NEW YORK (PNN) - April 8, 2013 - She was the first crush for a generation of boys, the perfect playmate for a generation of girls.

Annette Funicello, who became a child star as a cute-as-a-button Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s, ruled among baby boomers, who tuned in every weekday afternoon to watch her on their flickering black-and-white television sets.

Then they shed their mouse ears, as Annette did when she teamed up with Frankie Avalon during the 1960s in a string of frothy, fun-in-the-sun movies with titles like Beach Blanket Bingo and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.

Decades later, she endeared herself to baby boomers all over again after she announced in 1992 that she had multiple sclerosis and began grappling with the slow, degenerative effects with remarkably good cheer and faith.

Funicello died on Monday at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, Kalifornia, of complications from MS. She was 70 and had dropped from public view years ago.

“She really had a tough existence,” said Avalon. “It’s like losing a family member. I'm devastated but I'm not surprised.”

Avalon said that when they were working together, she never realized how beloved she was. “She would say, ‘Really?’ She was so bashful about it. She was an amazing girl,” he recalled.

The pretty, dark-haired Funicello was 13 when she gained fame on The Mickey Mouse Club, a children’s variety show that consisted of stories, songs and dance routines. It ran on ABC from 1955 to 1959.

Cast after Walt Disney saw her at a dance recital, she appeared in the Mouseketeer uniform of mouse ears, a pleated skirt and a turtleneck sweater emblazoned with her first name, and captivated young viewers with her wholesome, girl-next-door appeal.

She became the most popular Mouseketeer, receiving 8,000 fan letters a month, 10 times more than any of the 23 other young performers.

“It was a happy time. They were wonderful times,” she recalled in a TV interview as an adult - and she might just as well have been speaking for her Mickey Mouse Club audience.

Singer and composer Paul Anka, the one-time teen idol who briefly dated Funicello when they were on the concert circuit in the late 1950s, said that like seemingly every young Amerikan male of the time, he was in love with her.

“She was just the girl next door and they were drawn just to her,” said Anka. “She had that thing. She had the it, and there was just no stopping it.”

When The Mickey Mouse Club ended, Funicello was the only cast member to remain under contract to the studio. She appeared in such Disney movies as Johnny Tremain, The Shaggy Dog, The Horsemasters, Babes in Toyland, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, and The Monkey’s Uncle.

She also became a recording star, singing on 15 albums and hit singles such as “Tall Paul” and “Pineapple Princess.”

Outgrowing the kid roles by the early ‘60s, Annette teamed with Avalon in a series of movies for American-International, the first film company to exploit the burgeoning teen market.

The films had songs, cameos by older stars and some laughs. The 1965 Beach Blanket Bingo, for example, featured subplots involving a mermaid, a motorcycle gang and a skydiving school run by Don Rickles, and comic touches by silent film star Buster Keaton.

Among the other titles: Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, and Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine.

The beach films featured ample youthful skin. But not Funicello's.

She remembered in 1987: “Mr. Disney said to me one day, ‘Annette, I have a favor to ask of you. I know all the girls are wearing bikinis, but you have an image to uphold. I would appreciate it if you would wear a one-piece suit.’ I did, and I never regretted it.”

The shift in teen tastes begun by the Beatles in 1964 and Funicello’s first marriage the following year pretty much killed off the beach-movie genre.

In the 1970s, she made commercials for Skippy peanut butter, appearing with her real-life children.

She and Avalon reunited in the 1987 movie Back to the Beach, in which Lori Loughlin played their daughter.

Funicello was born Oct. 22, 1942, in Utica, New York, and her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 4. She began taking dance lessons, and she won a beauty contest at 9. Then came her discovery by Disney.

Funicello’s devotion to Walt Disney remained throughout her life.

“He was the dearest, kindest person, and truly was like a second father to me,” she said. “He was a kid at heart.”

In 1965, Funicello married her agent, Jack Gilardi, and they had three children, Gina, Jack and Jason. The couple divorced 18 years later, and in 1986 she married Glen Holt, a harness racehorse trainer.

After her film career ended, she devoted herself to her family.

“We are so sorry to lose Mother,” her children said in a statement. “She is no longer suffering anymore and is now dancing in heaven.”

Brian James Chapman, 37, beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend, went to be with our Lord, Sept. 26, 2012 after a brief illness.

