Annette Funicello couldn’t walk, speak or eat in the end – but her husband never gave up hope

By
Monica Pop
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Annette Funicello rose to stardom almost overnight after she became a mouseketeer on the original “Mickey Mouse Club.” Although she was just 12 years old when Walt Disney himself discovered her at a recital, she became an icon adored by millions. All of a sudden, she became every boy’s crush and all the girls wanted to be like her.

Her acting and dancing talent helped her get a 7-year contract with Disney.

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Annette’s smile was so enchanting and energetic, that she soon became a symbol of beauty. She was given her own series titled “Annette” in which she played the role of an orphan girl with the same name who left the country for a big city and went to live with her aunt and uncle.

As she grew older, she starred in a number of films, including a series of Beach Party movies with Frankie Avalon which led to another 7-year contract, this time with American International Pictures.

JAN 30 1975, FEB 24 1993, MAY 14 1995 Annette Funicello – Actress- Wikipedia

Before tying the knot with agent Jack Gilardi, with whom she welcomed three children, Annette dated singer Paul Anka who always spoke of her with much admiration. “Not a malicious thing (was) ever said about her,” the singer said. “All of a sudden, you had this cute-looking, lovely person with a great soul that emerged and stepped out from everyone. Her loveable personality, and her sincerity, people just gravitated to it.”

When her marriage of 18 years ended with divorce, Annette married racehorse trainer Glen Holt with whom she stayed until the rest of her life.

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It was withing the first year of her second marriage that Annette started experiencing health issues which involved dizziness, balance problems, and headaches. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which she tried to hide from everyone for five years. However, her unbalanced movements were related with alcohol use by the media and in order to put a stop to the rumors, she was forced to reveal her diagnosis with the world.

Her life was filmed as a television movie with A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story (1995) co-starring her good friend, Shelley Fabares. Eventually, as the disease progressed, Annette was wheelchair-ridden and went into complete seclusion.

Over time, she lost the ability to speak, but she was never alone in her fight against MS. Her husband never left her side and was there for her every step of the way. “When she got diagnosed … I told her, ‘I will take care of you, and I’ll do everything I can,’” and that’s exactly what Holt did.

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During those 25 years that they were married, he constantly tried to search for a cure for his wife.

“I see changes. And you know to me when you can see some changes like they always say, where there is smoke, there is fire, I see something that is very positive, and it needs to be researched further,” he said after all the surgeries and tests.

Sadly, the actress passed away on April 8, 2013, at the age of 70.

Annette Funicello and husband during Disney Legends Awards at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, United States. (Getty Images)

“Annette was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word Mouseketeer, and a true Disney legend,” Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger said in a statement released regarding Annette’s death.

“She will forever hold a place in our hearts as one of Walt Disney’s brightest stars, delighting an entire generation of baby boomers with her jubilant personality and endless talent.

“Annette was well known for being as beautiful inside as she was on the outside, and she faced her physical challenges with dignity, bravery and grace.”

Annette contributed to the MS research by opening the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders at the California Community Foundation in 1992.

She was true beauty, may she rest in peace.

Chuck Norris had a love child he didn’t know about for almost 26 years

By
Monica Pop
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Chuck Norris is widely known as one of the best martial artists there are. He has successfully incorporated his martial-arts knowledge into a number of films which brought him recognition as a renowned actor.

However, it seems like that of all of the roles he has played over the years, he’s proudest of the role of a father.

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When he was just 18 years old, Norris married his high-school sweetheart Dianne Kay Holechek, who was 17 at the time they tied the knot. Norris and Holechek were married for 30 years and welcomed two sons together. However, while still married to Holechek, and around a year after their first son was born, Norris had an affair with a woman named Johanna while he was stationed in California in the U.S. Air Force. He never told Johanna that he was married and had no idea she was pregnant with his child until his daughter, Dina DiCiolli, contacted him some 26 years later.

As it turned out, she knew Norris was her father ever since she was 16 as she overheard her mother telling that to someone, but it took her years to gather the courage to send him a letter.

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Norris said he didn’t need a DNA test to know that Dina was indeed his daughter and said he was thankful to Johanna for keeping the child. “There might be illegitimate parents in the world,” the Good Guys Wear Black star wrote in a 2007 Daily Herald article. “I know because I was one, but there are not illegitimate children. God has a plan and purpose for each of our lives.”

When he first saw his daughter after so many years, Norris wrote that he wrapped his arms around her as tears of joy rolled down his face.

Dina is a mother of three, and recently, her daughter Gabi, Norris’ granddaughter, got married and the entire family attended the special event.

