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Bobby Rydell, a pompadoured heartthrob of early rock \u2018n roll who was a star of radio, television and the movie musical \u201cBye Bye Birdie,\u201d died Tuesday April 5, 2022.<\/p>\nBobby Rydell, a pompadoured heartthrob of early rock \u2018n roll who was a star of radio, television and the movie musical \u201cBye Bye Birdie,\u201d died Tuesday April 5, 2022.<\/p>\n
Rydell died of complications from pneumonia at a hospital in a suburb of his hometown of Philadelphia, according to a statement posted by his marketing and event coordinator Maria Novey.<\/p>\n
Rydell, who credited a 2012 kidney and liver transplant with extending his life, was 79.<\/p>\n
Along with James Darren, Fabian and Frankie Avalon, Rydell was among a wave of wholesome teen idols who emerged after Elvis Presley and before the rise of the Beatles.<\/p>\n
Between 1959 and 1964, he had nearly three dozen Top 40 singles including \u201cWild One,\u201d \u201cVolare,\u201d \u201cWildwood Days,\u201d \u201cThe Cha-Cha-Cha\u201d and \u201cForget Him,\u201d a song of consolation for a bereft girl that helped inspire the Beatles\u2019 classic \u201cShe Loves You.\u201d<\/p>\n
He had recurring roles on \u201cThe Red Skelton Show\u201d and other television programs, and 1963’s \u201cBye Bye Birdie\u201d was rewritten to give Rydell a major part as the boyfriend of Ann-Margret. He didn\u2019t want to move to Hollywood, however, and \u201cBirdie\u201d became his only significant movie role \u2014 though the high school in the hit \u201970s musical \u201cGrease\u201d was named for him.<\/p>\n
Rydell never strayed far from his Philadelphia roots, living in the area for most of his life. The block of 11th Street where he grew up was christened Bobby Rydell Boulevard by his hometown in 1995.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought of myself as a celebrity,\u201d he told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2003. \u201cI was just a guy who went out there and worked.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was born Robert Ridarelli in a South Philadelphia neighborhood that would also produce teen idols Darren, Fabian and Avalon. They knew each other as children \u2014 Rydell played drums with Avalon on trumpet in a group called Rocco and the Saints.<\/p>\n
Before he graced the covers of teen magazines and movie screens, Rydell made his bones as a youngster in Philadelphia clubs.<\/p>\n
He made his performance debut as a 7-year-old drummer, not a singer. His first drum kit was a gift from his father, Al Ridarelli, who inspired his son\u2019s choice of instrument by taking him to see Gene Krupa perform.<\/p>\n
At age 9, he debuted on an amateur television show and became its regular drummer for three years.<\/p>\n
Rydell got his big break in 1959 on \u201cAmerican Bandstand,\u201d which originally was broadcast from Philadelphia. His first hit, \u201cKissing Time,\u201d quickly followed, and the skinny 17-year-old with a pompadour haircut rocketed to stardom. Rydell and his fellow Philadelphia performers were ideal for \u201cBandstand\u201d host Dick Clark, who sought to make rock n\u2019 roll palatable to young and old. He also made live appearances nationwide on a tour organized by Clark.<\/p>\n
Changing musical tastes ushered in by the Beatles and the rest of the British Invasion defused the hit-making careers of Rydell and his compatriots, and he continued performing and recording music with limited success in the late 1960s and 1970s. But in 1985, he joined his old friends Avalon and Fabian for what they thought would be a few appearances. They dubbed themselves \u201cThe Golden Boys of Bandstand,\u201d and the shows were so successful that the trio ended up touring for three years and performing 300 shows nationwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t out to prove anything. We just said to ourselves, \u2018Here are three Italian kids from South Philadelphia, born and raised within two blocks of each other. Let\u2019s go out there and have fun,\u2019\u201d Rydell told The Atlantic City Weekly in 2006. \u201cThat hasn\u2019t changed. I think people see that attitude coming from the stage. It\u2019s a fun show to watch \u2014 that\u2019s what\u2019s made it so successful. We have a great time doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rydell’s childhood sweetheart and first wife, Camille, died in 2003.<\/p>\n
He is survived by his second wife, Linda Hoffman, whom he married in 2009, along with son Robert Ridarelli, daughter Jennifer Dulin, and five grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bobby Rydell, a pompadoured heartthrob of early rock \u2018n roll who was a star of radio, television and the movie musical \u201cBye Bye Birdie,\u201d died Tuesday April 5, 2022. Rydell died of complications from pneumonia at a hospital in a suburb of his hometown of Philadelphia, according to a statement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":246421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=246418"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246484,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246418\/revisions\/246484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/246421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=246418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=246418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=246418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}