Bobby Rydell is DEAD TO ME!!!
Robert Spencer 
Another heartthrob gone. Sigh.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 100 | April 14, 2022 12:59 AM |
Aw. He was my favorite of that group. Fabian, Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon. Bye bye Bobby.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 5, 2022 10:52 PM |
Now, if I hadn't just read that he married and had children...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 4 | April 5, 2022 11:11 PM |
Hi ya Hugo! Hi ya stupid!
Whatcha wanna go get dead for?
Oh ya mean it? Kicked the bucket? Are ya nutty?
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | April 5, 2022 11:12 PM |
He was so so cute. RIP.
His music must have been fun to dance to them and even now.
Who else here loves oldies?
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | April 5, 2022 11:20 PM |
R4, god that’s gayface personified.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | April 5, 2022 11:23 PM |
Ok, Bobby, now give us a look like you're being rimmed and you're just enjoying the hell out of it...
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | April 5, 2022 11:32 PM |
Voice still good til the end. Aging sucks!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 9 | April 5, 2022 11:35 PM |
He was such good casting as Hugo. Everybody always talks about A-M's casting and George Sidney putting more focus on Kim (to Janet's chagrin), but he kept up with her.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | April 5, 2022 11:49 PM |
I don't know much about Mr. Rydell's career outside of his hits. But I loved 'Forget Him' and 'Wild One'. R.I.P..
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 14 | April 6, 2022 12:15 AM |
Always had a soft spot for Volare. RIP.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | April 6, 2022 12:18 AM |
I loved Bobby - he was perfect in Bye Bye Birdie,
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | April 6, 2022 12:31 AM |
Attention students. The flags at Rydell High will be at half staff for the remainder of the week.
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | April 6, 2022 12:41 AM |
Awww....Bobby Rydell. He sang and danced very well in Bye Bye Birdie. RIP..
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | April 6, 2022 12:58 AM |
This is from the NYTimes obituary:
[quote] After making two appearances on “The Red Skelton Hour” on which he just sang, he appeared in sketches intermittently from 1961 to 1969 as various characters, including Zeke Kadiddlehopper, cousin to Skelton’s country-bumpkin character Clem Kadiddlehopper.
[quote][bold]“Mr. Skelton fell in love with Bobby,”[/bold] Mr. Rydell’s personal assistant, Linda F. Ms. Hoffman, said in 2013. “His son had passed away, and Bobby always felt he was looked upon by Mr. Skelton as a son. They were very close.”
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 21 | April 6, 2022 2:21 AM |
Half a bottle of Wildroot in that hair
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 22 | April 6, 2022 2:26 AM |
R10- Whoever labeled that video 1965 is wrong. I can clearly see - based on the hair and clothing styles that was at least 4 years earlier.
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | April 6, 2022 2:38 AM |
The front page of the NYTimes web site has a picture of Rydell and an obit headline in big type.
That's rare.
| by Anonymous | reply 25 | April 6, 2022 2:59 AM |
"Volare" is what he's most famous for, odd that only one poster mentioned it at R15.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 26 | April 6, 2022 3:04 AM |
Has Miss Francis commented?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 27 | April 6, 2022 3:09 AM |
Never cared for his look and he had trouble staying on key, but not as bad as the disgusting Fabian with it.
Seemed like a nice guy.
| by Anonymous | reply 28 | April 6, 2022 3:10 AM |
R26, first thing I think of with Bobby is "Volare". I didn't realize how many hits he had, but my favorite was Wildwood Nights.
| by Anonymous | reply 29 | April 6, 2022 3:17 AM |
Did you hear about Hugo and Kim?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 30 | April 6, 2022 3:39 AM |
I loved that Facts of Life episode he and Fabian guest starred on.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 32 | April 6, 2022 3:51 AM |
R32 There are days I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, but I can still sing every word of that Hot Rod Lover song.
Bobby had a nice smile.
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | April 6, 2022 4:17 AM |
He doesn't have a lot of living to do - in fact he doesn't have any at all.
| by Anonymous | reply 35 | April 6, 2022 4:29 AM |
He was the original Will Smith, running up on stage to punch someone on live TV. And he got away with it at the end. No consequences, unlike Will Smith. But Bobby Rydell had white privilege.
