As Ms. Funicello matured into a young woman, the studio sent her on dates with Mr. Avalon, Bobby Darin and other stars.

WSJ: The First Mouseketeer to Strike It Big

Before he became an actor, he worked during the 1960s at the Copacabana nightclub in New York, where he played host to the stars of the era including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Bobby Darin and met the sort of gangsters he would later portray.

BBC: Tony Lip