Annette Funicello
America’s Sweetheart
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3.7 • 9 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Annette Funicello was the “it girl” of a much more innocent time.
As a member of Disney’s Mouseketeers in the classic children's television show The Mickey Mouse Club, as a pop singing star of non-threatening or controversial pop music, and helping to usher in a new era of teen-friendly movie high jinks with the Beach Party movies, Annette literally defined four decades of pop culture during her time in the spotlight.
But it was not always an easy ride.
Annette would be the first to admit that she had grown up “a sheltered child.” Consequently when reality did strike, she was not always up to the task of dealing with it.
Annette Funicello: America's Sweetheart looks at the life and career of Annette from all angles, all sides, the ups and downs. Stories that are supported by exclusive interviews with fellow performers Carl Gardner (of the group The Coasters), Freddy 'Boom Boom' Cannon, Tommy Sands and songwriter Richard Sherman. Annette has told her story before. But it has never been told this way.
Author bio
Marc Shapiro is the NY Times best-selling author of We Love Jenni - An Unauthorized Biography, The Secret Life of EL James, Who is Katie Holmes?, An Unauthorized Biography, Legally Bieber: Justin Bieber at 18, J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter, and Justin Bieber: The Fever! and many other best-selling celebrity biographies. He has been a free-lance entertainment journalist for more than twenty-five years, covering film, television, and music for a number of national and international newspapers and magazines.
Customer Reviews
I don't think so!
I used to rush home from school to watch the Mickey Mouse Club and I found Annette to be the sweetest, most genuine performer I had ever seen. As a young girl I wanted to be just as lovely and charming as she was!
Learning details of her health struggles before her death this year I felt the grief that I am sure so many of her fans also must have felt. This led me to search for books about her, and I downloaded the 'sample' of the "Unauthorized Biography by Marc Shapiro".
Having read the introduction and first chapter, I came away feeling angry - at the author. For example, he recounts a time when, bearing the burden of her advancing illness, Annette and her husband flew to Canada to participate in the filming of the tv version of her autobiography. The author speaks as if he personally witnessed the events but leaves room for doubt - only factually quoting the comments of actual witnesses as reported in People magazine.
Between that and the multitude of spelling errors, this looks to me like a dashed off, tawdry and opportunistic attempt to 'cash in' quickly on the genuine pain of loss felt by Annette's grieving fans.
I first gave the book excerpt a 2-star rating - I believe, in truth, a minus 1-star would be more accurate.
By Rosalie