Annette Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013)
Annette Funicello, America’s girl next door who captured the innocence of the 1950s and 1960s as a Disney Mouseketeer and the star of beach party movies, died on Monday at age 70, the Walt Disney Co. said.
Funicello died at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, California, from complication of multiple sclerosis, the television and film studio said.
“Annette was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word Mousketeer, and a true Disney legend,” Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of Walt Disney Co., said in a statement.
“She will forever hold a place in our hearts as one of Walt Disney’s brightest stars, delighting an entire generation of baby boomers with her jubilant personality and endless talent,” he said.
Funicello first caught the public eye as a teenager in the 1950s when she was one of the original members of Disney’s “The Mickey Mouse Club.” She went on to star in a series of beach movies in the 1960s including “Beach Party,” “Bikini Beach” and the hit “Beach Blanket Bingo,” released in 1965 and co-starring teen idol Frankie Avalon.
