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Biography
BLP sources|date=July 2010Infobox person| name = Frankie Avalon| image =Frankie Avalon 1976.JPG| imagesize =220px| caption =Avalon in 1976.| birth_name = Francis Thomas Avallone| birth_date = Birth date and age|1940|9|18 http://www.frankieavalon.com/index.cfm? category=2& pageid=8 Frankieavalon.com| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , United States | death_date =| death_place =| other_names =| occupation = Singer , actor | years_active = 1951& ndash;present| spouse = marriage|Kathryn Diebel|1963|| website = Frankie Avalon (born September 18, 1940) is an United States|American actor , singer , playwright , and former teen idol .
Career
By the time he was 12, Avalon was on United States|U.S. television playing his trumpet . As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints. In 1959, " Venus (Frankie Avalon song)|Venus " (5 weeks #1) and " Why (Frankie Avalon song)|Why " went to Record chart|number one on the Hot 100 number-one hits of 1959 (United States)|Billboard Hot 100 . "Why" was the last #1 of the 1950s. Avalon had 31 charted U.S. Billboard (magazine)|Billboard singles from 1958 to late 1962, including "Just Ask Your Heart" (U.S. #7), "I'll Wait For You" (U.S. #15), "Bobby Sox to Stockings" (U.S. #8), and "A Boy Without a Girl" (U.S. #10). Most of his Hit record|hits were songwriter|written and/or record producer|produced by Bob Marcucci , head of Chancellor Records .
Teamed frequently with Annette Funicello , Avalon starred in a number of popular "beach" comedy movies during the 1960s. The wholesome and romantic coupling of "Frankie and Annette" in summer movies such as Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo became iconic figures in American films during that era.
Avalon also had straight dramatic parts in the John Wayne historical western film The Alamo (1960 film)|The Alamo , as well as the science-fiction story Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) with Barbara Eden .cite web|title=On the Set of The Alamo|url= http://www.texasarchive.org/library/index.php? title=On_the_Set_of_The_Alamo& gsearch=set%20of%20the%20alamo|publisher=Texas Archive of the Moving Image|accessdate=4 August 2011
Materializing as a character called Teen Angel, his performance of "Beauty School Dropout" in the hit 1978 film of the musical Grease (musical)|Grease introduced Avalon to a new generation of viewers.
Avalon appeared in nearly two dozen TV episodes, including American Broadcasting Company|ABC 's The Bing Crosby Show and The Patty Duke Show , appearing often as himself. Later, he became a national television spokesperson for Sonic Drive-In .In 1965 he appeared in the Combat! episode "Brother, Brother" as a childhood friend of Pfc.Kirby, played by Jack Hogan.
The 1980 film The Idolmaker , written by Ed Di Lorenzo and directed by Taylor Hackford , was a thinly-disguised biography of Avalon ("Tommy Dee" in the film) as well as 1950s teenage star Fabian (entertainer)|Fabian (called "Caesare" in the film), along with songwriter/producer Bob Marcucci (called "Vinnie Vacarri"). In the movie, Dee clashes with the record producer and younger singer Caesare, who he feels threatens his career. Eventually, Dee and Caesare quit the label, but their record careers collapse just as the British Invasion begins. The real Fabian threatened a lawsuit, despite the filmmakers' insistence that the film presented only fictional characters (though Marcucci was a paid consultant). Avalon denied most of the movie's events.
Avalon married Kathryn Diebel on January 19, 1963. She was a former beauty pageant winner, and Avalon met her while playing cards at a friend's house. He told his friend that Kay was the girl he was going to marry. His agent warned Avalon that marriage would spoil his teen idol mystique. Still together, they have eight children - Frankie Jr., Tony, Dina, Laura, Joseph, Nicolas, Kathryn and Carla. They have 10 grandchildren. Frankie Jr. is a drummer and Tony, the second oldest son, plays guitar and teaches at the Rock Nation School. Both sons play on tour with their father.
In 1987 Avalon and Annette Funicello returned to movies with Back to the Beach . In 1989 they also appeared as themselves in cameo roles out jogging the streets in Troop Beverly Hills . Not long afterwards, Funicello was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and retired.
Afterwards, Avalon turned to marketing and created Frankie Avalon Products, a line of health and cosmetic aids. Avalon promotes his products on the Home Shopping Network with host Bob Circosta .
He made a cameo appearance as himself with Robert DeNiro in the 1995 film, Casino (film)|Casino .
In recent years, Avalon has starred in stage productions of Grease (musical)|Grease in the role of Teen Angel and '' Tony n' Tina's Wedding as a caricature of himself. Additionally, in 2007, he performed "Beauty School Dropout" with the four remaining female contenders (Kathleen Monteleone, Allie Schulz, Ashley Spencer, and winner Laura Osnes) for the role of Sandy on the National Broadcasting Company|NBC television reality show Grease: You're the One that I Want!
