Bobby Rydell, ’60s teen idol, 79 is dead
Bobby Rydell, a pompadoured heartthrob of early rock ‘n roll who was a star of radio, television and the movie musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” died, Tuesday.
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.
Rydell, who credited a 2012 kidney and liver transplant with extending his life, was 79.
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.
Between 1959 and 1964, he had nearly three dozen Top 40 singles including “Wild One,” “Volare,” “Wildwood Days,” “The Cha-Cha-Cha” and “Forget Him,” a song of consolation for a bereft girl that helped inspire the Beatles’ classic “She Loves You.”
He had recurring roles on “The Red Skelton Show” and other television programs, and 1963’s “Bye Bye Birdie” was rewritten to give Rydell a major part as the boyfriend of Ann-Margret. He didn’t want to move to Hollywood, however, and “Birdie” became his only significant movie role — though the high school in the hit ‘70s musical “Grease” was named for him.
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.
“I never thought of myself as a celebrity,” he told The Philadelphia Inquirer, in 2003. “I was just a guy who went out there and worked.”
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 — Rydell played drums with Avalon on trumpet in a group called Rocco and the Saints.
Before he graced the covers of teen magazines and movie screens, Rydell made his bones as a youngster in Philadelphia clubs.
He made his performance debut as a seven-year-old drummer, not a singer. His first drum kit was a gift from his father, Al Ridarelli, who inspired his son’s choice of instrument by taking him to see Gene Krupa perform.
At age nine, he debuted on an amateur television show and became its regular drummer for three years.
Rydell got his big break in 1959 on “American Bandstand,” which originally was broadcast from Philadelphia. His first hit, “Kissing Time,” quickly followed, and the skinny 17-year-old with a pompadour haircut rocketed to stardom.