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True life-long friendships are rare and hard to come by, but Annette was blessed with a couple - one being with actress Shelley Fabares .   Annette and Shelley's friendship began on the set of the Annette serial, which aired during the 1957-1958 season of The Mickey Mouse Club.   The two became practically inseparable throughout their teen years and their bond was even the subject of numerous articles in the hottest teen magazines of the 1960's. As they entered their adult years, the two were in each others weddings and remained close.   Shelley was by Annette's side through every stage of her difficult battle with MS - and even after Annette and Glen relocated permanently to Bakersfield, CA following the fire in 2011,  she and her husband Mike made a point of visiting Annette as often as possible. Now you have the opportunity to own a very special token of Annette and Shelley's enduring friendship.  Up for bid is a 14k gold charm th...

Select pieces of costume jewelry - direct from Annette's personal jewelry box - are currently available at affordable BUY IT NOW prices.  You can secure a piece today for as low as $95! With the holiday's just around the corner, one of these treasured pieces may be a perfect and unique gift for that movie, TV, Disney or Annette fan you are buying for. Act soon, as at these prices, they won't last long! View our current auctions by clicking the "AUCTIONS" tab on our home page.

Happy Black Friday everyone!  Today is the official start of the holiday shopping season, with retailers offering hard to resist bargains to assist you in fulfilling your gift-giving needs. Currently, we have a very nice selection of items from Annette's personal collections up for sale and bid that may be just the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list. Item's currently available include a hand-signed letter from Elizabeth Taylor to Annette starting at just $95 and a pair of Mickey and Minnie Mouse Wendy Gell earrings, with bidding starting at $1,000 or "Buy it Now" for $2,500.  There is also a nice selection of original John Tocci artwork from Annette's personal collection currently up for bid/sale. All proceeds form the sale of these and other treasured items benefit The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases - making these potential holiday gifts, gifts that keep on giving. Please click...

ENDING TODAY - on the 72nd anniversary of her birth, is Annette's bronzed baby shoe.  Originally one of a pair, this is the only shoe that survives, as it's match was lost in the fire the destroyed Annette's Encino home in 2011. Annette's first pair of baby shoes were originally presented to her godparents, Phil and Josephine (Jo) Monaco, who attended Annette's baptism in Utica, New York.  The shoes were bronzed and kept safe by them until May 5, 1990, when they were presented to Annette and Glen during a surprise 4th wedding anniversary party held at Aunt Jo's home.   Annette's national tour with Frankie Avalon brought she and Glen back to the town of her birth for what turned out to be a very memorable weekend - performing at Utica's Stanley Theater and spending time with family and friends. The Funicello Family poses for the camera on the day of Annette's Baptism Photo of Annette and Glen after receiving the bronzed baby...

A year after going public with her MS diagnosis, Annette was interviewed by Entertainment Tonight host Mary Hart for a Ladies' Home Journal article titled "The Survivors".  The piece focuses on the personal stories of four entertainers who have persevered through personal challenges that threaten their careers and lives.   At the time of this article, Annette had just recently established The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases (AFRFND) , and with her husband Glen, continued to explore treatments that held any hope of bringing some relief to her rapidly deteriorating condition - and to other MS patients as well.   While it would be nearly a decade before any helpful treatment would be found, Annette never gave up hope that she could use her public image and Research Fund to help others.  Today, the AFRFND continues Annette's work and carries her dream of bringing treatment and answers to those suffering with neurological dis...

Can you believe it?  The Mickey Mouse Club celebrates it's 59th birthday today!  Now we can all wait in anticipation for what Disney will do for the show's 60th next year!

