Bobby Rydell is known as philly and music legend, who reportedly died recently.
Bobby Rydell is known as the former teen icon, who is reported to be best known locally for the song “Wildwood Days,” but his hits are plentiful — “Volare,” “Wild One,” and more.
Rydell is also a movie star, appearing in Bye Bye Birdie alongside Ann Margaret, as the Philadelphia school district is launching a new program to monitor layoffs in its hardest-hit school corridors
Bobby Rydell will be missed greatly by the fans of 50’s music, as he is known as the former teen idol.
Philadelphia and Wildwood have streets named after Rydell.
The Pennsylvania Valley native shares his secrets in Teen Icons on the Rocks: Stories of Second Chances.
Bobby Rydell was reclining on the couch at his Penn Valley Coliseum, the sound of a burning Winston purring in his right hand. He was still in overdrive two days ago in a crowded dance hall in the Atlantic City Nugget.
He said “It’s great, We have a 16-piece orchestra – three trumpets, three bones, drums, guitar, bass, full percussion.”
Rydell still loves acting. He sings his own hits and some standards. He told a few stories, a few jokes. He’s an old-fashioned entertainer. Rydell, now 73, is a survivor of a 2012 surgery that left him with a new kidney and liver. Rydell was delighted and determined to take the stage “while the work goes on”.
Rydell hit the charts in 1959 with “Kissin’ Time” and went on to have 11 top 20 hits over the next five years. He was part of the South Philly Music Invasion, which also included Frankie Avalon and Fabian, and Rydell toured the country and the world during his performances throughout the 1960s, introducing him and his songs to thousands of fans. “I’ll never forget the first time I heard ‘Kissin’ Time’ on the radio,” Rydell said. “I drove to New York and we picked it up on WABC-AM. Cousin Brucey played it. That’s what.”
Rydell’s new autobiography, Teen Icons on the Rocks: Stories of Second Chances (Dr. Licks Publishing, 249 pages), tells his life with unwavering honesty. Co-authored with Alan Slutsky about his stormy relationship with his mother — “She was bipolar,” he said today — and the sadness of his childhood sweetheart and first wife Camille In his final days, Camille died of cancer in 2003, leaving him in desperation that led to a transplant. Rydell reveals what rock’s early life was like — and how he once needed help from then-Philadelphia crime boss Angelo Bruno to land a role in the film.
Acting is still Rydell’s true love, but he’s been especially excited recently to play a small role in Robert De Niro’s new film The Comedian. “I ended up getting De Niro’s lines,” Ryder said with a laugh. “We shot this scene without a script, and during the break I turned to De Niro and I thought, ‘Are we okay? Are we working well together?’ And he was like, ‘Oh yeah.’ “
Meanwhile, Rydell continued to work. He played AC, went to Florida, and even came to Australia two years ago — his 23rd. It’s part of the life of a seventy-year-old “teen idol” who doesn’t want to end his journey, may his soul rest in peace.
Bobby Rydell, Philadelphia And Music Legend, Cause Of Death Explained, Career Life Explored
