Annette Funicello Dies: Baby Boomers Lose a Memory Of Our Youth

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E  What Baby Boomer can forget coming home from school and turning on the Mickey Mouse Club. We each had our favorite Mouskateer. Mine was Karen. But the heartthrob was Annette. Today, she lost her battle with multiple sclerosis at the age of 70.

As we entered our teens, Annette grew also. She left the Mickey Mouse Club about the same time as most of us. But she didn’t leave us. Unless you lived in Southern California, she introduced us to beach parties, surfing, and Beach Blanket Bingo. How many thought Annette and Frankie Avalon were a “real couple”?

Following the beach movies, Annette never completely left the public eye. She appeared on popular TV shows of the 70’s such as Fantasy Island, Love American Style, The Love Boat, among others. She also convinced many of us to try Skippy peanut butter.

“Meska Muska Mouskateer, Mouse Cartoon Time now is here. One turn left, one turn right, here’s the mouse cartoon tonight.” She introduced the nightly cartoon and rode horses in Tim and Marty. We’ve lost one of our own. Rest in peace.