Mildred Dunnock

Mildred Dunnock has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to motion pictures, at 6613 Hollywood Boulevard. Her autobiography, published in 1995, is A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story. She died in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. After keeping it a secret for years, Annette announced in 1992 that she had begun suffering from multiple sclerosis. Her final film was The Pick-up Artist in (1987). They re-united in 1987 for Back to the Beach, and toured the country as a singing act. Dunnock was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for Death of a Salesman in 1951, and for Baby Doll in 1956. Funicello said in interviews that the reason she was never scantily clad in these films is because she made a promise to Walt Disney that she would never show her navel in a film.

In addition to her successful career as a character actress in film and theater, Dunnock appeared frequently in numerous television series in guest roles, and later in her career, several made-for-television movies, including a remake of Death of a Salesman in which she played Linda Loman for the third time. After maturing, she became a teen idol and went on to star in a series of "Beach Party" movies with Frankie Avalon including Beach Party, Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach and Beach Blanket Bingo. Her films include The Trouble with Harry (1955), Love Me Tender (1956), Baby Doll (1956), Peyton Place (1957), The Nun's Story (1959), BUtterfield 8 (1960) and Sweet Bird of Youth (1962). Annette had a number of pop record hits in the late 1950's and early 1960's, including: "Tall Paul" (dedicated to Paul Anka), "First Name Initial," "O Dio Mio," "Train of Love," and "Pineapple Princess.". She reprised her role in the 1951 film version. She was cast as one of the original "Mouseketeers", and went on to television roles in Zorro and Elfego Baca, and Disney-produced movies such as The Shaggy Dog, Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Monkey's Uncle. During the 1940s Dunnock performed mostly on stage, and scored another major success with Death of a Salesman in 1948. Born in Utica, New York, she took dancing and music lessons as a child and was discovered by Disney while performing in Swan Lake.

The 1945 film version marked her screen debut. Annette Funicello (born October 22, 1942) was one of Walt Disney's most popular Mouseketeers. After a couple of roles in Broadway productions, Dunnock won praise for her performance as a Welsh school teacher in The Corn is Green (1940). Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Dunnock was a school teacher who did not start acting until she was in her early thirties. Mildred Dunnock (January 25, 1901 – July 5, 1991) was an American theater, film and television actress.