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25 Years Ago Today...

As the Walt Disney Company commemorates its 30th year (1987 - 2017) of honoring individuals who have made extraordinary and lasting contributions to the company with the Disney Legends Award, our readers might also recall this as a milestone anniversary year for Annette's induction as a "Disney Legend".  

In a ceremony that took place at 11:00 a.m. twenty-five years ago today, in an outdoor space between the Animation Building and Theater on the Disney Studio lot, Annette accepted her  "Legends Award" and immortalized her signature and hand prints in cement; thereby establishing her place among the company's all-time greats in this most exclusive "hall of fame".  As the ceremony happened to fall on the eve of Annette's 50th birthday, Mickey Mouse made the day even more special by presenting her with a beautiful three tier birthday cake and surprising her later on that day with a second, decorated with the official Mickey Mouse Club emblem, at a luncheon held in the Rotunda at the corporate building.  

Observance of Annette's birthday would continue the following day when the Disney Channel aired "Annette Funicello's Birthday Celebration"; a 12-hour block of programing that covered the spectrum of her work for Disney.  Whether we celebrated with her at the Studio or on our couch in front of the television at home, these couple days in the Fall of 1992 were certainly memorable and exciting for any of us who loved Annette.

As in years prior, the Walt Disney Company has continued to appreciate, acknowledge and honor Annette and her work in countless ways - both big and small, publicly and quietly - since receiving her "Legends" award in 1992.  The following year, the company would play a major role in her being honored with a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. When a fire destroyed her Encino, California home in 2011, another "Legends" award was mailed to her, replacing the one that was destroyed in the devastating blaze.  She has been posthumously awarded a Mousecar for her work on the "Mickey Mouse Club" and currently has the distinction of being only the second person to have a sound stage re-dedicated in their name at the Disney Studio.  
 
Just recently, we were delighted to see Annette remembered with a personal reflection from Richard
Sherman in the Fall issue of Disney Twenty-Three magazine, which featured a salute to 30 Years of Disney Legends.  For us, Annette was no-doubt among the very brightest of stars to be born out of the Walt Disney Company; and on behalf of all who continue to hold Annette in their hearts, we thank them for all the many ways they have paid tribute to  her and her memory over the years.


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