Bobby Rydell, a pop singer and star of the 1963 film “Bye Bye Birdie,” died this week at the age of 79.
Rydell’s cause of death was pneumonia, Variety reports.
The Philadelphia native saw 34 of his singles land on the Billboard Hot 100, with the most well-known being “Wild One.” Others include “Volare,” “The Cha-Cha-Cha,” and “We Got Love.”
On the small screen, Rydell made appearances in the 1980s hit “The Facts of Life.”
Rydell toured as part of The Golden Boys with Frankie Avalon and Fabian as well. Fans of the film “Grease” may have also caught a nod to Rydell (Rydell High School is named for him, according to The Hollywood Reporter).
In a 2020 interview, he recalled how his role in “Bye Bye Birdie” expanded once he was cast. “I go see the play, and I’m looking at Hugo Peabody, and he doesn’t sing, there are no lines, there’s no dancing, he just stood there. But, when I go out to start filming, Mr. (George) Sidney saw some kind of magic between Ann-Margret and myself, and every day that I went back to Columbia Studios, my script got bigger, and bigger, and bigger. More dialogue, more singing, more dancing. And I’m not a movie star by any stretch of the imagination, but if I had to be in one picture, it’s a classic, such as ‘Grease.’ And I’m really happy to be involved with something that was that wonderful.”
Rydell toured as a solo act until the present day, and was part of the Golden Boys stage production since 1985 with Frankie Avalon and Fabian. The three “idols” had been readying a spring and summer tour for 2022.
Rydell recently talked about the endurance of the trio as a touring act. “Now we do a show, I’m sure you’re aware of it, called ‘The Golden Boys,’ and we started that show in 1985, and it was a tremendous success,” he said. “And I said to Frankie — and I called him Cheech, because in Italian, Frank is Cheech — I said, ‘Cheech, this is great, but how long is this going to last? A year, two years tops, it’s over.’ Well, that was in 1985, and we’re going on 2021, and we’re still doing the show. It’s amazing.”
Thank you for all the memories, Bobby; you’ll be missed.
Make the pledge and become a member of Italian Sons and Daughters of America today.
