Frankie Avalon born 18 September 1940

 Frankie Avalon (born Francis Thomas Avallone; September 18, 1940) is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. Avalon had 31 charting U.S. Billboard singles from 1958 to late 1962, including the number one hits "Venus" and "Why" in 1959.

Discussing Frankie Avalon's career as a mover and shaker in 1950s rock & roll with anyone who takes even halfway seriously is to court derision. Avalon was the first of the manufactured teen idols, before Fabian and Bobby Rydell and the myriad of other pretenders to the throne who worked the turf with tight black pants and red, red sweaters to the fore while Elvis cooled his heels in Germany. In the late '50s and early '60s, post-Twist and pre-Beatles, these pretty boys were the no-threat remnants of a post-Elvis age. But Avalon had a real musical background to go with the pretty boy looks, and was no drugstore teenager waiting to be discovered.

Born in South Philadelphia in 1939 as Francis Thomas Avallone, he broke into show business as a child prodigy trumpet player, good enough to win talent contests. 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. In 1952 he was performing at a private party held for singer Al Martino. A talent scout who was also at the party was impressed enough by Avalon to get him an appearance on Jackie Gleason's TV show, which led to more television appearances.

In 1954 he made two singles for "X" Records, an RCA Victor subsidiary. Both were instrumentals featuring Avalon playing his trumpet: "Trumpet Sorrento" and ""Trumpet Tarantella." He eventually landed a recording contract with Philadelphia's Chancellor Records, and he recorded "Cupid" and "Teacher's Pet". 

These records got him his first movie role, a small part in Jamboree! (1957) designed to promote "Teacher's Pet."  

His next record was "DeDe Dinah", a song written by his managers (and one for which he had so little respect that he pinched his nose while recording it, resulting in its extremely nasal sound). After an appearance on Dick Clark's teen dance show American Bandstand (1952), sales of the record zoomed and it eventually sold more than a million copies. In 1959, after two more big hits ("Ginger Bread" and "I'll Wait for You") he recorded the song he is probably best known for, the million-selling "Venus." 

                               

However, as 1960 rolled around his career began to wane and his record sales dropped precipitously. He soon began taking small parts in movies, most notably in John Wayne's The Alamo (1960). He began to get somewhat bigger parts and had his first starring role in Drums of Africa (1963). 

Avalon married Kathryn "Kay" Diebel on January 19, 1963. She was a previous elegance pageant winner. His movie career really took off, however, when he was paired with former Mousketeer Annette Funicello in Beach Party (1963) and its string of sequels. 

These films, with their combination of surfing, low comedy, dancing and "beach bunnies" in bikinis, struck a nerve with teenage audiences, were produced for peanuts and made a fortune. Avalon still recorded songs for Chancellor and other labels, but now he was far better known among younger audiences for his movies than for his records.

Materializing as a character called Teen Angel, his performance of "Beauty School Dropout" in the hit 1978 film of the musical Grease introduced Avalon to a new generation of viewers. Four years after the release of Grease, Avalon branched out to star in a film of a different genre, playing Paul Foley in the horror thriller Blood Song (1982) alongside Donna Wilkes and Antoinette Bower. 

In 1985, Avalon embarked on a 50-city tour with Fabiano "Fabian" Forte and Bobby Rydell known as "The Golden Boys of Bandstand," which was a rousing success. It was broadcast by PBS as a segment of On Stage at Wolf Trap in 1986. 

In 1987 he and Funicello were reunited in Back to the Beach (1987), as homage to, and parody of, their earlier "beach" movies. Avalon insisted surf legend (and original cast member) Dick Dale be in this revival. 

More recently, Frankie Avalon created a line of health and beauty care line called Frankie Avalon Products, and has marketed his products on the Home Shopping Network. In April 2009, Avalon appeared as a guest on the hit television show American Idol, where he sang "Venus." In 2015 he published “Frankie Avalon’s Italian Family Cookbook: From Mom’s Kitchen to Mine and Yours” in October 2015.

Avalon also continues to enjoy good music, relishing classic artists like Barry Manilow and Tony Bennett, while appreciating newer artists as well, like John Legend. Avalon is still married to his wife Kathryn Diebel, and they have eight children together. From trumpet-playing prodigy to teen pop idol to actor, Frankie Avalon has left his mark on the pop culture forever.

(Edited mainly from Wikipedia, All Music & IMDb)