The song was "a piece of teen fluff," and, to show his lack of respect for the song, Avalon pinched his nose as he sang it, giving it a very nasal sound. Avalon appeared on Dick Clark's American Bandstand in to showcase the song, and soon "De De Dinah" had sold more than a million copies, as well as becoming Avalon's first top ten song. Avalon's first number one song on the music charts was called "Venus"; it was released in Unlike Avalon's typical songs, "Venus," written by Ed Marshall, was stylistically a much different song than Avalon usually sang; instead of guitars and saxophones, there was an orchestra, and Avalon sang the song in his full voice.
Many consider "Venus" Avalon's most well-known song; it sold over a million copies. In , Avalon's record sales began dropping and his career appeared to be coming to an end. He started taking small roles in movies, such as John Wayne's The Alamo in , and his personal life changed in when he met his future wife, Kathryn Diebel.
Avalon was playing cards with friends in Los Angeles, when the former beauty pageant winner entered the room. Immediately upon seeing her, Frankie knew he wanted to marry her, which he did, three weeks later. Then, in , he had his first starring role in a movie called Drums of Africa. Avalon's movie career exploded later in when he and Annette Funicello starred in Beach Party and the many sequels that followed.
Avalon's career had been revived. The Internet Movie Database biographer states, "these films, with their combination of surfing, low comedy, dancing and bikinis, struck a nerve with teenage audiences," not to mention the fact that they were inexpensive to make. Trying to capture the significance of Frankie Avalon and the beach movie genre, journalist Thomas K. Another stage in the revival of Avalon's career came from his cameo performance in the movie Grease.
Initially, he was not sure that he wanted the role. In the original play, the teen angel character was dressed completely in black. In Avalon's own words, the character was "like a motorcycle gang leader.
Since this time, Avalon has appeared in tours with the stage musical version of the movie, backed by an unwavering fan base. In addition to performing in the musical version of Grease, Avalon also began performing with the "Golden Boys of Bandstand" in Hair Colour.
Shoe Size. Personal Information. Date of Birth. Birth Place. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U. Zodiac sign. Not Known. School Name.
Primary School. College Name. Family Profile. Father Name. Nicholas Avallone. Latest Biography. Is Bitty Schram Married? Latest Gossip. Does Romany Malco have a Child? November 11, Is Becky Hammon married? November 10, Is Julie Gonzalo Married or in a Relationship? November 1, On movie screens, at least. Off-screen they were good friends, that's all. I had occasion to interview both of them, Avalon by phone in March, , and Funicello a year later in person in Cleveland.
At that point they weren't often mentioned in the same sentence. Their first movie together, "Beach Party," was released during the summer of , or about halfway between my two interviews. Oddly, in our interview Avalon didn't even mention another of his movies, one that would open a few days after my story ran in the Akron Beacon Journal.
That film, "Operation Bikini," was advertised in a poster that featured a large photo of actress Eva Six dressed in a skimpy bathing suit. The film was produced by American-International Pictures, which would team Avalon with Funicello is a series of contemporary musical comedies with titles that included "Bikini" or "Beach" or both words in the title. Avalon was only two years older than Funicello, but seemed much wiser and more mature. He seemed unusually self-assured for someone his age 22 , but despite his success and the promise of even better things to come, he remained very much a Philadelphia boy at heart.
Two months before our interview Avalon married Kathryn "Kay" Diebel, a former dental assistant who had been a finalist in the annual Miss Rheingold Contest, which in the s and '60s attracted almost as much attention as Miss America. She was three years older than Avalon. The couple is still together. They have eight children, all grown, and several grandchildren. Their romance started, Avalon said, "When one of my friends brought a girl over to my house one night to listen to records and play cards.
I asked her out the next week and we dated steadily for five months. Then I proposed. Avalon's phone call to the Akron Beacon Journal and, I assume, several other newspapers was not to promote "Operation Bikini," but to publicize an upcoming appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show.
Some folks, in fact, were calling him "the next Frank Sinatra. While Avalon had a pleasant voice, however, he was not in Sinatra's league.
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