TV Special at Disneyland, 1979
Here's a fun series of photos (courtesy of the Mysterious Benefactor) from 1979. As usual, they are from Frontierland. The interesting thing about these is that some sort of TV special is in the process of being shot, right in the middle of a busy Disneyland.
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Let's follow along, maybe we'll see somebody famous!
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Following, following....
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By gum, it's Annette Funicello! Arguably the most beloved of the original Mouseketeers, not to mention the star of many classic beach party movies. She's talking to a pigtailed young girl, probably explaining the history of Disneyland, or maybe the Mark Twain, which they are about to board.
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It's kind of amazing how informal this shoot seems to be; if you happened to be standing in the right spot at the right time, you might have wound up on the program with Annette.
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Looking on Google and IMDB, I could find no record of Ms. Funicello appearing in a Disneyland special in 1979 - part of me was hoping that whatever this show was might be on YouTube. No such luck. Maybe YOU can figure it out!
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Many thanks to the Mysterious Benefactor!
29 comments:
Major-
The only thing I could figure out is that's an RCA TK76 Portable Color (Video) Camera. The mystery continues...
Thanks, Mysterious Benefactor & the Major.
Major, "a fun series of photos" indeed! And the order in which you presented them tells the story. Now, if we just knew what the story was...
I will assume this was for a Wonderful World of Disney episode of some sort. You know, the kind where we tune in to see scenes of the Park, and get scenes of celebs singing and dancing instead.
In the first couple of shots, my eye is drawn to Wrinkled-T-shirt-Guy. Is he an extra? Part of the film crew? Just a guest at the park? AND WHY IS HIS T-SHIRT SO WRINKLED!?!? I think he slept in it... in his car... for three days.
Nice to see a few glimpses of Annette, back before he health troubles started to manifest themselves. Thanks Myst. Ben. and Major.
I think Annette was actually trying to force that little girl into buying some jars of Skippy. After all, ounce for ounce, Skippy has more protein than most sandwich foods. And, it also has only half the added sugar of all the national leading brands. Remember, for good nutrition, it's hard to beat Skippy....and Skippy Old Fashioned!
But on a serious note, if these were from 1979, they could have been filming the "Kraft Salutes Disneyland's 25th Anniversary Special." It aired in March of 1980, so it's possible that it was filmed a few months earlier, in 1979. Annette did appear in that special, although I don't remember her with a little girl. Of course, those segments could have been cut out.....because the little girl was incorrigible, and was refusing to try the peanut butter that Annette was pushing on her.
Now I'm off to check out the special, to see if Annette is wearing that same blouse in any of her segments.
I too was guessing the Kraft Disneyland 25th Special …….
The camera crew is only about 15 feet away from the EXINWEST display …. I’m sure they filmed that ….
Well, I just watched the special. Okay, I skipped through most of the Danny Kaye songs. Sorry, Danny....I was never a fan! Poor little Adam Rich, though. What a tragic ending. On the upside, we get to see Ruth Buzzi and Joanne Worley. But sadly, no Sandy Duncan. Annette appears a couple of times, and on the Mark Twain with her children. But her daughter is older than that little girl in the pics, and she isn't wearing that yellow floral shirt, either.
Now, while "saving" these Annette pics, I noticed a June 1979 labeling. June was probably far to early to be filming a special that wouldn't air until March. I was hoping Mike Cozart would know what they might have been filming, but I see he had the same guess. Perhaps Bu will know!
Hmmmm...maybe they were doing some preliminary shooting for the special? Setting up shots, that sort of thing? It doesn't make a lot of sense, I guess- since there would seem to be little reason to do that. Unless, of course, they were going to do advance publicity about the special- but that theory has pretty big holes in it as well. Oh, and a Wookie.
