R.I.P. ANNETTE FUNICELLO

Annette died today at age 70 as a result of complications from multiple sclerosis.



I never saw Annette on television as a Mousketteer. Either my family didn’t have a television during the early years of The Mickey Mouse Club, or when we finally got a t.v. that show wasn’t on the one or two stations that we received out in the boondocks of west Texas.

No, in my pre- and early teens, I watched all those teenybopper beach movies and fell in love with her there.  She was always the most decently dressed of the beach babes (no bikinis for her) but the cutest one there.  I always wanted to be a surfer chick which was a difficult since I lived in wonderful west Texas where there was barely ANY water much less ocean.

Much, much later Annette sold dolls on the QVC shopping network.  I’m not a doll person but I would watch her a bit just because she was such an American icon from my childhood.

My heart goes out to her family, friends, and fans.

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