Watch from 7:45.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 37 | April 6, 2022 10:15 AM |
R34...Wonderful...I love it! Thanks..
| by Anonymous | reply 38 | April 6, 2022 11:29 AM |
I saw him a few years ago in concert with Fabian and Frankie Avalon.
Bobby hobbled out on stage with a cane. I think he said he'd had a liver and kidney transplant maybe a knee replacement too. He looked like he was going to die at any moment. But, he sounded great.
RiP Hugo Fink
| by Anonymous | reply 39 | April 6, 2022 11:55 AM |
He really danced his ass off in "Gotta Lotta Livin' To Do".
It's kind of surprising he never made a Beach Party movie (though he appeared with Annette in "Disneyland After Dark")
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | April 6, 2022 12:32 PM |
I wonder how Jerry Blavat and Bob Pantano are taking it? Both these guys have been promoting 50's music, in various venues, since they were teens themselves.
There's a mural here in South Philly with Rydell(real last name is Ridarelli) on it, as well as Frankie Avalon(real last name is Avallone) and Fabian(who at the beginning of his career didn't use his real last name, Forte, professionally) Others on the mural are: Chubby Checker, Al Martino, James Darren and Eddie Fisher.
I wonder if they used Bobby's last name for the high school in "Grease," would be a helluva' coincidence otherwise.
| by Anonymous | reply 42 | April 6, 2022 1:43 PM |
For those thinking he was gay...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 43 | April 6, 2022 2:34 PM |
FORTY years ago he was already forgotten
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | April 6, 2022 2:38 PM |
I can’t believe he was only 79. He’s one of those that’s been around forever and I always thought he was at least a decade older.
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | April 6, 2022 2:41 PM |
I thought he died in the 70s.
| by Anonymous | reply 46 | April 6, 2022 2:44 PM |
Unfortunately, the Gay on the Brain trolls strike again. RIP Bobby Rydell, you had your time, it was a fun time, enjoy eternity in Rock n Roll heaven...
| by Anonymous | reply 47 | April 6, 2022 2:52 PM |
r42: It was intentional. Very sweet to shoot-out to him.
| by Anonymous | reply 48 | April 6, 2022 3:59 PM |
r47 If there's a Rock 'n Roll heaven, you know they got a helluva' band.😉
| by Anonymous | reply 49 | April 6, 2022 4:00 PM |
Did he ever have “the Greatest Love of All”?
| by Anonymous | reply 50 | April 6, 2022 4:08 PM |
Rydell had a liver and kidney transplant in 2012. He kept his voice far longer then a lot of his peers and had a pretty uneventful personal life.
| by Anonymous | reply 51 | April 6, 2022 4:22 PM |
He looks like a treasure troll in the face.
| by Anonymous | reply 52 | April 6, 2022 4:26 PM |
Wildwood Days still gives me horrible flashbacks of my youth at “The Shore”. God I hate that place.
| by Anonymous | reply 53 | April 6, 2022 7:04 PM |
Rydell had never danced before Bye Bye Birdie, and said afterward that the rehearsals and coaching were therefore brutal for him physically. You can kind of tell who the pros in the Livin' number are, and who isn't, but . . . it just doesn't matter.
Those were the last luxurious days of the Age of Innocence . . .
| by Anonymous | reply 54 | April 6, 2022 7:13 PM |
Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker did a wonderful version of "Jingle Bell Rock"; I play it every holiday season. Rydell had a wonderful voice.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 55 | April 6, 2022 7:16 PM |
Interesting, R55, I had no idea they amde a record together. That had to be one of the first black/white duos of male singers on a record.
| by Anonymous | reply 56 | April 6, 2022 7:42 PM |
Chubby is still around at age 80.
| by Anonymous | reply 57 | April 6, 2022 7:46 PM |
That's Mr. Checker, please.
| by Anonymous | reply 58 | April 6, 2022 7:48 PM |
Connie Francis has commented:
[quote] It was with sadness that I learned of the passing of Bobby Rydell. He and I went back many decades, both of us starting out on junior TV shows — me in New Jersey and Bobby in Philadelphia. He was an integral part of what, for many, remains their favorite musical period — that of the years bridging the rock and roll era and the British "invasion" of the Sixties — and his many recordings will continue to give pleasure for generations to come.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 59 | April 6, 2022 7:53 PM |
That's funny, we coulda sworn we killed him back in 1964!
| by Anonymous | reply 60 | April 6, 2022 8:20 PM |
Maybe it’s a guilty pleasure, but am I the only one who thinks that Gotta Lotta Livin’, as corny or silly as it may appear now, is still perfect? Not to mention that Rydell does a great job singing in it, as well as keeping up with Ann-Margaret’s dancing.
Which leads to a thread hijack: anyone know why Jesse Pearson’s career tanked immediately? I know he directed porn at some point later, but his career is sort of a cypher after BBB.
| by Anonymous | reply 61 | April 6, 2022 8:33 PM |
^ IMDB mentions a partner at the end of his life. Gay?
| by Anonymous | reply 62 | April 6, 2022 8:37 PM |
Jesse Pearson was gay. He had very few movie offers after "Birdie" and so he turned to television, appearing in a number of '60s series. He died of cancer at 49.
| by Anonymous | reply 63 | April 6, 2022 9:02 PM |
Rydell, one of the "teens" in "Bye Bye, Birdie" died just a few weeks short of his 80th birthday. Meanwhile, Dick Van Dyke is still around at 96.
| by Anonymous | reply 64 | April 6, 2022 9:06 PM |
It was an era when Italian American pop stars ruled.
| by Anonymous | reply 65 | April 6, 2022 9:51 PM |
How do you know he was gay, R63?
| by Anonymous | reply 66 | April 6, 2022 9:59 PM |
r61: It's perfection - one of the most underrated dance numbers in Hollywood musicals.
Rydell's death made me unexpectedly sad. He seem to have been a genuinely nice guy who really loved his fans. A Facebook friend planned to see him in June and was absolutely shattered.
| by Anonymous | reply 68 | April 7, 2022 9:48 AM |
I have a limited edition (3000 copies) Blu-ray of "Bye Bye Birdie" signed by Ann-Marget & Bobby Rydell thanks to the CHILLER show in Jersey. In fact mine was the first Ann-Margret ever saw and she read the covers front and back.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 69 | April 7, 2022 10:33 AM |
Bye Bye Birdie: 11 Things You Don't Need to Know
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 70 | April 7, 2022 11:53 PM |
with childhood behind them. There are men from Yale and Purdue. Are Yale and Purdue on the same level?
| by Anonymous | reply 71 | April 8, 2022 4:02 AM |
That flats & capris kind of choreography is always fun to watch, r61...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 72 | April 8, 2022 4:13 AM |
Tear’em apart, Green and Brown!
| by Anonymous | reply 73 | April 8, 2022 4:22 AM |
R71, I think it’s from Yale OR Purdue.
Purdue is not Ivy League, but it’s a respectable public university in Indiana.
| by Anonymous | reply 74 | April 8, 2022 5:06 AM |
It would appear Purdue is on the same level as Princeton
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 76 | April 8, 2022 5:13 AM |
He was in that movie with John Cassavetes and Sal Mineo. Crime in the Streets. All of them pinged.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 77 | April 8, 2022 5:19 AM |
That's actor-turned-director Mark Rydell, no relation to Bobby, in "Crime in the Streets," R78.
| by Anonymous | reply 78 | April 8, 2022 8:49 AM |
He was great in One To Watch also.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 79 | April 8, 2022 12:14 PM |
What's a "ring a ding" drummer? Paul Lynde should have been in this scene. . . There are boys . . . with age 17 behind them. There are boys from the the Castro and Weho! There are boys. . . And I'm going to drunkenly berate them . . . I've got a lot of pushing off balconies to do!
| by Anonymous | reply 80 | April 8, 2022 1:01 PM |
R80=witless. And tasteless.