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Since 1998, Norris has been married to former model Gena O’Kelley with who she has twins Danielle Kelley and Dakota Alan, born in 2001.

On Father’s Day 2017, the actor wrote on Facebook: “Being a father is one of God’s greatest blessings a man can experience.”

The way Norris accepted the daughter he didn’t even know exist for 26 years speaks of his greatness as a father and as a human being.

‘I won the lottery’ – Actress Kristin Chenoweth reveals her beautiful adoption story

By
Monica Pop
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Kristin Chenoweth is a much loved American actress who had her Broadway debut back in 1997 in Steel Pier, winning a Theatre World Award. Ever since, she has enchanted people from all over the country and beyond with both her acting and voice.

Among the rest, Kristin has received a Tony Award for her performance as Sally Brown in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance of Glinda in the musical “Wicked.”

Along with her shining Broadway career, Kristin decided to also pursue a career in film and has since starred in a number of movies. Her television roles include Annabeth Schott in NBC’s The West Wing and Olive Snook on the ABC comedy drama Pushing Daisies, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009. She also starred in the TV series GCB, as well as in Trial and Error.

Recently, the 53-year-old actress and singer released a children’s book titled “What Will I Do with My Love Today?” which revolves around a girl named Kristi Dawn who shows that adoption is one of the most beautiful things in life after she meets a lonely dog looking for a forever home.

Speaking of her book during an appearance on the Today show, Kristin spoke of her own adoption. Namely, she was adopted by Junie and Jerry when she was five years old and always speaks with much love and pride of her parents. “My dad always says ‘Man, did we win the lottery’ and I always say ‘No, I won the lottery,’” she revealed on the show.

“It was never a surprise,” she said. “They always said ‘The lady that had you in her belly could not take care of you the way she wanted to, and she loved you so much,’” and added, “This is what my mom said, ‘She gave you life, but we get to give you a life.’”

In October 2021, Kristie got engaged to country music guitarist Josh Bryant and revealed the big news on social media. “Guess you’re stuck with me now, @joshbguitar. I love you and I’m never letting you go. A million times yes!!!” the Broadway star wrote.

Kristie definitely is one of our favorite actresses both because of her great movies and productions and for praising adoption and being forever thankful to her adoptive parents.

“No matter how life has brought us together, adoption means family, and family is forever. We had lots of love in our family before, but with you Thunder pup, we have even more,” she said of her dad. We are certain her parents are proud of her for who she is and for her heart of gold.

Mom records emotional message to her son before giving him up for adoption

By
Kelly White
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Sometimes life can be hard, sometimes you get a curveball and a lot of the time we do hard things to survive. For this one mother, she had to do one of the hardest things imaginable by giving up her baby boy to another family who could provide for him when she couldn’t, how brave! Hannah Mongie and her husband had an awful decision to make when they found out that she was pregnant, what were they going to do? They recorded a youtube video where Hanna explains what they decided and why! As Hanna speaks you can really hear that the decision was one of the hardest ever, and she did it out of love…
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Hanna tells her story and explains that she met the father of the baby, called Kaden, back in 2013, then after dating for some time, in 2015 they found out she was pregnant! Hanna says: (To Tagg)

“He loved you so much, from the very, very beginning”

She went for her eight-week checkup and sent a recording of her baby Tagg’s heartbeat to the father, he was delighted! Two more days after this, hearing his son’s heartbeat, Kaden’s heart practically stopped…
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Hannah said:

“From the day your daddy died, I had a hard time even considering placing you with a different family when you were my last piece of Kaden …But one day, I woke up and I just knew that you were supposed to be with someone else.”

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Hahhan searched to find a suitable couple to adopt him and found Emily and Brad, moving on two weeks again and all the time talking to them and getting to know them, she decided they would be great parents for baby Tagg. Hannah said:

“Over time, me and your mommy, Emily, became really, really good friends, and she’s one of my best friends now”

Hannah says that the two parents she found for Tagg really love him already…
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Hanna was so upset, she just kept telling her son over and over how much she loved him, and how much his dad loved him too, then the video ends. Hanna wrote in the video caption: “I hope anyone who watches this will be able to gain a new perspective on what the birth mom goes through when she places her child for adoption. It is the FARTHEST thing from a heartless act. It shows (the) definition of love. To love someone this much is to give away your happiness for them”
Her Situation is really sad, kind and loving too, but such a great shame, Hannah has so much love to give, and Tagg’s birth parents are heartbroken, the one small comfort is that its an open adoption and she can see him regularly! Such a bittersweet lovely but sad moment, it really show’s how parenting is both difficult and carries such responsibility, please if you like this story, SHARE it with friends and family!

