Upon her death in 2013, The New York Times wrote of Annette Funicello: “She was the last of the 24 original Mouseketeers chosen for The Mickey Mouse Club, the immensely popular children’s television show that began in 1955, when fewer than two-thirds of households had television sets. Walt Disney personally discovered her at a ballet performance. Before long, she was getting more than 6,000 fan letters a week and was known by just her first name in a manner that later defined celebrities like Cher, Madonna and Prince.” And still she remains the most remembered cast member of the original members of the Club, as immortal as the ears she wore or the theme song they sang (“Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me?”). There might have been bigger stars who followed in (much) later years – Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling – but to TV’s first pop icon goes the credit. And this jacket, which bears Annette’s name inside, is among the most coveted keepsakes from the original American idol.
Intelligent Collector