A Mouseketeer Passes On

[mamaleh]

So as not to alarm anyone, I deliberately didn't call this thread "Annette Has Passed Away." Annette Funicello, whom I'm sure many of us remember fondly from our childhoods, whether from her Mouseketeer days or the beach movies, has died from complications of MS, which she has suffered from for many years. Talk about feeling old...and sad. She was the same age as Roger Ebert, but somehow I don't see how she could have been 70--but she was.

Ellen

[annetter]

Thanks Ellen I am alive and well. And as far as I know Annette l P is too

Annette Funicello was a role model for me growing up

[wildfire]

My brother had an enormous crush on her. I really liked her. Just three years older than I! A shame she has passed.

[carouselkathy]

Many times, I sat myself in front of the family black and white T.V. with mouse ears on my head, pretending that our bathroom plunger was my personal stand-up microphone. "Mouseketeer roll call, sound-off now!" And, at this final closing...M-I-C- See you real soon, K-E-Y- Why? Because we liked you, Annette. We liked you and admired your brave stuggle with MS. Rest in Peace.

[chessie]

I never missed the Mickey Mouse Club shows, and Annette was one of my favorites. All of the boys were in love with her, both as a Mousketeer and as the star of the Beach Blanket movies. As blessed as she was in her youth, her later years were a constant struggle against the ravages of MS.

Those of us who are "Boomers" have lost an old friend. RIP, Annette.

Carol

[mamaleh]

I was even worse, Kathy. I had a cowgirl outfit that I used to put on every Friday. Why? Because that was Mouseketeer "round-up" day: "Round 'em up, bring 'em in, everybody's sure to win. Step right up, here we go, oh, what a rodeo!" I can hear it in my head to this day and envision my older brother rolling his eyes as in, "How stupid is this!"

I, too, was a big Annette fan. No, Roberta Shore--Annette would never steal your necklace!

May she find peace now.

Ellen

[njr]

I was a bit younger than the rest of you, but as a toddler I watched. My Mom said I used to sing "MIC...KDY MOUSE!" 8-)
Guess I couldn't say "E"! (this was when I was about 18 mos. old she said)

Nancy

[birchie]

I was very sad to hear about Annette yesterday. She was my role model as a kid and my brother's first crush. We were just a year apart so we both saw her as our age though she was a few years older than me. We each loved her in our own way. We discovered the Mickey Mouse Club when we came back to the states after living in Japan. It was love at first sight for me from the first time I saw the show and I never missed it after that. I also loved Spin & Marty and even the silly beach movies she did with Frankie Avalon. Most recently, I cried through the movie about her life A Dream Is A Wish You Heart Makes. Her courage and upbeat attitude in the face of a debilitating disease was an inspiration to millions. RIP Annette.
Sue

[chessie]

I always looked forward to Fridays too, Ellen, because that was Spin and Marty day. The stars of that serial were the objects of one of my very earliest crushes.

All of it was great entertainment, and it wasn't "dumbed down" to appeal to the younger set. The kids were all wonderfully talented and seemed to be pretty unaffected by their stardom. We were lucky to have had the exposure to such quality programming for kids.

Carol

[carouselkathy]

Ah, Friday Round-up Day, Spin and Marty, I knew all the songs too, Ellen! I also remember that my parents had to rush through dinner at a nice restaurant so that we could be home in time to see Annette on an episode of ZORRO. What did we ever do without VCRs and DVRs? One of my recent splurges was at the Disney Store. I bought a Mickey Mouse Club 1955 sweatshirt (not an original, of course), but it's still a treasure. Memories!