Filming during park opening hours was kind of a normal thing...it seems like "bad show" but the Great Minds concurred that guests actually got excited about such things and enjoyed seeing the "Magic of Walt Disney Productions". (Company name used intentionally.) In most incidents when crowd scenes weren't needed, they would shoot those on Monday or Tuesday when the Park was closed. Yours truly was in many of those, as they LOVED to use ODV "Yellows", Balloons, Popcorn: all looked good in the camera. Some of them I still have on VHS...allegedly...in the attic. Haven't seen them since I taped them in 1980/81. Most of the time when they had crowd scenes they would use "real" guests, and if they had to use them for more than a NY minute (multiple takes, etc.), they would give them comps as "payment". The normies walking by, just walked by, and the disclaimer at the gate stated "you consent for us to use your likeness by passing this sign...blah blah blah." Brown pants notebook guy was a West Side supervisor who's name escapes me. For supervision these filming things were a pain and a distraction. They were also run by "non-stage" persons, so that never went well as they didn't understand the mechanics of crowd control, the guest experience, etc. Seeing Annette in Disneyland is kind of like seeing Mickey in Town Square...why wouldn't you see Annette in the park just enjoying the day...isn't she always there? I do not know what show this was from, but the kid is definitely not Gina. I spent the day with Annette, Gina, and stepdad Glen. Annette was a regular "Mom", who did show biz gigs on the side. I remember her husband had this giant Cadillac....with HORNS on the front grill! (Glen was a rancher) It was gigantic. Annette was TINY. It was hilarious to see her driving that thing when she was solo, and the horns were just an added bonus. Very sweet, very Disney girl. "Dainty as a dream" as Jimmy Dodd sang. Very loyal to the "magic" and "Mr. Disney" (as she called him.) I should have asked more questions and wrote things down! Her mom was a typical Italian mom as well, and I will leave it there :) Thanks MB for the photos! The mystery of this TV show will be revealed! (P.S. It was normal for foreign shows to film things, and you would never see these shows anywhere.)
Wow, an unusual group today.
I don’t have anything to add since my knowledge of Disney TV and stars etc. is an asymptotic curve approaching zero as a limit.
The camera dolly is not well themed to Frontierland, though. Should be wood with a canvas cover and Conestoga wheels.
Which reminds me, a few weeks ago, I saw the buggy shop opened by Mr. Studebaker in Folsom, CA. He came west in the Gold Rush, saw all the good gold spots were taken, and made a fortune making wagons & buggies instead, moved back east and eventually the fortune underwrote the Studebaker Automobile Co.
He could have made a properly themed camera dolly for sure.
Thanks Major and MB!
JG
Around 1960/61 a friend and I were wandering around the Park when we saw a crowd of people near the entrance to Tomorrowland along with cameras, boom mics, etc.
We wormed our way up to the front to see what was going on. It was the Mouseketeers getting ready to film something. There was Anette, right in front of me! Ohhh...I had a big crush on her!!
Just before filming a crew member walked up scanning the crowd and selected several kids to be in the shot. They picked my friend but walked right past me. Oh well, I guess they knew I already had my 15 seconds of Disney TV fame a few years earlier.
It was cool watching the Mouseketeers dance and sing live. I don't remember what they had my friend do. Too busy watching Annette I guess. :)
Nanook, that camera is technically portable - it was probably a miracle of its day - but I wonder how much it weighed? It still looks pretty chunky. Like Skippy peanut butter!
JB, I spent seven months putting those photos in the proper order. Day and night! Drinking bitter coffee, neglecting my family, and frankly getting pretty crazy. But it was worth it! Ugh, that singing and dancing in Disney TV specials - WHY? Did ANYBODY enjoy it? I never did, even when I was a child with a brain as smooth as a lima bean. That guy with the wrinkled shirt is so cool, but it takes a certain kind of person to appreciate him.
TokyoMagic!, Annette was probably into some kind of peanut butter mid-level-marketing scheme. “Sure, you could make money selling peanut butter, Sally, but the real money is getting other people to sell it!”. Skippy Old Fashioned had extra rat droppings.