| by Anonymous | reply 81 | April 8, 2022 3:25 PM |
The role of Hugo was beefed up in the movie version of "Bye Bye Birdie", probably because Rydell was so appealing and talented. I thought he was the perfect Hugo.
| by Anonymous | reply 83 | April 9, 2022 2:42 AM |
Bobby Rydell was the Zac Efron of the early ‘60s.
| by Anonymous | reply 84 | April 9, 2022 3:01 AM |
r83: I'm surprised Rydell wasn't in any Beach Party movies. He was certainly more talented (though not as buff) as his friend Frankie Avalon.
| by Anonymous | reply 85 | April 9, 2022 8:17 AM |
[quote]I'm surprised Rydell wasn't in any Beach Party movies.
I read in one of his obits that the reason he didn't make more movies was that he hated living in L.A. Sounds like a weird reason, but I guess there are some people who hate it that much and are really tied to wherever they come from, in this case the East Coast. But also, of course, Rydell's recording career was booming at the time, so it's not as if he didn't have something else to do that was highly remunerative.
| by Anonymous | reply 86 | April 9, 2022 3:01 PM |
It seems he was Lens' 1st crush...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 87 | April 9, 2022 5:58 PM |
Rydell was not a teen idol on the level of Frankie Avalon or Fabian or Ricky Nelson. He had massive hits, that's for sure, but he was not handsome in the way those guys were.
| by Anonymous | reply 88 | April 9, 2022 7:45 PM |
[quote]Rydell was not a teen idol on the level of Frankie Avalon or Fabian or Ricky Nelson. He had massive hits, that's for sure, but he was not handsome in the way those guys were.
And that made him perfect casting for Hugo, who's supposed to be an awkward character. On Broadway, Hugo was played by Michael J. Pollard.
| by Anonymous | reply 89 | April 9, 2022 8:55 PM |
Why didn't they have Dick Gautier play Birdie in the film? He would have been so much better than the guy who did.
| by Anonymous | reply 90 | April 9, 2022 9:08 PM |
I'm a failed lyricist but Paul Lynde still should have been in that scene.
| by Anonymous | reply 91 | April 10, 2022 12:36 AM |
[quote]Why didn't they have Dick Gautier play Birdie in the film? He would have been so much better than the guy who did.
I agree, and that's an excellent question. I thought Jesse Pearson's performance as Birdie was one of the movie's biggest flaws. He was a replacement in the role on Broadway, so presumably that's why he was cast in the movie. Maybe Dick Gautier was unavailable?
| by Anonymous | reply 92 | April 10, 2022 1:22 AM |
In 1963, Dick Shawn would have been another great choice for Conrad Birdie.
| by Anonymous | reply 93 | April 10, 2022 2:13 AM |
Dick Gautier, Dick Shawn, and Jesse Pearson are all interchangeable.
| by Anonymous | reply 94 | April 10, 2022 3:37 AM |
Some of us don't agree, R94, which is why we're saying that Gautier would have been preferable in the movie of BBB.
| by Anonymous | reply 95 | April 10, 2022 4:51 AM |
Rydell might not have been as hot as Fabian or handsome as Frankie Avalon, but he was cute, had great energy and the best voice of the lot.
| by Anonymous | reply 96 | April 10, 2022 7:41 AM |
Jesse Pearson went on to write and direct a hardcore pornographic feature film called "The Legend Of Lady Blue".
| by Anonymous | reply 97 | April 10, 2022 9:40 AM |
He was ginchy but he couldn't live forever.
| by Anonymous | reply 98 | April 10, 2022 11:09 AM |
“ Dick Gautier, Dick Shawn, and Jesse Pearson are all interchangeable.”
So while you all are arguing about this meaningless but fun bs, Dick Gautier’s son was the handyman/asshole who was responsible for the Pam and Tommy porn tape fiasco. Were you aware?
| by Anonymous | reply 99 | April 14, 2022 12:52 AM |
R99. I guess Dick Gautier should have saved some of his When Things Were Rotten money so his son didnt have to become a thieving handyman.
| by Anonymous | reply 100 | April 14, 2022 12:59 AM |
