Annette Funicello, who grew from a child actor on Walt Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Club†in the 1950s into a bikini-clad pop star in ’60s films such as “Muscle Beach Party,†died on Monday at 70. Below are a some highlights from her career as “the queen of teenâ€:
On “The Mickey Mouse Club,†the cast of Mouseketeers closed the show with a sign-off song:
The show included short serial stories featuring some of the actors. Ms. Funicello starred in this one:
Ms. Funicello stood out from the pack of Mouseketeers and was given the chance to appear in feature films, starting with “The Shaggy Dog†in 1959, with Tommy Kirk and Fred MacMurray. For her last Disney picture, “The Monkey’s Uncle,†she sang the title song, with backing by the Beach Boys:
For American International Pictures, she shared top billing with Frankie Avalon in a series of beach-party films, including “Beach Blanket Bingo,†from 1965:
In 1987, Ms. Funicello and Mr. Avalon reunited on screen for “Back to the Beach,†in which she sang “Jamaica Ska,†a tune she first recorded in the ’60s:
