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We were honored to recently hear from the family of Annette's good friend , Arnold Dover.  Their friendship was formed in 1959 when Arnold was selected to serve as the official Master of Ceremonies for the "Caravan of Stars" rock n' roll tour. After the spectacular success of the Dick Clark tribute at the Hollywood Bowl in August, 1959, Clark personally selected Arnold Dover to serve as M.C. during the tour as Clark's daily appearances on "American Bandstand" limited his own availability to host six weeks of concerts in a new city every day (sometimes for two shows). In the decades before leading the "Caravan", Arnold Dover had become a popular comic in nightclubs throughout the country.  As such, he was already familiar with many of the rising stars in the music world, making him the perfect choice to introduce the acts that would appear on stage with the "Caravan of Stars." Paul Anka, Duane Eddy, Bobby Rydell, Lloyd P...

Giving us a feel for the reception The Shaggy Dog received upon its initial release, here is an excerpt from the article, "Walt Disney's 'The Shaggy Dog' Wins April Blue Ribbon Award"; published in the May 18, 1959 issue of the popular industry magazine, BOXOFFICE. Walt Disney and Buena Vista have a winner in "The Shaggy Dog," live-action fantasy starring Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen, Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Tim Considine, and Kevin "Moochie" Corcoran with that come-to-life Disney character, the mop-pawed, hairy-eyed English sheep dog, Shaggy.  In an unprecedented - at least in recent months - vote, members of the National Screen Council went all-out in their praise of this, at-long-last, "really-truly." family picture.  Bestowing the Blue Ribbon Award with an accolade-like gesture, a whopping majority has been chalked up for this entry in the April sweepstakes. Prophetic of the large percentages recorded in Baromet...