Music legend Bobby Rydell, the 1960s teen heartthrob, has died.
According to CBS Philly, the former teen idol passed away just weeks before he would have celebrated his 80th birthday on April 26.
“A Philly Music Legend … has passed on. Sending prayers of comfort, strength and love to the family and fans of Bobby Rydell,” Ukee Washington of CBS3 in Philly wrote on Twitter.
If you grew up during the early 1960s, you probably had a lot of friends who had a crush on Bobby Rydell. The Philadelphia born singer, with his amazing voice, took America by storm. One might say that he was the Justin Bieber of the ’60s.
Robert Louis Ridarelli was born into an Italian family in 1942 in South Philadelphia. His career took off after he won a talent show at Paul Whiteman’s TV Teen Club.
After that, he changed his name to Bobby Rydell and began playing music with various bands around his hometown of Philadelphia. He managed to get a recording contract, but his first few songs flopped.
But Bobby didn’t give up, and with his song “Kissin’ Time”, he got his long-awaited hit. Things started to move fast and his father resigned from his factory job to become Bobby’s road manager.
In the early 1960s, with giant hits like “Wild One”, “Volare” and “We Got Love”, Bobby became an instant teen idol with his chart-topping songs.
His performance in the musical film Bye Bye Birdie, where he played Hugo Peabody, made him a famous show business performer.
Bobby married his high school sweetheart, Camille Quattrone Ridarelli, in 1968. The couple tied the knot at Stella Mari’s Catholic Church in South Philadelphia – in the same area where both grew up. Outside the church, 1,000 adoring fans waited out front, according to Camille’s obituary.
The couple were together until her death in 2003. When Camille became seriously ill with cancer and died, Bobby started drinking heavily.
A turnaround came in 2009, when Bobby fell in love and married his longtime friend Linda Hoffman. Linda helped him stop drinking and also persuaded Bobby to write a very personal autobiography, which served as a kind of therapy for him. Linda was also there when Bobby needed to recover after a kidney and liver transplant in 2012.
Bobby Rydell cause of death
According to Bobby’s marketing and event coordinator, Maria Novey, the former teen star died on April 5, at a hospital in a suburb of his beloved hometown of Philadelphia.
The cause was complications of non-Covid19-related pneumonia, said Maria Novey.
Bobby Rydell is survived by his wife Linda Hoffman, his son Robert Ridarelli, daughter Jennifer Dulin, and five grandchildren.
Thank you, Bobby for all the fantastic songs. Because of them we have some wonderful memories from growing up. After all, your songs are part of the sound track to our formative years. ❤️❤️
