Posted on by qscrisp

I Am Annette Funicello

What is it like, I wonder, to wake up one day and say to yourself, "I am Annette Funicello"?

13 Replies to “I Am Annette Funicello”

  2. I’ve been imagining it intensely for the past few days. I think that a few more days of this and liberation might be in sight. I will be able to speak those words and know them to be true.

  3. Have you been turned away yourself? If so, why don’t you have words with the husband? Or perhaps she doesn’t actually want to see anyone. I wouldn’t blame her. The world is full of people who don’t deserve to breathe.I don’t believe that Annette would like to be defined by her MS, either. I know I wouldn’t.

  4. Anonymous writes:Well, if you did, you’d have MS and be laying in bed unable to see, speak, eat or have a normal life and you’d have an asshole husband who keeps all the visitors away.

  5. The following link paints a similarly ‘dark’ picture of Annette’s life:http://www.pigdog.org/auto/special_ideas/shortreview/2907.htmlMost of this informatin comes from the autobiography, but it has been gleefully twisted by the author of the article. Changing verbs, adverbs and so on, and juxtaposing material to maximise a macabre effect, the author has created what he or she probably thinks is a more ‘real’ picture of Annette. The results, however, are as deceptive as any ‘sugar-coating’ version of the story. For instance:Her father still called her “Dolly”. She was tapped to film peanut butter commercials. Her real-life children were eventually replaced with a new generation of child actors. Daughter Gina asked if Frankie Avalon was her daddy – and if so, why was he never home for dinner? This makes it sound as though her children were replaced in her home and in some general way, by actors, when they were only replaced in a television commercial by actors. The article is full of such manipulations.I do find it to be a clever and creative piece of writing, but it verges on being malicious for the sake of it, while here and there adopting the pose of ‘taking sides’ with Annette:Ripped from America’s heartland, the doted-on daughter of first-generation Italian-Americans fought a freakish popularity, struggling against the riptide of an arch-conservative entertainment complex. (I think they were actually second-generation, if I remember correctly.) The author drools over this struggle as gleefully as any arch-conservative tabloid writer might drool over any such lurid details.Which version would Annette prefer the world to have? ‘The truth’ as presented in her autobiography, or ‘the truth’ as re-interpreted from her autobiography here? I wonder.

  6. Anonymous writes:

    Taken out of context and twisted like it is, that article is an exercise in creepiness. Her parents are first-generation Italian-Americans — her grandparents were from Italy. She was not from the “heartland,” she was from Utica, N.Y. I’m sure Annette would prefer the truth as written in her autobio. This is crap.Annette is not “defined” by her MS, although that is how her current life is defined. She was and is so much more than that, but progressive MS is her reality every day.I thought Quentin Crisp died years ago …. who are you?

  7. Her parents are first-generation Italian-Americans — her grandparents were from Italy. I see. That’s how it works. Annette is not “defined” by her MS, although that is how her current life is defined. She was and is so much more than that, but progressive MS is her reality every day.Indeed. I thought Quentin Crisp died years ago …. who are you?I’m who I say I am. Who are you?

  8. Anonymous writes:

    ‘What is it like, I wonder, to wake up one day and say to yourself, “I am Annette Funicello”?’OK, this doesn’t indicate that you would wake up one day and BE Annette Funicello. So, other than saying “I am Annette,” there isn’t much point to this exercise.

  9. There’s no answer to that, is there?Once again I find myself backed into a corner and forced to eat a hatful of humble pie, with a filling of my own words.Try it, though, just for me, and then tell me there’s no point in the exercise.

  10. Anonymous writes:

    “I am Annette Funicello.” “I am Annette Funicello.” “I am Annette Funicello.” “I am Annette Funicello.” “I am Annette Funicello.” “Holy crap, Toto, we aren’t in Disneyland anymore!”

  12. Anonymous writes:Why didn’t Annettes daughter has the decency to take her mother away from Glen Holt. He appears to be a real control freak and could not care less about Annette. Why does he want no one to see her. Even when her mother died on the website he said he wanted no one to ring or email or send letters etc. Maybe no one had any intention of doing so but it was none of his business. I feel she has been ill treated by him and may have got better out of his grips and into a hospital with good medical treatment.He appears to leave her in the charge of a nurse but is he also living the good life with a girfriend.

  13. I don’t know anything about this situation, but if it’s true then it sounds bad. I hope there are, indeed, people close to Annette who care and who can stand up to Glen if this is what is happening.

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