Bob Iger and Disney Studio veterans pay tribute to Annette Funicello during soundstage naming / dedication ceremony

Jim Hill

11 years ago

There's a perhaps-apocryphal story that's often told about
Annette Funicello & Walt Disney. This one starts out back in the Spring of
1955 when the Studio has almost completed casting "The Mickey Mouse Club
."
But they're still looking for that one special kid to round out the cast of this
soon-to-begin shooting television series.

About this same time, Disney is dragooned into attending a
dance recital at Burbank's
Starlight Bowl. This isn't something that Walt particularly wanted to do.
Especially after the Burbank City Council had turned down his request to build
a Mickey Mouse park on the other side of Riverside
Drive back in 1953. But since Disney still wants
his Studio to be thought of as a good neighbor within the Burbank
community … Well, that's why — every so often — Walt would put in
appearances at local events like this dance recital.

As it turns out, it was actually quite fortuitous that Disney
found himself at the Starlight Bowl that night. For this was where Walt was wowed
by a 12 year-old girl who came out onstage and then danced the Swan Queen part
from Swan Lake.
As soon as this dance recital was over, Walt allegedly immediately picked up a
phone and called Bill Walsh (i.e. the producer of "The Mickey Mouse
Club"), saying "I just found your missing Mouseketeer."

Now jump ahead to Annette's very first meeting with Walt
Disney. Where Ms. Funicello first thanks Disney for this tremendous opportunity
and then announces that she's thinking of changing her last name to something
more American-sounding. Walt stops Annette right there and tells her
"No." Explaining that her last name is actually a great asset. Since
Funicello is so unique sounding, no one who ever heard Annette's last name
would ever be able to forget it.

Now what's kind of ironic about the above story is now the
name that Walt said no one would ever be able to forget is now emblazoned on
the side of the very same soundstage where Annette and her very talented
co-stars shot "The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse."

Some of the former original Mouseketeers plus Annette Funicello's friends & family who
turned out for Monday's soundstage naming / dedication ceremony. Copyright
Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Many of the surviving members of the original cast of this Disney-produced TV
show made a special trip out to Burbank
this past Monday afternoon just to take
part in this soundstage dedication ceremony. Which officially got underway when
Disney CEO Bob Iger stepped behind the podium and then thanked everyone there
for taking part in this celebration of " … the life and legacy of the
incomparable Annette Funicello. America's
sweetheart, a Disney Legend, and an extraordinary person both on and off the
screen."

After welcoming Annette's friends and family to this event, Iger had something
that he just had to get off his chest. " Annette was actually my very
first crush. And I remember it as love at first sight. At least on my
part," Bob said with a smile. "And I was faithful. I never missed one
of her movies. And when she was on television, I was right there at home,
watching every show. What can I say? She was gorgeous and I was smittened. Just
like every other boy in America
at that time."

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

After acknowledging that " … Annette was Walt's
brightest star, a cherished part of the Disney family who was loved by
millions. And from this day forward, her place in our hearts and our history
will be marked forever right here on this stage where it all began when she put
on those famous ear and became a Mouseketeer," Iger then invited Bobby
Burgess — one of Annette's fellow original Mouseketeers — up to the stage to
say a few words about his longtime friend.

Speaking on behalf of the rest of the original Mouseketeers
at Monday's event, Bobby first reminisced about what it was like to working on
the Disney Lot back in the mid-1950s. "Five of us went to school with
Annette right down here in the red trailers and across the street is where she
had her make-up done," Burgess recalled. "And beyond that, we had our
mouseketeer ears fitted at the wardrobe department." Afterwards, Bobby
thanked The Walt Disney Company for " … for keeping her legend and her
legacy and her memory alive by naming our Mouseketeer stage the Annette
Funicello soundstage."

Bobby Burgess gestures to where the Studio's old schoolhouse (AKA the red trailers)
were located. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Following Burgess' remarks, Iger invited Annette's daughter Gina Gilardi to say
a few words on behalf of Funicello's friends & family. Gina kept her
comments short, just basically saying that " … On behalf of our entire
family, Mom's husband Glen and our Dad Jack Gilardi, it's an honor for us to
have all of our family and friends here. Everybody who was involved in Mom's life
— Mouseketeers, her dear friends, everybody. We can't say enough thank yous
and — on behalf of Mom — we love you all and thank you for this
dedication."

At this point, Iger unveiled the plaque that would soon be installed on an
exterior wall of Soundstage One. Which read:

"Annette Funicello – Stage One. Mickey Mouse Club was filmed here 1955 –
1958."

Then a curtain was pulled back to reveal that Annette's name
had already been painted on the side of this building (FYI: The Company has
only honored one other Disney Legend in this manner. And that was back in
August of 2001 when Stage Two was renamed / dedicated The Julie Andrews
Soundstage). And after an a cappella performance of "When You Wish Upon a
Star" by the MeloD23 Singers, the ceremony was over and the crowd
quickly dispersed.

Which isn't to say that the people there were now ready to
stop talking about Annette Funicello. Dick Sherman in particular seemed eager
to pay tribute to his longtime friend, insisting that " … my brother Bob
and I wouldn't have had a career if it hadn't been for Annette. We called her
our lucky star because every song that we wrote for her, Annette made even better."

"She was one of the biggest stars of the 1950s & 1960s. But you would
have never known it if you ever spent any time with Annette. She was always
this sweet, down-to-earth, very hardworking, humble young lady," Sherman
stated. "She eventually became a very good friend to myself and my
brother. And we came to think of Annette as our little sister. It's not often
that someone who seems so sweet & talented on television or in the movies
is actually that sweet in life. But that was Annette Funicello. As lovely
off-screen as she was on."

So it's clear — based on Bob Iger's comments as well as by Bob Sherman's
reminiscents — that Annette Funicello made a very big impression on all those
she came in contact with. Which is why it's entirely appropriate that The Walt
Disney Company chose to honor that little girl with the unforgettable name by
naming a soundstage on the Burbank Lot after her. Which — just as it was back in the mid-1950s — is now one of the Studio's major hubs when it come to television production. Having recently been home to those popular ABC dramas "Brothers & Sisters
" and "Body of Proof
." And then — starting in August — the Annette Funicello Stage then becomes home to a brand-new TV series, "Intelligence." This cyber action-drama debuts on CBS in February of 2014.

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