One of a spate of teen idols to come out of Philadelphia in the 1950s and 1960s, Frankie Avalon--unlike many of the others--actually had a musical background, having been taught to play the trumpet at a very young age by his father. As a youth Avalon performed in local clubs and theaters. He won a local TV talent contest playing a trumpet solo. In 1951, at age 12, he was in a band called Rocco and the Saints, which included another soon-to-be famous teen singer, 'Bobby Rydell' .
He and his wife have eight children and they are, in order of age, Frank Burt Avalon , Tony, Dina, Laura, Joseph, Nicolas, Kathryn and Carla.
He studied acting with Wynn Handman in New York and Estelle Harmon in Los Angeles.
Mother, Mary Avallone was born July 3, 1916; father, Nicholas Avallone was born April 27, 1913. Sister, Theresa Avallone.
He sang the song "These Are The Good Times" in both the movie Beach Blanket Bingo and when he guest-starred in "The Patty Duke Show" in 1965.
His sister Theresa is two years older than he is.
Has a house in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California.
He met Michael Wayne s wife, Gretchen Wayne (aka Gretchen Diebel), on the set of the John Wayne film The Alamo , in which he had a part. Four years later he married beauty pageant winner Kathryn Diebel, Gretchens sister. So he is part of the extended John Wayne family.
Discovered by Robert P. Marcucci.
He had the last #1 hit of the 1950s with the ballad,"Why".
Due to the popularity of Grease and its soundtrack, he considers "Beauty School Dropout" to be his most popular song.
Born in South Philadelphia.
[about touring in his "oldies" shows] I like that because the fans want,to see onstage what they know so well from the big screen.
Kids know me from their Grease (1978) DVD, so they instantly,respond. You can hear a pin drop when I do my old songs.
The kids have all seen it on DVD or videotape.
I was not a trained actor.
When I started to play trumpet I was fortunate to learn very quickly.
