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Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Deborah Walley and John Ashley appear on the cover of this "special" May 1965 issue of Screenland magazine, dedicated entirely to the stars of the newly released film Beach Blanket Bingo .   Annette's feature article is titled: "Why Annette Cried on Her Wedding Day"; which details her teary-eyed wedding (and honeymoon) and how she and hear parents dealt with the big changes that came with Annette becoming a new wife.

Annette's long-time publicist and former Executive Director of The Annette Funicello Research Fund, Lorraine Santoli, is set to publish her latest book Inside the Disney Marketing Machine this summer. Release date and other specifics have yet to be announced, but in the mean time take a moment to view the fantastic teaser trailer below. Check back, as we will post additional information on Lorraine's new book as it becomes available!

Today, Jasmine Records brings us a second installment of songs from Annette's extensive music catalog with the release of She's Our Ideal ; a 29 track CD covering Annette's recordings from 1961-1962.  Fans will be delighted to finally own all the songs from the Danceannette (1961) album in addition to some of Annette's great girl-pop favorites; including Indian Giver, Teenage Wedding, He's My Ideal and Two Against the World - which along with others are debuting on CD for the very first time!    She's Our Ideal follows Jasmine Records 2011 two-disc CD set; First Name Initial; which featured all of Annette's recordings from 1957 - 1960.  With this latest release picking up where the last left off, we hope to see this trend continue with the remainder of Annette's 1962 recordings included in a future release along with the remainder of her song catalog! Both releases are available for purchase online at Amazon.com.   Don't for...

Released theatrically on April 14, 1965, Beach Blanket Bingo turned 50 years old one month ago today!   If you wrote Annette through American International Pictures during the release of this film, you likely would have received a manilla envelope in reply, containing the fan card and biography page pictured below.     Annette fan cards like this one can be found from time-to-time on the second-hand market; however, locating one complete with the original biography page and studio envelope is a much greater challenge. The fan card features a beautiful Muscle Beach Party era head shot of Annette and identifies her as the star of American International Pictures latest film: Beach Blanket Bingo . -CLICK TO ENLARGE- The Annette Funicello biography page enclosed with the fan card includes fun facts like: "Annette's volume of fan mail is only exceeded by that received by another former child star, Elizabeth Taylor" and "that on publi...