Annette literally opened the fifth season premier episode of the hit CBS show, Hawaii Five-O last night!  Her song "Aloha-Oe" is heard as the camera scans the deserted beaches of O'ahu at the beginning of the episode. Watch HERE

In association with the eBay Giving Works Charity program, The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases announced today that Annette’s prized C.F. Martin & Company guitar is now offered, in accordance with Annette’s wishes, to facilitate new research into the cause, the treatments, and the cure for Multiple Sclerosis and other neurological diseases. This vintage 1960 Martin 00-17 guitar (serial #: 171989) and matching crushproof Martin case was customized for Annette in 1984 by renowned Bakersfield guitarist and luthier Gene Moles.  Among the notable performers with customized guitars from Gene Moles have included Merle Haggard, Keith Richards, Glen Campbell and Ricky Nelson.  In addition, Moles would be commissioned to produce the classic red, white and blue guitars for Bakersfield’s own Buck Owens and the Buckaroos. Annette’s six-string Martin guitar features 14 frets clear of the body and is crafted in mahogany painted ...

Among the many incredible pieces from Annette's estate currently up for bid is a stunning gold pocket watch, which Annette has treasured since the early years of her career. Originally the property of Annette's grandfather, Antonio Funicello, he himself presented this special piece to his famous granddaughter - we believe - in the late 50's or early 60's.  Annette later gifted the watch to her husband, Glen Holt, who has offered it for auction to benefit the work of The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases. Family history tells us that Annette would often wear this piece as jewelry, and that she is pictured wearing it around her neck in the image above. Further information has been uncovered on the watches' history and is detailed in the auction listing.  BID NOW for the opportunity to be the next to own this treasured keepsake.

Annette was the cover story of this months issue of TV Times - an Australian television guide publication - fifty years ago.   Inside, Annette discusses her engagement and upcoming marriage to Hollywood agent, Jack Gilardi, and her desire to scale back her career to focus on a simpler life outside of the spotlight.

With the passing of Joan Rivers last week I thought we would take a quick look back at the July 25, 1990 episode of The Joan Rivers Show, when Annette and Frankie appeared as guests to promote the 35 city tour they were performing across the US.   Joan introduced Annette and Frankie with a brief recap of their early film work, while still photos and a video clip of the duo singing "Some Things Last Forever" (from their current concert tour) ran on screen. Annette and Frankie were welcomed onstage to loud applause from the audience, while Joan greeted them each with kisses. The first question Joan asks is if either Annette or Frankie anticipated their tour being so well received across the country.  Frankie said he had always thought a reunion tour would be, but that it was hard to convince Annette to go on the road.  Annette admitted that she was a homebody and always felt guilty leaving her children until recently.  She continued that F...

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Joan Rivers in light of her passing yesterday afternoon. Some may remember that Annette and Frankie made an appearance on The Joan Rivers Show in 1990 while promoting their tour.  Check back on Monday for some screenshots and additional information from that episode. 

There are only a couple of days left to bid on Annette's personally owned pair of magenta and black earrings! Worn to events as well as at home, these rhinestone accented beauties are a great example of the early to mid nineties pieces found within Annette's personal jewelry box.  Annette can be seen wearing the earrings while entertaining some of her Mouseketeer friends at home in the snapshot above.  Pictured left to right: Annette, Bobby Burgess and wife. Lorraine Santoli and Sharon Baird. In addition to the earrings, there are some nice brooches ending the same day!  Be sure to view those, in addition to all the other treasures currently available for the exclusive benefit of The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases.  We GREATLY appreciate your support!

In this short documentary, a filmmaker explores how Alzheimer's disease has revealed the strength of his parents' marriage. From the Filmmaker: My mother, Pam White, has had a full life. In her 67 years, she has raised three happy children, enjoyed a rewarding career as a social worker and been a devoted partner to my father, Ed. But, as she puts it, “There’s just one little glitch.” In 2009, at age 61, she was told she had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. After my mother’s diagnosis, I moved back into my parents’ house near Boston to help care for her. As my mother started to share her nascent experience with Alzheimer’s with me, I began filming our intimate conversations. For the next four years, we recorded both the big events and the small details of my family’s changing reality. One of the most striking things that Alzheimer’s has revealed is the strength of my parents’ marriage, even as it alters their relationship forever. This process h...