Brian was born June 27, 1975 to James Edward and Terese "Terry" Mesh Chapman in Hutchinson, Kansas. Brian attended Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School, Class of 1994 in Wichita and three years at WSU. He was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Wichita, and attended Holy Cross Catholic Church and Grade School, Hutchinson, when he was younger.

He worked at CRU-Dataport for seven years as a computer programmer. Brian created and maintained the web site at www.revolutionnow.us. He was a dedicated American Patriot and believed each of us has the God-given right to live free.

Survivors include; mother Terese "Terry" Chapman, Wichita; sister, Kristyn Chapman, Wichita; uncles, Paul Mesh and wife Mari, Hutchinson; John Mesh, Enid, OK; aunt, Janet Cooper, Hutchinson; cousins, Bill Cooper, Matthew Cooper, Robyn Kelly, Ryan Mesh, Michael Mesh and Kayla Mesh.

He was preceded in death by grandparents, William and Marie Mesh.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Holy Cross Catholic School Education Fund in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, Kansas 67501. Friends may visit www.elliottmortuary.com to leave a message for Brian's family.

BRENTWOOD, Kalifornia (PNN) - August 20, 2012 - Pioneering funny-woman Phyllis Diller, who was famed for her contagious cackle and for bravely paving the way for female comedians, has died in Los Angeles.

According to reports, the 95-year-old passed away under hospice care at home after a recent fall that saw her hurt her wrist and hip.

She was surrounded by her family at her Brentwood home.

Famed for her legendary cackle, Diller remained a force in the showbiz world even after she suffered a heart attack in 1999 and was later fitted with a pacemaker.

She began her career in 1952 and was catapulted to fame in TV specials alongside Bob Hope in the 1960s.

Diller paved the way for generations of female comedians and broke down the image of the Stepford-style American housewife.

Born Phyllis Ada Driver on July 17, 1917, in Lima, Ohio, she became an accomplished pianist before eloping with her first husband and moving to San Francisco.

There she worked as a copywriter and journalist by day, and refined her stand-up act every night in the city's comedy clubs.

She was the first of a new breed; deconstructing the suburban housewife and drawing in laughs on the subject of childbearing and her fictional husband, Fang.

Eccentric in her appearance, it was balanced by a self-deprecating tone that endeared her to all she met.

She got her first big break on Groucho Marx's game show, You Bet Your Life, after rolling off zippy one-liners like bullets from a semi-automatic.

That led to a two-year residence at the Purple Onion Comedy Club in San Francisco and more TV work on shows like I've Got A Secret, Hollywood Squares, and The Gong Show.

She also had her own cult programs, The Pruitts of Southampton and The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show.

Diller was also refreshingly honest about her plastic surgeries, pioneering a confessional approach widely copied ever since.

“It's a good thing that beauty is only skin deep, or I'd be rotten to the core,” Diller once said.

Still going strong in the 1990s, Diller could be seen in 7th Heaven and the CBS soap, The Bold And The Beautiful.

She also voiced the Queen in Disney's A Bug's Life.

Her memoir, Like A Lampshade In A Whorehouse, was released in 2004, after she left the popular soap opera.

This year she filmed what would be her swan song, returning as Gladys Pope for two episodes in March for The Bold and the Beautiful's 25th anniversary.

She had three children and after her marriage to entertainer Ward Donovan ended in divorce, found love with lawyer Rob Hastings until he passed away in 1996.

ROANOKE ISLAND, North Carolina - July 3, 2012 - Andy Griffith, whose homespun mix of humor and wisdom made The Andy Griffith Show an enduring TV favorite, dies Tuesday morning of a heart attack. He was 86.

Griffith died around 7:00 a.m. in his Roanoke Island, North Carolina home.

Griffith is most famous for his portrayal of Mayberry town sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show and as the titular defense lawyer on the legal drama Matlock.

By Devvy Kidd

June 9, 2012 - On the evening of June 4, 2012, I checked into my hotel in Sacramento, Kalifornia. After doing the usual fussing around with luggage, I turned on the computer to check email. One of the first I saw was: Tommy Cryer, R.I.P.

I guess you could say I was literally struck dumb. I kept looking at the screen, but couldn't process what I was reading. I was that shocked. I finally opened the email; read it several times. Just stared at the screen.

After sitting there a while, I made a phone call. Tommy did pass away in the early morning hours, Monday, June 4th. Then I sat and cried. Due to travel delays, I was unable to get to Shreveport by Thursday, June 7, 2012, for Tommy's funeral. I still can't bring myself to delete his email address from my email box. It is a small comfort to know he slipped away peacefully in his sleep.