Dean Martin refused to attend JFK’s inauguration because Sammy Davis Jr. wasn’t invited

By
Monica Pop
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The saying goes that there are friends, there is family, and then there are friends who become family, and for one very special man who changed the world of entertainment forever, one and only Dean Martin, family was everything.

Born Dino Paul Crocetti on June 7, 1917, in Steubenville, Ohio, to a father who was an Italian immigrant, Dean Martin didn’t speak any English during the first five years of his life. His classmates made fun of his accent and that made Martin shy, a trait that would become part of his character.

“When Jerry Lewis and I were big, we used to go to parties, and everybody thought I was bigheaded and stuck up, and I wasn’t. It was because I didn’t know how to speak good English, so I used to keep my mouth shut,” Martin told Desert in 1967.

“Well, see, I’m shy,” he added. “Always been. See, if I walk into a party, I sort of go in a corner, ’cause I don’t know what to say to people.”

Henry Gris/FPG/Getty Images

When he started performing, Martin didn’t even know how to read music, yet he reached incredible heights and became the best of the best in the showbiz.

At the start of his career, he performed at local restaurants while working as an amateur welterweight fighter at the same time. Eventually, Martin signed his first record deal in 1943 with MCA Records. Two years later, a serendipitous meeting with Jerry Lewis would change his life and career forever.

“I turn, and I see this handsome guy in a camel’s hair coat. You can die from how handsome he was, sporting his new nose,” Lewis recalled meeting Lewis on the street in an interview with Today in 2005.

“And we became very friendly. He looked like he needed a friend, and I certainly did. And that was really the start.”

The two did show after show and reached the top, only the sky was the limit for this incredible duo. However, after being very close for years, and doing music and films together, prior to the tenth anniversary of their first show, Martin and Lewis split.

Some 20 years later, in 1976, they were reunited on stage thanks to their mutual friend Frank Sinatra. And while many found the reunion emotional, People referred to it back then as to “a forced and uncomfortable onstage reunion.”

Martin was also part of the famous “The Rat Pack,” a group of A-list show business friends who met casually at the Los Angeles home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, along with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford.

They were really close friends who showed their loyalty for one another numerous times.

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When Dean Martin was invited at JFK’s inauguration as the 35th president of The United States, Martin declined the invitation because his friend whom he considered family, Sammy Davis Jr., was told not to attend. At the time, Davis Jr., got married to May Britt, a white actress, and their interracial relationship caused quite a stir. Apparently, Kennedy was afraid that Davis Jr.’s presence would made people from the Southern states angry, as per the 1989 book Why Me.

Martin wasn’t happy with the news and decided not to attend the inauguration himself in support of his beloved friend.

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A new documentary by Tom Donahue, supported by Martin’s daughter Deana Martin, Dean Martin: King of Cool, speaks about this incident in more depth.

“Sammy Davis Jr. helped to get JFK elected, and then JFK and his campaign decided to pay Sammy back by not allowing him to go to the inauguration because he was part of an interracial marriage,” Donahue told Fox News.

“It was Dean Martin who stood up for his friend and said, ‘I’m not going to be part of the inauguration if Sammy isn’t going.’ That really impressed me. He had a sense of honor. The more I got to know Dean Martin, the man, the more I grew to truly love and admire him.”

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Deana Martin revealed that her late father was “astounded” when he heard his friend Sammy Davis Jr. wasn’t among the guests of JFK.

“He was my uncle Sammy, he came to our house. He was family. So it was pretty remarkable,” she told Fox News.

“My dad was going to take a stand because it was the right thing to do. It didn’t matter what JFK or anyone else was going to think of him. This is Sammy Davis Jr., and that was his friend. And for family to not be invited for those reasons made my father very upset. He just said, ‘It’s not right. I’m not going.’ And that was it. He wouldn’t think about it anymore.”

Georg Stanford Brown and Tyne Daly’s interracial marriage caused quite a stir back in the day

By
Monica Pop
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Before 1961, interracial marriages were illegal and punishable by law, and even after they were legally allowed, many continued to see them as something odd and considered them taboo.

Hollywood actors Georg Stanford Brown and Tyne Daly tied the knot in 1960 and never cared what people were saying about their relationship. Being a white woman in love with a black man triggered prejudice and judgment, but Tyne never considered leaving the man who meant the world to her. Georg was as determined to stay with Tyne and their love stood the test of time.

Georg’s career in the world of film started when he was still very young, but he didn’t see it as something serious at the time. In fact, he only saw acting as a way of making easy money, but he eventually fell in love with it and decided to pursue it as a career.