" Why (Frankie Avalon song)|Why " (Chancellor 1045) #1 (B-side "Swingin' On A Rainbow" reached #39); 20 UK 1959
"Don't Throw Away All Those Teardrops" (Chancellor 1048) #22; #37 UK 1960
"Where Are You" (Chancellor 1052) #32 (B-side "Tuxedo Junction" reached #82) 1960
"Togetherness" (Chancellor 1056) #26 (B-side "Don't Let Love Pass Me By" reached #85) 1960
"A Perfect Love" (Chancellor 1065) #47 (B-side "The Puppet Song" reached #56) 1960cite book
| first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 34
In 1999, Frankie Avalon released a double album|double compilation album|compilation of various artists labeled ''Frankie Avalon's Good Guys .cite web|url= http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1066862/a/Good+Guys.htm|title = Good Guys CD|accessdate=12-05-2010
Legacy
UnreferencedSection|date=June 2011He was mentioned in the System of a Down song " Mezmerize (System of a Down album)|Old School Hollywood ". The song supposedly is about Daron Malakian 's experience in a celebrity baseball game, where he and Avalon were both ignored.Citation needed|date=December 2010 Avalon is also mentioned in "It Takes Two", a song from the hit musical Hairspray (musical)|Hairspray , sung by the character Link Larkin, and in a song by the Wu Tang Clan called "The City" which refers to his experiences of being a big part of the beach party film genre ("Ride the wave like Frankie Avalon").
One of numerous obscure cultural references present in Midway's video game Mortal Kombat 3 was a lo-res image of Frankie Avalon's face that would dart up in the lower right-hand corner of the screen when Goro killed his opponent by knocking him into the spike pit on the Bridge level.
His song "Venus" was featured in Cranium Command (1989–2005), an attraction at Epcot 's Wonders of Life Pavilion (now closed) at Walt Disney World . In the attraction, a 12-year-old boy named Bobby (Scott Curtis), tries to survive the pressures of life and falls in love with a beautiful girl named Annie ( Natalie Gregory ) at school.
He and his song "Venus" are mentioned in Wendy Wasserstein 's 2005 play Third (play)|Third . The main character, English professor Laurie Jameson, watches a Public Broadcasting Service|PBS reunion show featuring Avalon singing the song, and sings a line of it to her daughter. In stage productions of the show, part of the song is played and a portion of the supposed Public Broadcasting Service|PBS special is screened as part of the scenery.
He is also mentioned in Adam Sandler 's 2008 comedy, '' You Don't Mess with the Zohan '', for his haircut, which the Zohan (Sandler's character) thinks is the latest hairdo.
He is also numerously referenced in the 1994 film, The Stöned Age , in which he makes an ending scene cameo appearance .
His song "Venus" additionally appeared in Dexter (season 4)|season 4 of the TV series Dexter (TV series)|Dexter in which John Lithgow 's character, Arthur Mitchell (character)|Arthur Mitchell , plays it to remember his deceased sister.
Filmography
Jamboree (1957 film)|Jamboree ( 1957 in film|1957 )
Alakazam the Great ( 1960 in film|1960 ) (voice in English dub)
Guns of the Timberland (1960)
The Alamo (1960 film)|The Alamo (1960)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ( 1961 in film|1961 )
Sail a Crooked Ship (1961)
Panic in Year Zero! ( 1962 in film|1962 )
Operation Bikini ( 1963 in film|1963 )
The Castilian (1963)
The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour as Larry Thatcher in episode entitled "A Tumble from a High White House" (1963)
Drums of Africa (1963)
Beach Party (1963)
Muscle Beach Party ( 1964 in film|1964 )
Bikini Beach (1964)
Pajama Party (film)|Pajama Party (1964)
Beach Blanket Bingo ( 1965 in film|1965 )
'' I'll Take Sweden (1965)
Ski Party (1965)
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)
Sergeant Dead Head (1965)
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)
Fireball 500 ( 1966 in film|1966 )
The Million Eyes of Sumuru ( 1967 in film|1967 )
Skidoo (film)|Skidoo ( 1968 in film|1968 )
The Haunted House of Horror ( 1969 in film|1969 )
The Take ( 1974 in film|1974 )
Grease (film)|Grease ( 1978 in film|1978 )
Blood Song ( 1982 in film|1982 )
Back to the Beach ( 1987 in film|1987 )
Troop Beverly Hills ( 1989 in film|1989 )
Twist ( 1992 in film|1992 ) (documentary)
The Stoned Age ( 1994 in film|1994 )
Casino (film)|Casino ( 1995 in film|1995 )
Charlie Gracie Fabulous ( 2007 in film|2007 ) (documentary)
The Wages of Spin (2007) (documentary)
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) (documentary)
Ikki Goes Hawaiian ( 2016 in film|2016 ) - (voice in English dub)
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.frankieavalon.com Frankie Avalon Official Website
IMDb name|0000811
Amg name|2922
http://images.google.com/images? q=Frankie+Avalon& hl=en& btnG=Search+Images Frankie Avalon images, from Google image search
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p12273/biography|pure_url=yes Frankie Avalon at AllMusic.com
http://www.filmreference.com/film/58/Frankie-Avalon.html Film Reference bio
http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/frankie-avalon/ spiritus temporis
Persondata|NAME= Avalon, Frankie |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Singer, actor |DATE OF BIRTH= September 18, 1940 |PLACE OF BIRTH= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= DEFAULTSORT:Avalon, Frankie Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American child musicians Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Actors from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:X Records artists