When a loved one or dear friend has a long illness and passes away or reaches the end of a long life, you expect it. It is part of life that we all accept. Not that we don’t grieve just as much, because we do, but when a loved one or dear friend dies suddenly without warning, you don't get to say good-bye. You wonder if you told your loved one or dear friend how much they meant to you and how you value their friendship. I spoke with Tommy less than a week before he died. Now I will never hear his voice again. But I know Tommy knew there is one true God and I believe he is now with Our Father in heaven.

For those who didn't know Tommy, he lived a rich and vibrant life. Tommy graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor from LSU Law School in 1973 and was inducted into the Order of the Coif, the world's most prestigious honorary society for legal scholars and practitioners. He served in the U.S. Army in the Adjutant General Corps, honorably discharged as a Captain.

He served as a Special Advisor and Draftsman at the Louisiana Constitutional Convention in 1973 and that he has argued cases before the Louisiana Supreme Court. Tommy made new law by winning a number of landmark cases and was inducted into the LSU Law School's Hall of Fame after only 14 years of practice. Tommy had been a trial and appellate lawyer for 36 years.

Tommy and Larry Becraft, in addition to being lawyers with full plates, did their radio shows during the week and on Saturdays, bringing their decades of experience to listeners as well as analyzing court decisions and current events.

Tommy was an endless source of history whenever I saw him. Having lived in the south for most of his life, Tommy filled my ears with things I never knew. When we spoke on the phone and even in emails, Tommy told me all about his decades of experience in the madness called politics in America. There was never just a “quick phone call” with him.

Tommy was active most of his adult life in the Republican Party and I know he tried to bring his knowledge of the founding of this republic and the proper role of government to the troops at the local level.

I was also blessed by that dear man in that, like Dr. Edwin Vieira and Larry Becraft, just to name two, Tommy gave me so much regarding the law. A major topic of discussion was our judicial system and corruption in the courts. Of course, Tommy would know, since the federal mafia indicted him back in 2007 for failing to file tax returns. Thankfully, the jury unanimously acquitted him.

However, that didn't stop the criminals in the IRS in their persecution of Tommy. He has spent the past few years fighting them because even though he was acquitted, the IRS will go after you in civil court. All that stress was not good for a man who had two very serious heart attacks over the years.

Regular readers of my columns know Tommy was also representing me, my husband and 190 petitioners in our fight against the “smart” meter out here in Texas. It has been rough going, fighting the lies and deception.

In late March through most of April, Tommy fought a very bad bout of pneumonia. Bless his heart, he hung in there for our case even though most of the time he was very sick. I am addressing our situation now that Tommy has left us way too soon.

Tommy had a brilliant legal mind; like a steel trap ready to snap against his opponents. He loved the law. Tommy also loved this country and like tens of millions of us, was sickened by what we've seen going on for the past couple of decades, as the rotting corpse of a once great nation struggles to stay alive.

Most people don't know that Tommy sacrificed a great deal in both time and money with his Truth Attack project. He had several things going regarding Truth Attack at the time of his passing. Tommy also left this nation with a great gift, his Memorandum, which I will address in my next column. There is much work to be done.

But more than anything, Tommy Cryer was genuinely a wonderful human being. He represented individuals without charge when he could, simply because he hated injustice. He hated thugs who work for the General Government's alphabet soup agencies who have no regard for the U.S. Constitution; only their paychecks and power.

Tommy Cryer was a kind soul. So easygoing and oh, my, was he ever funny. While sitting at lunch this past February in Austin (we filed our first petition with the Texas PUC), even discussing his latest rounds with the IRS, Tommy would throw in some zingers. The food severs must have thought we were nuts with all the laughing.

We will miss Tommy, but we will never forget him and all his hard work in bringing the truth to light.

Tommy is survived by his dear wife, Dee Dee and one brother.

June 4, 2012 - It is with a heavy heart I bring you the news of Bob Chapman’s passing. He passed away on June 4, 2012. Bob was a true legend and has undoubtedly left his mark on history. He will be sorely missed.

Robert “Bob” John Chapman, age 76, of Winter Haven, Florida (formally of Mexico) died Monday, June 4, 2012 due to pancreatic cancer. He was born October 16, 1935 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of John Chapman and Ruth Donley Chapman.