TokyoMagic!, imagine cutting Annette Funicello out of a Disney TV special. Sacrilege! I have no idea how much time they need to edit those specials, or to add music, or to drop in frames of film that say “BUY” and “SPEND” for subliminal effect, but I wouldn’t think it would be very long.
Mike Cozart, Annette did a whole song and dance about EXINWEST models. Not as part of the show, she just did it spontaneously. What a talent!
TokyoMagic!, oh boy, that was the one with Adam Rich? I remember watching it when it originally aired. “Why do Disney specials always have c-listers (except when they get Sandy Duncan)??”. I used to like Danny Kaye when I was a kid, we had an album of fairy tales that he narrated, plus we had the soundtrack to “Hans Christian Anderson” which I liked. On an unbreakable 78rpm record! Yeah, I don’t think Disney needed nearly a year to film a TV special, if they did, you’d think they would be better. But they were uniformly awful.
Stu29573, like you, I thought that maybe these photos were from some sort of a “run through”, but (also like you) I think that’s not very likely, ultimately.
Bu, I’ll bet that the general public got excited when the TV cameras were out, especially if they got to see a big celebrity like Ruth Buzzi or Adam Rich. America’s Royalty! You need to get those specials that you appear in digitized. No amount of money is too much! If I was in one of those specials, I’d keep looking at the camera and mouthing Annette’s lines. “Normies”, ha ha. Oh la la, you got to spend the day with Annette and family! When Annette passed, I expected to hear at least a few negative stories (“She threatened me with a switchblade!”) but everyone seems to have loved her or at least liked her. Which is pretty unusual. I should put big cow horns on the front of my Honda. Can you get a horn that sounds like a cow moo? I’m always a bit surprised that she was so faithful to Walt, yes he was good to her, but then I read that he let her go in the mid-1960s. Maybe she wanted to be let go, as the Disney thing was stifling her? “I’m not 11 anymore”, she exclaimed, while drinking directly from a bottle of Jack Daniels.
JG, your life is better knowing little-to-nothing about those terrible Disney specials. They were clearly made by people who had NO idea what audiences actually wanted to see. How about beautiful shots of the park, inside information about certain rides, and cigarettes? LOTS of cigarettes? Mr. Studebaker sounds like a smart cookie. Presumably he had some sort of background making buggies and wagons. I would have opened a cupcake store.
Grant, yeah, I liked Annette a lot too. My friends thought I was weird for thinking she was hot (this was long after her Mouseketeer days). What can I say! I would have been very thrilled to see her in person. Wow, like that crew member couldn’t choose two kids who were obviously at the park together? Ice cold.
Fun pictures, and fun puzzle. Amazing none of the posters here can figure out the show with certainty. Though seems unlikely, perhaps it was some filming that was never used.
Along those lines, I found this from the 1960s at disney.go.com:
"This very rare photo of Annette in Town Square at Disneyland park was taken to promote a potential TV special, which was unfortunately never produced."
Remembering Annette Funicello at Disneyland Park | Disney Parks Blog
[shrug emoji]
Every kid I knew back then loved Annette. Mickey Mouse Club was a must watch for all us kids.
The only Disney show That I watched but was not that great was Spin and Marty.
Thank you Major and thank you MB.
Major, you are right about Disney not knowing what audiences want.
Here they are spending all that money remodeling Downtown Disney, when all I want is an Attraction Poster of the Three Fences.
JG
@ JG-
"The camera dolly is not well themed to Frontierland, though. Should be wood with a canvas cover and Conestoga wheels". Clearly, somebody dropped the ball on this one... and subsequently lost his job over the snafu-!
