Mouseketeer

Annette Funicello died April 8th, 2013, following a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 70.

In July 1983, when she was 41,  Annette was photographed playing a slot machine at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.  At the time Annette was appearing at the hotel-casino.

Meanwhile, Annette’s passing has touched many in Northern Nevada, including Sharon Baird.  She has a lot of photographs and memorabilia from the times, but her most valued are her memories.

She told KTVN’s Erin Breen she and Annette met when they were 12 on the set of Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club in 1955 and they stayed friends for a lifetime.

“When I moved up here Annette would come and see me here in Reno,” Sharon says. “In fact she made three trips up here after her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis. We knew she wouldn’t always be able to travel and I made a promise to her that I’d continue to visit her. And I did.”

Baird was a child-actor with Annette, who went on to start in string of Disney movies, while Sharon went on to star in other kid shows and adult movies, but the two always kept in touch. Sharon was even there when Annette passed away.

“She always dreamed she’d be able to walk again,” Sharon says, “and she always said she wanted to dance again. The last thing I said to her was, ‘Put on your dancing shoes.’”