If you’re an American of a certain age, you will already know who I’m talking about; if you’re not, her name was Annette Funicello, of the Mickey Mouse Club of yore. According to the Los Angeles Times, Annette died at 70 today, after suffering from multiple sclerosis for many years.
We’ll forget about her series of beach movies with Frankie Avalon, which I hated. The girl I remember is the one shown below, and she’s the first person of the opposite sex who awakened in me stirrings of. . . . well, desire. I’m sure many American guys my age will say the same. She was 7 years older than I, and to me that was a woman. We watched the Mickey Mouse Club because it was television for kids, but one of the stars was the lovely, dark-haired Annette, friendly and talented.
Other guys could hanker after the Aryan-esque Darlene, but I’d take Annette any time—the Sophia Loren of children’s t.v.
It’s hard to realize she’s gone—much less that she was 70! Though I haven’t thought about her for years, a world without Annette somehow seems emptier.
You are not alone. The not-quite totally pre-adolescent stirring for a given “Melt-a-roonie” finally expire only with one’s own brain death.
So ‘cited done forget the plural of “stirring.” Eine Schande.
We watched her in Australia, and I knew immediately who you meant by Annette, and she was the most memorable for me. I’ll chase up some MMClub on YouTube.
She was a very nice woman, amazingly unaffected. She struggled bravely with MS for many years. I used to love those serials that were part of the Micky Mouse Club, and tried daily to tap along with her in the opening musical number. I’m sorry to hear she passed.
I loved Annette and Frankie as a kid. How sad to hear of her death.
Why?…because we loved you
Awww.
Awww. . .what an appropriate comment!
Sofia indeed – I grew up in a era in which TV
moms wore heels and pearls, TV dads had pipes and fedoras, and every kid in Keds had
a crush on Annette Funicello.
Some 10-12 years ago, on the far side of middle age, I happened to be in a San Francisco International Airport gift shop, killing time between flights, when in walked
Ms Funicello. Instantly recognized by those of us with the appropriate patina, even on her own personal time, she graciously stopped to greet her fans and sign autographs.
Out of respect for Walt Disney, she intentionally lived every day of her life upholding her Disney image.
A witness to her enduring popularity can be
measured by the fact her official website has
crashed (annetteconection.com).
Thanks Annette ~
Almost every guy I knew while growing up in Northern Indiana was in love with Annette. Besides being incredibly attractive, Funicello was such an exotic name when compared to all of the Yoders, Millers, Beachys, Bontragers, etc., of Elkhart County.
As per, I know I am preaching to the converted.
But this is just a more bit more of a salient example, that for the human condition (awareness) life is a zero sum experience.
And religion employs a brute psychological defense of denial. To deny that a (every) human life is a zero sum phenomena.
Ernest Becker zeroed in on the concept of original sin.
Take Annette — we are, we are born — we have this res extensa (corporal reality).
One is walking down the street and by so doing bumps into another ‘body’
The immediate response (usually) is, “I’m sorry”
The query posed: what is one sorry about, or sorry for.
The answer is — for taking up 3d space.
Sorry for having a body, the healthy body (young Anette) seems to be a gift.
We apologize for it (vide supra). We are worried about it, as it sickens and dies.
THIS is why religion cannot deal with a corporeal reality. Anything that emphasizes, enhances the corporeal drives an existential anxiety (an anxiety driven by this awareness -particularly as apprehended by our three pound brain). This is why J. C. of religion is the greatest hero – truly Sui generis.
Religious beliefs always have one paying penitence for bodily gifts, acts and obeisance to the giver of this gift.
Well Ernest Becker summed all this up.
But looking at Annette Funicello’s life and illness and death, as it enhances the highs and lows just a bit (think Vivien Leigh) or think you and me.
All this is pretty much at times — but we have learnt that denial doesn’t cut it, and denial plus – that is to say transcendence only pretties it up.
The taint of original sin is our body, Descartes Res extensa and Descartes Error.
Ah(Wo)men
Just like Douglas E, almost every guy I knew was in love with Annette. So I decided to go for Darlene, thereby determining the delineation of all my future love interests.
Ah, yes, Darlene – my backup plan was Cheryl.
Really?
Well this has just been an entirely crappy day on the whole.
Anette was just before my time, but I was watching her on the screen.
When I was 12 or so and living in Germany on the economy (military brats know what I mean by this) I went to the base theater, and saw “The Longest Day”. A young man sat beside me. I didn’t know his name, or any thing about him. About a quarter of the way into the movie, he held my hand, and he held it for the rest of the movie. You really have no idea about how wonderful this was for me.
That same year, I was held down and raped by two boys. This part is not so important.
What I’m getting at is Annette Funicello. All that is well and healthy and normal in my world at that time, when nothing was well and healthy and normal was Anette Funicello.
I’m of that certain age. Who can forget her?
When I was in the Marine Corps back in the ’60s I spent 27 weeks at electronics school. In the barracks there was a contingent of guys (now in their 70s) who watched the Mickey Mouse Club every afternoon for exactly the same reason – and it wasn’t Mickey.
Why do I first read of Annette Funicello’s death on a website entitled Why Evolution is True???
I guess it’s because the website owner has a decently ordered set of priorities.
[No sarcasm intended!]
No evolution, no mice, no Micky Mouse Club, no Miss F. QED
Smile!
Sorry. I thought QED was Proto-Indoeuropean for
“smile.”
No doubt. I was just smiling with you. 😉
Glad to learn we share justified if spazmodic mouth upturnage. No doubt the reality of human persistent “puppy love” preceeds the evolutionary appearance of puppies
some 15+ millenia ago.
Wow. Jerry I never knew how old you were. You wear it well brother.
She was two years older than I am. She was probably my first love…
Annette was my first celebrity crush although she was twice my age at the time!
The other girl Mouseketeers would announce their names but when it came to Annette I was like the cartoon wolf with eyes on springs, steam coming out of my ears and my leg pounding the ground.
As a first grader, though, I had no idea WHY, but I knew even then that it felt right!
I, too, never cared for the beach party movies but I’ll always cherish Mousketeer Annette.
Reblogged this on Mark Solock Blog.
Sad, and who could ever imagine a program similar to ‘mickey mouse club’ being popular today with kids? Didn’t know she had MS …
I watched the Mickey Mouse Club as a kid and now, more than a half century later, Annette is the only thing I remember about it.
Did you notice the post here about the Mickey Mouse Molecule by other names?