In order to be able to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, he worked as a janitor. At the academy, he met his future wife, Tyne. Over the years, they both rose to stardom and became very successful actors.

Georg is probably best known for his role as Officer Terry Webster, one of the stars of the ABC television series “The Rookies,” Tom Harvey in the mini-series “Roots,” Henri Philipot in The Comedians and Dr. Willard in Bullitt among the rest.

circa 1975: American actor Tyne Daly and her husband, Cuban-born actor Georg Stanford Brown, attend a performance of the British National Theatre, London, England. Brown holds a small cigar in one hand. (Photo by Fotos International/Getty Images)

At the time he and Tyne tied the knot, she was already a celeb in her own right who had her breakthrough with the role of Mary Beth Lacey in the hit show “Cagney and Lacey.”

In an episode of “The Rookies,” Georg and Tyne shared their first on-screen kiss and that scene caused quite a stir.

Tyne often spoke of her marriage with Georg and said that she never saw him as a black man, but a human being.

Tyne Daly and daughters during The 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards – Arrivals at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)

They have three daughters together. When their youngest daughter was born, “on her birth certificate, under ‘race,’ we put ‘human’; under ‘sex’ we put ‘yes’, and under ethnic origin, we put ‘citizen of the world,’” Tyne said.

Georg and Tyne divorced in 1990, after 24 years of marriage, but they are still remembered as a couple who fought prejudice and that is just another reason why we all love them so much.

Bride, 97, and groom, 98, recreate their wedding day 77 years later

By
Monica Pop
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Frankie King married her loving husband Royce some 78 years ago. What they had was a love at first sight which lasts until today. Not many people get to spend that much time with their soulmate and the great love of their life, but these two are among the few lucky ones.

Their wedding took place during Royce’s two-day leave from his service at the Air Force. Since they didn’t have much time to organize the special event, Frankie didn’t get to wear a wedding gown and they didn’t hire a wedding photographer.

“He was stationed as a lieutenant in the Air Force… he just got his pilot wings,” their daughter, Sue Bilodeau, told CBS News. “He got a short leave. They had been engaged about six months, so they decided to have a wedding before he was deployed overseas.”

Once the war was over, Royce went back home to the small city of Oelwein, Iowa, and he and his wife welcomed two children. Today, they are being taken care of by a hospice nurse working for St. Croix Hospice.

On what was supposed to be their 77th wedding anniversary, the nurse asked Frankie to see photos of their wedding day. Unfortunately, Frankie didn’t have any because there was no photographer there on their most special day. The nurse then came up with a brilliant idea. She, together with other members of the staff at the hospice, decided to organize a real wedding for this sweet couple. She contacted Frankie and Royce’s daughters who were thrilled with the idea.

The ceremony was a beautiful one. Frankie wore a vintage wedding dress while Royce put on his military uniform, the same one he wore on his wedding day back in the day.

“…It was really sweet and touching, how she looked at herself in the gown. She said, ‘Should I wear my glasses or not? I didn’t have glasses that day.’ And I said, ‘Wear your glasses, you’re beautiful this way,'” the couple’s daughter, Sue, said.

Royce was in anticipation to see his beautiful bride and had a handkerchief held over his eyes for the “first look.” “They said, ‘Are you ready to see your bride?’ and took the blindfold off,” Sue told TODAY. “He had just the biggest smile the rest of the day. It was amazing.”

Everyone who got to attend the wedding was in delight. “How can you not have a sense of overwhelming emotion?” said St. Croix Hospice CEO, Heath Bartness. “The connectivity you almost feel that you were a part of this, and thinking back to what it was like in World War II the first time, and how meaningful and how emotional this second opportunity to do this was. There’s an overwhelming sense of pride in not just the company and what the organization did, but more so just as an act of humanity.”

It truly was a day to remember. Happy anniversary and many more to come, Frankie and Royce.

Barry Gibb of ‘Bee Gees’ reveals he regrets pushing younger brother to music after he died aged 30

By
Monica Pop
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For the Gibb brothers, Barry, Maurice, Robin, and Andy, musical talent ran in the family. All four of them accomplished great things in the music industry, the first three as a group, and the youngest of them all, Andy, as a solo artist.

The famous siblings were exposed to music from the moment they were born. Their mother, Barbara, was an established singer, and their father Hugh, was a bandleader, drummer, and performer where he lived, in the Isle of Man. So it didn’t really come as a surprise that their children were gifted and interested in music from very early age.

