagine – a bit shy, hard working, naïve, from a strong loving if strict family, nice to fans. She’s no dummy, though – recognising part of her appeal came from having a big chest (Though she points out she didn’t develop until after The Mickey Mouse Club and there were other girls on the show with bigger ones).
But the extent of Funicello’s success took her by surprise – takes her by surprise still. She was the break out star of The Mickey Mouse Club, despite being the last mouse-keteer. She headlined her own serial and had a semi-hit record and was the only mouseketeer kept on by Disney after the original series ended. Perhaps this was because she was the only one personally selected by Disney, thus meaning he had a personal stake in her success. But she did have a genuine, non-threatening girl next door quality. She also had a twinkle in the eye, which all stars need.
Full of interesting tidbits. I had no idea Disney planned on making a sequel to the Wizard of Oz and actually shot a few scenes, some of which were shown on the Disney program, but it never went ahead. (Surely it would have been better than Return to Oz).
There’s also a charming vignette about Funicello travelling on one of those all-star late 50s rock caravans (like other one Buddy Holly died in) – being forced to do homework by a tutor, making out with Duane Eddy, romancing Paul Anka (mum sat in the bathroom so they could have quality time).
Some darker stuff too – well, dark-ish: at one stage Annette asked Disney if she could see a shrink to help conquer her shyness but he advised against it for fear it would ruin her appeal )which Disney thought was partly based on her shyness) – and Annette wondered how her life would have turned out had Disney not done that.
There’s other stuff in this vein - Nancy Sinatra giving her the evil eye when Annette co-starred with Tommy Sands, a knife-wielding fan had to be turned away at the Disney gates and another maniac threatened to kill her when she decide to get married. She married her agent, an older guy, but they drifted apart – Annette was very much a homebody (she comes most alive in the book when talking about being a parent), whereas her husband was social. She considered herself a dancer more than anything else – yet says she only got to show off her stuff in one film, Babes in Toyland, one of her faves (she seems to forget Pajama Party, which also gave her a chance to shine – she also seems to forget that she made this as well as How to Stuff a Wild Bikini without Avalon, and that she did in fact show her navel in a few of the beach party movies.)
She talks with affection of Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Sands and Paul Anka – but barely mentions Tommy Kirk despite co-starring with him more than any of the others. She displays a great deal of postivity in the face of her MS. Reading this its easy to see why, for all her tinny singing voice and sameness of her roles (basically impatient-girlfriend-of-hero) she retains such affection with the public.
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