Major-
"... it was probably a miracle of its day - but I wonder how much it weighed?" Funny you should ask. The TK76A clocked-in at 19.8# ... (less lens and viewfinder). On the other hand, the TK76C, was a svelte 14#. See... 'good things come to those who wait' - or lighter things, anyway. Not exactly 'feathery', but that's kinda what it took - back then - and all you ended-up with was a 'crummy' NTSC image, with a "whopping" 500 lines in the center of the image. Any smart phone looks way better, now - in EVERY way. Progress, I suppose.
Tonight on The Wonderful World of Disney, it's Annette Funicello and the Best Butts of 1979! 1979, The Year of the Butt!
When I was a preteen in the 60s Mickey Mouse Club was in syndication. The half-hour show was Mouseketeer stuff from the 50s (including the serials) with new stuff mixed in, such as Mr. Wizard knockoff Professor Wonderful and live vaudeville-type acts filmed at Disneyland. Consequently, on weekday afternoons Annette & Co. looked close to my age, but when she appeared on World of Color and elsewhere she was suddenly all grown up.
When I saw "Beach Party" on TV, she was playing a teenager but sported the kind of hair I associated with older teachers and my parents' friends -- for the beach, yet. The script even had her talking like somebody's mother, especially when trying to cool Frankie's jets. Clearly, me and my high school friends -- even the ones with driver's licenses -- wouldn't fit in at her beach. I was sort of hoping we'd all abruptly turn hot first summer after graduation.
Anyway, I decided Annette was at her most appealing after she became the peanut butter mom. No more confusing leaps between polite kid and young lady channeling middle-aged matron.
I enjoyed reading the personal Park stories today. Thanks, everyone.
LTL I agree, it does seem unlikely that they would go to that much effort and then not use any of the footage. I’ve seen that photo of Annette in the horseless carriage, but never knew that it was supposedly for a TV special that was never produced. I wonder if the theme of the whole show would have been “Main Street”?
DrGoat, it’s funny how one kid (out of all of them) stood out so much. Yes, Bobby, Darlene, Cubby, Sharon and a few others were favorites, but none of them ever outshone Annette.
JG, are they remodeling Downtown Disney?? I didn’t even know. A Three Fences poster would be awesome!
Nanook, I guess that “just under 20 pounds” was kind of amazing, especially when you see the massive TV cameras that were in studios for years. NTSC with only 500 lines sounds pretty bad though! Like a security camera.
Melissa, I’m not sure about “best butts”, this might be a case of quantity over quality!
DBenson, yeah, I am sure I saw bits and pieces of the Mickey Mouse Club on TV, but I think that there were other shows that I enjoyed more. Maybe the MMC already felt old-fashioned, even to me. Meanwhile I had Jonny Sokko, Speed Racer, Ultraman, Kimba the White Lion, and so many classic syndicated shows (Gilligan’s Island) that I watched all the time! I think the MMC was syndicated in 1963 (with the new segments added in), I’d like to think that Disney has all of the episodes archived somewhere. I agree, Annette’s hair looked like the big bouffants that I would see on mothers and not on teens. Although at my age, even teenagers seemed “grown up” to me. To be honest I’m not really sure I’ve ever watched one of Annette’s beach party movies all the way through, though I’ve seen plenty of clips. I always love the green screen surfing!
JB, thumbs up!
Also during this time there was lots of promotional stuff being filmed for local channels ….. KTLA used to always have their own specials done with LA news hosts and televised most Disneyland parades during the late 70’s and through the 1980’s…. MICKEY’S MONTH was a repeated event that featured a few reunited original Mouseketeers who entertained at Disneyland at the SPACE PLACE STAGE and Carnation Gardens … and often featured as “grand martials” of the daily character parades … the locals news would often feature PM MAGAZINE promotional bits like “we caught up with Annette Funicello at Disneyland “ so there are tons of non- major network possibilities.
Growing up in San Diego we used to get a couple LA and Orange County local tv channels that always had special local only Disney related spots , segments or specials .
