News of Annette Funicello’s passing Monday at age 70 sent me scrambling through a box of old cassette tapes. Thanks to my friend Lorraine Santoli, a former Disney publicity manager who authored a book on the Mouseketeers and who formed a close bond with Funicello, I was able to interview the Disney princess. That memorable
Annette Funicello was one of the biggest stars on television back in the mid-’50s. As the main attraction on The Mickey Mouse Club, the original Mouseketeer was much more than just the Justin Beiber of her day, a child star kids wanted to know, be like, grow up and marry. Parents adored her too.Funicello went on
Hey there, hi there, ho there–guess who turned 69 on the weekend?Annette Funicello, who, as the most famous of all the Mouseketeers in the mid-’50s, was one of the biggest stars ever in television.How famous was Annette? Paul Anka, seen Sunday as guest judge on Cover Me Canada, wrote his hit Put Your Head on