The Ultimate Biography of The Bee Gees: Tales of The Brothers Gibb reveals a fun story related to how Barbara realized her boys were talented. Namely, one day when she got home she saw her father-in-law watching TV as loud singing could be heard coming from the other room. She supposed it was the radio, so she offered to lower the volume down, not realizing it was her sons who produced the beautiful sound. At the time, Barry was 9, and the twins, Maurice and Robin, were only 6.

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That was an incident that made her and her husband understand that their children were meant for great things, and they were right as their group, Bee Gees, would become one of the most famous and most renowned ones there are, with selling more than 200 million records worldwide.

In 1957, Barry formed his first group together with his brothers and two other friends. It was named The Rattlesnakes, but it didn’t last long because the Gibb family moved to Australia and left Manchester behind. Once in their new home, Barry decided to change the group’s name and that’s how Bee Gees was born.

“Though it is widely believed that the Bee Gees first got their name from being the Brothers Gibb, this meaning did not come until a few years after their founding. When the brothers moved to Australia in 1958, they began playing on the radio with friends Bill Goode and Bill Gates,” the group’s website explains the story behind the name.

The group’s name was originally The BG’s – contrived from the common initials between Barry Gibb, Bill Goode, and Bill Gates. The name then evolved from The BG’s to the Bee Gees, which eventually came to mean the Brothers Gibb!”

In 1975, Bee Gees had their first No.1 with Jive Talkin. One year later, they again topped the charts with You Should Be Dancing.

Responsible for embodying the disco era of the late 1970s, the group’s remarkable music made them known and loved worldwide. Not only they wrote each of their songs, but they did music for other authors as well. Their 1977 Saturday Night Fever soundtrack represents the turning point of their career, with both the film and soundtrack having a cultural impact throughout the world, enhancing the disco scene’s mainstream appeal.

Hits like Staying Alive, Night Fever, and How Deep Is Your Love topped the charts.

Youttube/BeeGees

They won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Group in 1977, and two for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance By a Duo in 1978.

The Bee Gees were awarded the Grammy Legends Award in 2003. In 2015, they received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

As these three brothers conquered the world of music, their youngest sibling, Andy Gibb, was pursuing a career on his own, and he was very successful at what he did.

When he performed in Australia, he was usually introduced like the youngest brother of the Bee Gees. That wasn’t something that bothered him, but at the same time, he felt like he wasn’t acknowledged enough as a musician on his own.

Michael Brennan/Getty Images

“I was a Gibb, but out in the bush or the sticks of Australia, you know, you could be anybody,” Andy said in 1985.

“So the ‘Bee Gees’ was a selling power, but let’s be honest, in the long run, it has been nothing but a great advantage. Because I wouldn’t, who knows what would have happened, I might be here without their help, but I mean the fact is they did help me, and it was a tremendous start, it was a tremendous success.

“Looking back, almost a little too much too soon, too young, because I peaked and then I died for a while and I am just now starting to try and get my feet back on the ground, but other great advantages are just having wonderful musically gifted brothers who always help me and always advise me on anything.”

Andy couldn’t cope with the fame and turned to drugs and alcohol, addictions that would lead to him losing his life just five days after turning 30.

In March, 1988, Andy complained of severe chest and abdominal pain and was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, he passed away three days later of inflammation of the heart, officially resulting from a viral infection.

His passing affected many. His many fans were devastated to hear the news, and his brothers were left utterly heartbroken.

It looked like Andy’s ex-wife Kim Reeder, with whom he had daughter Peta Gibb, was the only one who wasn’t surprised.

“I always knew that one day I’d get a call with news like this,” she told People. “It was only a matter of time.”

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Barry Gibb was crushed. He had a hard time coping with Andy’s loss, just like the rest of the brothers.

Unfortunately, Maurice and Robin died too. Maurice died after collapsing in his home in Miami in 2003. Robin died in 2012. Barry is the only living brother of the Gibb family.

Losing the siblings with whom he reached the starts was a huge shock for Barry. Even today, he feels deep sorrow and immense grief, especially because at the time of their passing, he wasn’t in good terms with any of them.

“My greatest regret is that every brother I’ve lost was in a moment when we weren’t getting on, so I have to live with that, and I’ll spend the rest of my life reflecting on that,” Barry revealed in an interview with Australian show Sunday Night.

“I’m the last man standing. I’ll never be able to understand that as I’m the eldest.”

Shutterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency

With tears in his eyes, Barry explained how close the brothers were throughout the years.

“Nobody ever really knows what the three of us felt about each other,” he said. “Only the three of us knew.

“It was such a unifying thing. The three of us became one person. We all had the same dream. That’s what I miss more than anything else.”

Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame “as an iconic group that produced a decades-spanning catalog of timeless music.”

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