HOLLYWOOD -- At Walt Disney's request Annette Funicello never wore a bikini in the five 'beach' pictures in which she co-starred with Frankie Avalon in the 1960s.
The young, beautiful brunette graduate of TV's 'Mickey Mouse Club' was under contract to Disney when she starred in 'Beach Party' in 1963 for producer Sam Arkoff. She agreed with Disney and remained relatively covered up.
'Mr. Disney called Sam and asked if my innocence could be preserved in the movie,' she said the other day in her hilltop home above the San Fernando Valley. 'I had so much respect for Mr. Disney I agreed to keep my 'Mickey Mouse Club' image.'
Funicello was 20 at the time and almost hid her curves beneath a modest one-piece suit while all around her the beach was jammed with other girls wearing tiny bikinis.
'I was teased all the time about being the only girl in the 'beach' movies without a navel,' said Funicello, who is now the mother of two sons and a daughter: Jason, 12, Jackie, 17 and Gina, 21.
'But I wore bikinis around the pool at home -- I still do -- and when I went to the beach myself. But the truth is, I never have liked the beach very much. There's always blowing sand, crowds and the rough surf.'
Another reason for avoiding the beach is Annette's clear light skin. She looks as if she would turn lobster red if left in the sun for 10 minutes.
But she went on to star in four additional light-hearted sand and sea sagas with Avalon: 'Muscle Beach Party' and 'Bikini Beach,' 1964; 'Beach Blanket Bingo,' 1965, and 'How to Stuff a Wild Bikini,' 1965.
Now Funicello and Avalon are reunited in 'Back to the Beach,' a 1980s comedy that is neither a sequel to nor a continuation of the adventures of Dede and Frankie at the shore.
The stars play entirely different characters. Funicello portrays a housewife named Annette, 'The Queen of the Sand,' and Avalon is seen as a car salesman, 'The Big Kahuna.'
Funicello, as in days of old, wears a one-piece suit, not a bikini. The scanty swimsuit is worn by actress Lori Loughlin, who plays Funicello's daughter.
'The old beach pictures were innocent fun compared to the kind of pictures they make for teenagers today,' Funicello said. 'So we've had to keep up with the times.
'In the old days I was always given a variation on the line, 'No, Frankie! Not without a ring you don't.' That is all passe. In 'Back to the Beach' my movie daughter is 19 and living with a guy. Today nobody 19 is a prude.'
Funicello and Avalon, who have remained close friends over the years after an innocent puppy-love relationship during their first movie, originated the idea for 'Back to the Beach' five years ago.
'Frankie is Gina's godfather,' Funicello said. 'We've been friends for almost 30 years. We went through a lot of writers, but we were on the wrong track, trying to make a sequel. Then Paramount came to the rescue with some wonderful writers and the script was terrific.'
Funicello divorced her first husband, agent Jack Gilardi, and a year and a half ago married rancher Glen Holt. Together they breed trotters and pacers for harness racing on an 80-acre ranch in the Imperial Valley.
'I guess you could say I'm semi-retired, although I'm still the Skippy Peanut Butter lady for TV commercials,' Funicello said. 'Commercials are great because it means I can work and not have to leave town.
'Although I haven't been seen in films or TV shows for ages I'm amazed how much fan mail comes in from the new generation of kids seeing 'The Mickey Mouse Club' and reruns of the beach pictures on the tube. A lot of kids think I'm still 12 years old.
'I'm very proud of 'Back to the Beach.' Frankie and I were co-executive producers.
'At a cast and crew screening I really laughed, even with the knowledge that there was 90 minutes of equally funny stuff on the cutting room floor.
'The budget for this picture was $10 million and it took us two and a half months to shoot. That made me stop and think how much everything in Hollywood has changed. The first 'Beach Party' cost only $300,000 and was shot in 15 days.
'It's too early to talk about a sequel to 'Back to the Beach.' We'll see how the public likes it. But Frankie and I wouldn't mind doing a few more.'
