Annette Funicello was scouted out by none other than Walt Disney, himself. Walt found Annette when he watched her performance as the Swan Queen in a recital of Swan Lake, at a bowling alley in California. At 12 years old, she quickly began her rise to fame, racking up over 5,000 fan mail letters every month – more than any of the other cast members. In fact, Funicello can be described as the single most famous of Walt Disney’s Mouseketeers. Over the span of her 7-year contract with Disney, she appeared on several of the show’s episodes, along with some of her own specials.
Along with specials like her stint on Walt Disney Presents: Annette Funicello, she made her way into some other shows during her years with Disney, such as Zorro. Disney loved working with Annette so much that he cast her as Mary Contrary in his 1961 musical film, Babes in Toyland. A few years into her contract, she found herself in the ranks of teen idols, and became one of the most famous actresses of her generation. Unfortunately, Annette Funicello’s life would take a turn for the worse…
The Original Cast All Grown Up
The Mickey Mouse Club was a fun-filled variety show that made its debut on ABC in 1955. Cast members included mainly children and young teens, appearing alongside of Disney favorites, like Mickey Mouse. The show originally ran through 1959, alternating some of the cast members over the years. But the club was a long-standing phenomenon, with versions of it airing off and on until 1996.
Jimmie Dodd was the show’s host and “Head Mouseketeer,” and would guide the teens both while the cameras were rolling, and behind the lens. Dodd was beloved by the other Mouseketeers and audience alike, leading children at home to make smart decisions. For children that grew up in the 50’s, The Mickey Mouse Club was a household name and staple.
Keep Calm and Put Your Ears On!
The large mouse ears were made famous on the show after Disney artist Roy Williams brought the idea to producers. Female cast members wore a big pair of plastic Minnie ears, while boys wore Mickey’s. The Mickey Mouse Club consisted of different comedic sketches that usually had underlying messages of using good morals. Of course, cast members delivered these messages using fun songs and silly voices, and children all across America tuned in.
The show consisted of what was essentially an A team and a B team, which staffers referred to as the red and blue teams, respectively. Cast members who were involved in most of the episodes made the red team, and ended up with the most air time, while blue-teamers were mostly on standby in case they needed extra team members for the show. The original Mouseketeer red team was made up of 9 children, including Sharon Baird, Tommy Cole and Annette Funicello.
Annette’s Fatal Diagnosis
In 1987, Funicello starred in the last of her 7-film Beach Party series with costar Frankie Avalon. The final film was dubbed Back to the Beach. But when she and Avalon reunited for the film’s promotion, she seemed to be suffering from some type of illness. In fact, some people initially attributed the strange signs to alcoholism, but it turned out to be something much worse. In 1992, she ended up going public with the news that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
In the spring of 2013, the beloved Disney star lost her life to the disease. But fans weren’t willing to let her go so easily. Aside from Annette leaving her own legacy, in the form of the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders, she also has a restaurant named for her in Disneyland Paris and will forever reign as a Legend of Disney.
The Life of Bobby Burgess
Burgess was another one of the original red team Mouseketeers that was handpicked by Walt Disney. While he was enjoying his newfound success, he wound up making appearances on other shows, such as The Lawrence Welk Show, and The Donna Reed Show. But after his contract with Disney was over, he decided to pursue his degree from Long Beach State University, where he pledged Sigma Pi and began dancing with his longtime friend, Barbara Boylan.
Today, Burgess lives in the Hollywood Hills with his wife of many years, Kristie Floren, with whom he had four children. The couple actually got introduced while working together on Lawrence Welk and hit it off right away. Burgess still loves to dance, and does so while teaching at his own studio, or touring with partner Elaine Balden.