Few things illustrate the changes in our society during my lifetime better than the two breakout stars, a generation apart, from Walt Disney’s "The Mickey Mouse Club."
When the iconic kids’ show made its debut in 1955, all eyes riveted on Annette Funicello, then 13, whose pretty ethnic look and sweet personality made her the heartthrob of young boys and a wholesome model for young girls.
After the show’s run she graduated to an equally iconic series of "Beach Party" movies with Frankie Avalon.
The movies had titles like "Bikini Beach" and "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini," but Funicello herself shunned the racy new two-piece swimsuits, upholding her clean-cut image with modest one-piece suits that showed her curves well enough.
By the mid-1960s, adult-themed movies came to rule Hollywood, and except for a "Back to the Beach" sequel with Avalon in 1987, Funicello retired from acting rather than accept the grittier roles she was offered.
She wasn’t preachy about it like others such as Pat Boone; playing hookers and dopers just wasn’t for her. By all accounts, Funicello lived a happily private life raising her three children until her health failed her.
Flash-forward to the revival of "The Mickey Mouse Club" in the 1990s and new breakout star Britney Spears, whose hair was as golden as Funicello’s was dark.
Spears described Funicello as a "role model" after learning of her death, but not really; she’s comported herself more like the anti-Annette.
Spears graduated from the Mouseketeer ranks to a wildly successful recording career, which continues to this day.
But along the way, she’s had trouble with the law, drug problems, mental health issues, high-drama failed marriages and the loss of custody of her children.
She shaved her head bald in an apparent fit of pique and exposed her most private parts in public.
But outrageous is the pop culture currency in these times, and a forgiving music industry has continued to put heron display while an accepting public is only too happy to pay to see it.
As Spears began her ascent in the 1990s, Funicello publicly announced that she was afflicted with an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis, a progressively disabling disease that would eventually leaveher unableto walk or speak.
In battling her MS, she fully displayed the grace that marked her life and career, becoming a guidepost to others who struggled to deal with similar challenges.
When Funicello died Monday at 70, she left a richly indelible mark on American society and culture.
All Britney Spears has left so far is a stain, but at 31 she has time to change that if she truly embraces Annette Funicello as her role model.
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Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.