Bob was a veteran of the U.S. Army, a writer of a newsletter discussing finances and economics, and a regular radio commentator discussing politics as well as economics and finances. Most of his working life he served as a stockbroker.

Bob is survived by his wife of 47 years, Judith “Judy” Dabrowski Chapman, son, Robert Michael Chapman, daughter, Jenifer Gillotti and her husband Matt, sisters, Dorothy Trecker and Joan Lotz, and 4 grandchildren.


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June 7, 2012 - Ray Douglas Bradbury, who was born Aug. 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois, died June 5 in Los Angeles. He was 91.

Ray Bradbury was a boundlessly imaginative novelist who wrote some of the most popular science-fiction books of all time, including “Fahrenheit 451” and “The Martian Chronicles,” and who transformed the genre of flying saucers and little green men into literature exploring childhood terrors, colonialism, and the erosion of individual thought.

Mr. Bradbury, who began his career in the 1930s contributing stories to pulp-fiction magazines, received a special Pulitzer Prize citation in 2007 “for his distinguished, prolific and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of science fiction and fantasy.”

His body of works, which continued to appear through recent years to terrific reviews, encompassed more than 500 titles, including novels, plays, children’s books, and short stories. His tales were often made into films, including the futuristic story of a book-burning society (director Francois Truffaut’s “Fahrenheit 451” in 1966), a suspense story about childhood fears (“Something Wicked This Way Comes” in 1983) and the more straightforward alien-attack story (“It Came From Outer Space” in 1953).

He helped write filmmaker John Huston’s 1956 movie adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel “Moby-Dick” and contributed scripts to the TV anthology programs “The Twilight Zone” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”. Mr. Bradbury hosted his own science-fiction anthology program, “The Ray Bradbury Theater,” from 1985 to 1992 on the HBO and USA cable networks.

“The Martian Chronicles,” released to wide acclaim in 1950, used the guide of science fiction to explore colonialism, nuclear war, and the transformative power of one’s environment.

The book sealed his reputation as a science-fiction writer, but Mr. Bradbury frequently eschewed the label.

“People say, ‘Are you a fantasy writer?’ No,” Mr. Bradbury told the Charlotte Observer in 1997. “ ‘Are you a science-fiction writer?’ No. I’m a magician.”

He explained, “Science fiction is the art of the possible, not the art of the impossible. As soon as you deal with things that can’t happen, you are writing fantasy.”

Mr. Bradbury said “Fahrenheit 451,” based on a novella he called “The Fireman,” was his only work of science fiction.

The 1953 book centers on Guy Montag, a fireman of the future charged with burning books. Montag joins a rogue group seeking to save the great writings of civilization through memorization. Mr. Bradbury said the story was inspired by the Nazi book bonfires of the 1930s that he saw in movie newsreels as a young man.

Many observers linked the anti-book-burning message and that “Fahrenheit 451” was published at a peak moment of Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade. Mr. Bradbury said “Fahrenheit 451” was not necessarily about top-down censorship.

The real threat is not from Big Brother, but from little sister [and] all those groups, men and women, who want to impose their views from below,” he told the Times of London in 1993. “If you allow every minority to grab one book off the shelf you’ll have nothing in the library.”

He developed a love of books at an early age, with favorite authors including Edgar Allan Poe, Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and spent many nights at the local library. In a 1985 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he recalled that he was “fairly poor” - his father was a lineman who had trouble finding work - and that he used the scraps of paper provided by the library for reference notes to write down bits of short stories.

He was inspired to write his first story at age 12 by Mr. Electrico, a performer at a traveling carnival. The performer sent an electric current through the boy’s body, proclaiming, “Live forever!” and later said they’d known each other in one of Mr. Bradbury’s previous lives. The experience evolved into the novel “Something Wicked This Way Comes” (1962), the basis for a film of the same name starring Jonathan Pryce as a diabolical circus owner.

He scripted the 1962 animated history of flight, “Icarus Montgolfier Wright,” which received an Academy Award nomination for best short film, and won a Daytime Emmy in 1993 for writing the animated children’s program, “The Halloween Tree.”

In 2004, President George W. Bush presented Mr. Bradbury with the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest award given to artists.

“I can’t name a writer who’s had a more perfect life,” Mr. Bradbury told the New York Times in 1983. “My books are all in print, I’m in all the school libraries, and when I go places I get the applause at the start of my speech.”