WASHINGTON – Annette Funicello, whose girl-next-door beauty never faded for millions of American baby boomers who met her as a Mouseketeer in the 1950s, idolized her through her 1960s beach movies and thereafter remembered her voice and smile as pleasures of a simpler time, died April 8 at a hospital in Bakersfield, California. She was 70.
Her death, of complications from multiple sclerosis, was announced by the Walt Disney Co. Funicello had suffered from the degenerative neurological disorder for more than two decades and became a prominent advocate for increased medical research.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.