Legendary mouseketeer Annette Funicello has passed away according to Disney’s official fan club twitter account. The 70-year-old actress had been hospitalized in Bakersfield,CA due to complications of multiple sclerosis.
Known as the Queen of the “Mickey Mouse Club,” Funicello rose to prominence as a “Mouseketeer” on the original Mickey Mouse Club. She was discovered by Walt Disney in 1955 during a performance of the ballet Swan Lake in Burbank, CA. The 12 year old actress was personally selected by Disney as a cast member on the first season of the Mickey Mouse Club. By the end of the first season her popularity had grown so high that she was receiving over 6,000 letters per month.
After the Mickey Mouse Club she remained with Disney to star in the television series Zorro, Elfego Baca, and The Horsemasters. She would also star in the Disney films The Shaggy Dog, Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Monkey’s Uncle.
In addition to her work on camera, Funicello had a successful career as a pop singer during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her song “Tall Paul” who peak at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other well-known songs by Funicello include “First Name Initial,” “O Dio Mio,” “Train of Love” and “Pineapple Princess.”
Following her work with Disney she would become a teen idol by starring in the Beach Party films with Frankie Avalon. Throughout the 1960s shes starred in Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Pajama Party (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). The duo would return to the screen in their 1987 parody film Back to the Beach.
In 1992 Funicello announced that she had been suffering from multiple sclerosis. The actress had kept the diagnose secret for years, but decided to announce the news to the public since rumors were spreading that she was dealing with alcoholism. That year the Walt Disney Company announced that she was to be inducted as a Disney Legend.
She will forever be remembered by Disney fans around the world.
