SAD ‘JERSEY BOY’
'Addict' son breaks Frankie Valli's heart
At the age of 89, the original Jersey Boy, Frankie Valli, has been dragged into a “heartbreaking” situation because of his eldest son’s drug addiction, say family sources.
Francesco Valli, 36, has been accused of threatening to kill his father, allegedly owes his brothers tens of thousands of dollars and has spent time in jail after an arrest for drug possession, The Post has learned.
It is the second time Frankie has suffered from a child’s use of drugs: In 1980, his daughter Francine died of a drug overdose at age 20.
Restraining order
On Monday, Emilio Valli — Francesco’s younger brother — was granted a temporary restraining order after telling a court that the troubled would-be actor had made repeated threats to harm both him and their famous father.
Emilio, 29, claimed that both he and Frankie now fear for their safety after Francesco attempted to break into his dad’s property in Calabasas, Calif., on April 5.
The filing, seen by The Post, says that while waiting for law enforcement to arrive after the attempted break-in, Francesco “repeatedly physically threatened to harm or kill” both their father and Emilio, something the family says is “part of a pattern for the past several months.”
Emilio noted in the filing that the family believes Francesco is “addicted to opiates,” and that while Frankie has been financially supporting his son, he’s now made that support contingent on Francesco agreeing to enter a residential drug treatment program.
He also stated his brother has destroyed Frankie’s property and also stole, then sold, his personal items.
A family source admitted to The Post, “It’s heartbreaking. The family is doing as well as can be expected . . . they just need a little bit of time to work this out.
“All families go through good and bad times, there are triumphs, failures and joys in every family across the nation, and the Valli family is no different, but because Frankie Valli is an icon, the magnitude of all of this is that much greater.”
Francesco has dabbled in acting, with appearances in movies like “The House Bunny” and “Reach Me,” before apparently becoming addicted. Emilio works in real estate in Malibu and Brando is a musician.
For Frankie, there are two things that he truly cares about; his family and his work, said the source.
“His music is his life’s work, his passion, his life’s blood, that and his family mean the world to him.”
Frankie has been married four times and has had six children by his first and third wives.
Longtime father
The “Four Seasons” frontman — whose life story was turned into the Broadway show “Jersey Boys” featuring all his biggest hits including “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Sherry” — first became a father in 1957 when he married Mary Mandell, who had a daughter named Celia from a previous relationship.
The couple had two more daughters, Antonia and Francine, before they divorced in 1971.
In 1980, Celia died in a car accident at 26, followed just six months later by Francine’s overdose death.
“When that happened, I lost it for a bit,” he told the Los Angeles Times in December, referring to a bout of substance abuse that lasted until he swore off booze more than 40 years ago.
Frankie married his second wife, Mary Ann Hannigan, in 1974 and divorced after eight years, then married Randy Clohessy in 1984.
Clohessy was 23 and from Rego Park, Queens, when she tied the knot with the star, then 49, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
The couple had three sons together — Francesco and twins Emilio and Brando — before a bitter public split which began in 2004 and saw them warring in court over money.
Randy died at 54 of leukemia on July 4, 2014, and left her $6 million Malibu home to her three sons.
Even that inheritance has been overshadowed by tragedy. In 2018 it was badly damaged by the Woolsey Fire, which devastated Malibu.
Frankie married wife No. 4, Jackie Jacobs, 61, a former CBS marketing executive whom he met at dinner at a Los Angeles restaurant, last June.