Recommended reading - A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: My Story, by Annette Funicello, with Patricia Romanowski

 

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: My Story,

by Annette Funicello, with Patricia Romanowski

 
Published 1994.
Published by Hyperion.
 
ISBN-10: 0786860200
ISBN-13: 978-0786860203
 
Description:
 

When on a spring evening in 1955 Walt Disney saw a pretty, talented twelve-year-old performing in her dance school's annual recital, he knew he'd found just what he'd been looking for: the twenty-fourth and last member of the cast of the new children's TV series he was planning. Only a few months later Annette Funicello set a pair of black felt ears atop her brown curls and marched onto the set of The Mickey Mouse Club, and into the hearts of millions of Americans. From then on, nothing would ever be the same.

 

Whether as a Mouseketeer, as a Top-Forty singing idol, as the reigning sweetheart of the classic Beach Party films, or as the familiar "Skippy Mom" of TV commercials, Annette (who almost instantly became known by her first name alone) has been a beloved star for nearly four decades. In her charming autobiography, A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes, the wholesomely sexy (and eternally youthful) girl next door looks back with equal parts of wit, wistfulness, and wonder on her remarkable career, and gives us a privileged look behind the scenes at some of the most cherished landmarks of our popular culture.

 

As the shy only daughter of a close-knit Italian family, Annette was unprepared for the phenomenon The Mickey Mouse Club would prove to be, and in these pages we learn not only about the thrill of appearing on the show but also about the pleasures and challenges her own status of favorite Mouseketeer brought. It was through Walt Disney's encouragement that she later undertook her successful recording career, and in her account of her years as a teen idol we learn what it was like being the youngest member of Dick Clark's arduous Caravan of Stars tour, as well as the difficulties her popularity placed in the path of her first romance with Paul Anka (who presented her with the sublime gift of "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," which he wrote in her parents' living room). Next came the movies, and a series of beloved Disney films (including her own and her fans' favorite, Babes in Toyland), until, with Mr. Disney's blessing, she headed for the beach and a role in the epochal Beach Party. Even though, as Annette confesses, she never really liked the beach (it frizzed her hair), she was delighted to be enthroned with her friend Frankie Avalon as one of the great cinema couples.

 

At the peak of her career Annette chose marriage and motherhood, and for over twenty years appeared only occasionally in films and TV shows. By the late 1980s, however, she was eager to perform again, and along with Frankie made a new beach film, Back to the Beach, and launched a triumphal comeback tour. It was during this period, after she experienced a series of puzzling symptoms, that she discovered she had multiple sclerosis. Her subsequent struggles with her condition, and her ultimate decision to make it public, bring A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes to a poignant and inspiring conclusion that will draw her even closer to the millions of fans who, from the start, have dreamed along with her.

Born on this day – Annette Funicello:

Annette Funicello

Actress

Singer

Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1987,

October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013

Credits:

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story (1995); Full House (1991); Troop Beverly Hills (1989); Back to the Beach (1987); Growing Pains (1986); Lots of Luck (1985); The Love Boat (1978–1982); Fantasy Island (1979–1981); Frankie & Annette: The Second Time Around (1978); Love, American Style (1971); Head (1968); Hondo (1967); Thunder Alley (1967); Fireball 500 (1966); Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965); How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965); Ski Party (1965); The Monkey's Uncle (1965); Beach Blanket Bingo (1965); Burke's Law (1963–1965); Pajama Party (1964); Bikini Beach (1964); Muscle Beach Party (1964); The Greatest Show on Earth (1964); The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964); Wagon Train (1963); Beach Party (1963); Escapade in Florence (1962); The Magical World of Disney (1959–1962); Toyland (1961); The Horsemasters (1961); Zorro (1959–1961); The Danny Thomas Show (1959); The Shaggy Dog (1959); Annette (1958); The New Adventures of Spin and Marty (1957); Further Adventures of Spin and Marty (1956).

On this day in movie history - A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story (1995)

 

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story,

directed by Bill Corcoran,

written by John McGreevey and PJ Torokvei,

based on the book by Annette Funicello and Patricia Romanowski,

was released in the United States on October 22, 1995.

Music by George Blondheim.

Cast:

Eva LaRue, Len Cariou, Frank Crudele, Jack Gilardi, David Lipper, Don S. Davis, Louis Ferreira, Andrea Nemeth, Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Linda Lavin, Austin Basile, Ahnee Boyce, Jay Brazeau, Victoria Brooks, Stefania Ciccone, Demetri Goritsas, Elysa Hogg, Gary Jones, Lorraine Landry, Hrothgar Mathews, Alexandra Purvis, Claire Riley, Suzanne Ristic, Greg Rogers, Nina Roman, Domenico Sansalone, Michelle Skalnic, Blair Slater, Kavan Smith, George Touliatos, Scott Augustine, Kim Bailey, Talia Derksen, Laura Jenkins, Ben Newcombe, Kelli Stewart, Rene Tardie, Kimberly Wallace, Virginia Funicello, Joe Funicello, Glen Holt, Gina Portman, John Portman, Jason Gilardi, Jack Gilardi Jr., Rob Stewart, Dick Clark, Shelley Fabares.