MAJOR : remember when SKIPPY OLD FASHIONED was sold in burlap bags and you had to scoop it out with a wooden paddle!?? And it was called “SKIPPY’S PATENT MIRACLE OLD FASHIONED PEANUT MUSH” cures children of Ricketts , Malsise and Dipsy-Dropsies ASK YOUR GROCER FOR SOME TODAY!
1979
“ANNETTE’S DISNEYLAND REUNION SPECIAL : SMILE AWHILE” presented by HOSTESS SNACKFOODS : make time for breakfast : make time for Hostess! ….. and EXINWEST playsets - Old West construction toy sets with their Western Characters - from EXIN BROTHERS of Spain”
“Now when you purchase any specially marked package of EXINWEST at Disneyland , you can mail away for a free ROCKET FIRING BACKPACK ANNETTE FUNICELLO action figure! just mail in 3 proof of purchases. Ask your parents for permission.“
Mike, I think you have had enough coffee today.
JG
I would sooo buy the Exitwest "Official Encino Annette Funicello Homestead". With Annette Barbie!...I mean uh...(in much lower voice) ACTION FIGURE. Annette did come to the New Fantasyland opening and I remember TV press on that...I have it on tape...somewhere...poor Annettes house in Encino burned down with most of her Mousketrinkets inside. Very sad. Was sold as a tear down and not a speck of it survives today. Her childhood Mouseketeer home however is alive and well: also in Encino. Annette was the ultimate "Valley Girl". http://sanfernandovalleyblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/celebrity-real-estate-annette.html
Mike, ask my grocer? I bought mine from Dr. Skippy himself, straight off the back of his horse wagon on the outskirts of town. Best peanut butter-based patent medicine available anywhere! And only 80 proof!
Chuck, see >>
https://www.skrewballwhiskey.com/
JG
JG, what in the…? I’m afraid to crack any more absurdist jokes for fear I’ll imagine them into reality.
How have I never heard of this stuff before? According to their website, there are 49 locations within ten miles of my house that stock it - including one almost across the street from my office.
GDB-gold, today...thank you, Major and all!
Sue
Those Disney specials were terrible, but most TV programming was pretty bad in the day. I saw the Paul Lynde Halloween Special a few years ago and it was watchable only as incomprehensible camp. But in a world of only 3 networks without any real alternatives, those terrible shows got ratings a producer would kill for today.
Mike Cozart, interesting, I didn’t even think about the possibility of a local (SoCal) program being filmed at Disneyland. It would surprise me that they would let a camera rig move though Frontierland like that when the park was so busy, I wonder if that was unusual for specials like that? Annette was the only Mouseketeer that I recall seeing ANYWHERE, though I know that Bobby Burgess had a long career with the Lawrence Welk show, and Cubby was a successful drummer. There are probably others who had some success as well. I think I had some of the “Miracle Old Fashioned Peanut Mush” when I was a boy (when I lived in a sod hut), we would smear some on our chests if we had a cough or cold. If things were really bad, we’d add some jelly too. For a moment I thought your description of the “Smile Awhile” show was for real!
JG, ha ha, is there really such thing as TOO much coffee?
Bu, now I’m wondering, was there ever an Annette doll? It seems hard to believe that Disney would miss that trick, but I’m not aware of anything like that. I always hate hearing about anybody’s home burning down (Christopher Lloyd, for instance), to think that all of their lifetime of treasures are gone in minutes… awful. I’ll have to look to see how close Annette’s childhood home was to my grandparent’s home!
Chuck, ah, good old Doctor Skippy and his swaybacked horse (named “Peanut” of course). Those were the days when they used bear grease as an additive to the peanut butter.
JG, hey, I’ve had peanut butter beers, so why not whiskey!
Chuck, never stop making absurdist jokes. NEVER.
Sue, where hast thou been?
Dean Finder, good point, I guess I just hoped for more from the Disney specials, and never got it. Now we can see some of the Walt-era specials, and some of those were quite good, but even they were cursed with dull song and dance routines.
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