Music Career
Annette’s singing career kicked off with a bang. Remember that song “How Will I Know My Love”? It got so much love from fans that Disney had to release it as a single. And even though Annette wasn’t too keen on being known as a singer, she had quite a few hits in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Some of them were written by the famous Sherman Brothers.
After her time on the Mickey Mouse Club, Annette stuck around with Disney for a while. She popped up on shows like Zorro and Make Room for Daddy, and she even made her big-screen debut in a Disney comedy called The Shaggy Dog. But that’s not all. Annette teamed up with Disney again for some big projects, like Babes in Toyland and a couple of TV movies shot in Europe. And let’s not forget about those beach party movies she did with Frankie Avalon in the ’60s. This is where the lifelong friendship between these two Hollywood icons would begin.
Frankie Avalon’s Career
Frankie’s star continued to rise in the ’60s. He scored a role in John Wayne’s epic The Alamo in 1960, earning high praise from the Duke himself. Plus, he lent his singing voice to the lead character in the English version of the Japanese anime Alakazam the Great. Frankie found himself in a variety of film genres, from sci-fi adventures to wartime dramas.
But it was his beach party movies with Annette Funicello that really made waves. Beach Party in 1963 was a smash hit, spawning sequels like Muscle Beach Party in 1964 and Bikini Beach in 1964. As the ’60s rolled on, Frankie continued to charm audiences both on screen and on TV. He popped up in episodes of hit shows like The Bing Crosby Show and The Patty Duke Show, often playing himself.
Friendship Between Annette and Frankie
Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon became the darlings of American cinema in the swinging ’60s. But offscreen, they were just pals.