With the auction on Annette's 1986 California drivers license closing tomorrow - we thought we would share a couple snapshots taken only a few years later of Annette posing with her newly purchased cranberry red Cadillac!  It's not too late to own Annette's 1986 drivers license! BID NOW

Yet another exceptional piece from Annette's personal archive has been listed and is currently open for bidding!  Now is your opportunity to own Annette's official 1986 California drivers license - obtained one month following her marriage to Glen Holt. Please click the "Auctions" tab on our home page to view this and other current auction items available for the benefit of The Annette Funicello Research Fund.

Fifty years ago this month, Annette appeared on the cover of Movies Today .   Inside is a one page write-up giving a synopsis of her current film: Bikini Beach .

Almost exactly four months to the day of the release of Muscle Beach Party ; American International Pictures delivered Bikini Beach - the third installment in the "beach party" series - on July 22, 1964.     Stay tuned as we celebrate this special anniversary by sharing photos, articles and memorabilia associated with the film!

All of us at the Annette Funicello Research Fund were delighted to receive the monetary  gifts mailed to us recently by two clubs on behalf of their members. The Golden Gate Disneyana Club , - based in the San Francisco Bay Area - made a donation of $300 and an Italian-American club in New York collected $420 through a donation drive initiated by Annette's cousin; Luigi Funicello! We are so honored to be the recipients of your support and send our sincere thanks to everyone who participated in these fund-raising efforts held on our behalf!

Annette's personal copies of The Annette Funicello Country Album are once again available for purchase exclusively through the Annette Funicello Research Fund's (AFRF) "Auction" page . Originally offered to fan's and collectors just months before Annette's passing in April of 2013, the remainder of these albums from Annette's personal archive are being offered for sale to the benefit the AFRF. As before, each album comes with a Certificate of Authenticity; hand-signed by Annette's husband Glen Holt, and a gold foil seal affixed to the back of each LP identifying it as having been the personal property of Hollywood Legend Annette Funicello. About the Album Distributed under the Starview Records label in 1984, The Annette Funicello Country Album was Annette’s first solo LP release in twenty years.  The idea for the album was conceived after her first country inspired single, The Promised Land was released to radio stations th...

Among the promotional ideas, ad's and product tie-in's; press books can reveal some really great bits of information on the creation of a film.   Let's take another peek inside the Muscle Beach Party press book and see what we can find! "Muscle Beach Party" Filmed at Famed Surfing Spots of California You can almost smell the salt air, hear the roar of the waves and feel the warm white sands of California's beautiful Pacific Ocean shores in American International's "Muscle Beach Party". It's as close as it is to reality - thanks to being filmed on location at the famous beaches in exciting color, widescreen Panavision - all for the new swingin', song-filled, fun-filled surfers tale. Starring in the musical comedy, opening........... at the................ theatre, are Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Luciana Paluzzi, John Ashley, Don Rickles, Peter Turgeon, and Jody McCrea.  "Muscle Beach Party" als...

Annette sailed twice on ABC's The Love Boat and today we are pleased to offer a little souvenir from her 1978 "voyage" on the show. In the episode "I'll Never Love Again", Annette plays Roberta Roberts, an economist who recently lost her fiancee.  Her fellow guest-stars in the episode include: Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam (Beach Party), Michael Callan and Jack Carter. As with most celebrities who guest-starred on The Love Boat , Annette wore her own clothing and jewelry on the show - including the bold hand-made Elanomi necklace currently up for bid. Made of German Silver (an alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel - and sometimes lead and/or tin), the necklace has been carefully cleaned but does unfortunately show signs of heat. smoke and water damage as a result of the fire that destroyed Annette's Encino home in 2011.  Despite needing a professional cleaning and restoration, this is a fantastic screen-worn piece that will surly compli...