AMERICAN BEAUTY
Remembering ANNETTE FUNICELLO.
WHY? BECAUSE WE LIKE YOU!
ANNETTE rocketed to superstardom on "The Mickey Mouse Club" which first preemed on ABC in 1955.
BIKINI BEACH
Disney still had Annette under contract so she was forbidden to wear a bikini. She more than rocked her fuller two-piece as delineated in this rare half-sheet from AIP.
And they called it PUPPY LOVE
Annette dated teen idol PAUL ANKA. Anka recently claimed to have bedded the underage star under the nose of her parents in his memoir.
FRANKIE & ANNETTE
The legendary movie couple first teamed in "Beach Party" for producer/director William Asher at American International Pictures. They promptly turned out such hit musicals as "Muscle Beach Party,"and "Beach Blanket Bingo" .
BACK AND BACK TO THE BEACH
But ANNETTE & FRANKIE were so popular they costarred on TV shows "Love American Style", "The Big Event" "The Love Boat" and others during the 1970s. They finally reunited on the big screen in "Back to the Beach" in 1987.
BRAVE LAST DAYS
Annette told the world she was suffering from MS and as the disease progressed she became a recluse, suffering in silence but establishing a foundation so that others may find relief from the incurable degenerative disease in the future.
IMMORTAL BELOVED
And now it's time to say good bye to ALL our family....
YOU GO-GO GIRL
After The Beach Party era wiped out, a very mod Anette transitioned back to TV as spokesperson for Skippy peanut butter in a series of commercials.