Frankie Avalon

Frankie Avalon is an American singer and actor whose late-1950s and 1960s teen-idol career made him one of the American "teen idols" of the Eisenhower-and-Kennedy era. He was born Francis Thomas Avallone on September 18, 1939, in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into an Italian-American family. He started playing trumpet at age seven and made his professional debut at age 11 on the Paul Whiteman TV show.

His singing career began in the late 1950s when he was signed to Philadelphia-based Chancellor Records. His 1959 single "Venus" reached the Billboard Hot 100 #1 in March 1959, making him one of the teen idol-era American pop singers. His subsequent 1959 single "Why" also reached the Hot 100 #1, making him one of the only artists to have two Hot 100 #1 singles in 1959.

The 1960s pivot to acting produced the American International Pictures "Beach Party" film franchise — the series of teen-aimed beach-themed romantic comedies starting with the 1963 Beach Party (opposite Annette Funicello), continuing through the Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), and the How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). The Avalon-Funicello Beach Party franchise has been continuously cited as one of the 1960s American teen-cinema reference points.

His career declined in the late 1960s as American popular music shifted toward the British Invasion-and-Beatles-era sounds. He continued to record and perform Las Vegas and casino-circuit shows through subsequent decades. His 1978 reunion with Funicello on the Grease (in which he played Teen Angel singing "Beauty School Dropout") and his 2009 reunion at the Frankie Avalon and Friends Hollywood concert have continued his American teen-idol-era cultural visibility. He has been married to Kathryn "Kay" Diebel since 1963 and the couple has eight children.

His name Frankie is the English short form of Frank (from the Old Germanic Frank meaning "free"). Frankie has been continuously among the most-popular American gender-neutral names for decades.