Frankie Avalon (born Francis Thomas Avallone, September 18 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol.

Career

By the time he was 12, Avalon began making appearances on U.S. television for his trumpet prowess, and as a teenager, played with Bobby Rydell in a band known as Rocco and the Saints. In 1959, his songs "Venus" and "Why" both went to number one on Billboard magazine's Hot 100. Indeed, "Why" was the last #1 hit of the 1950s. Avalon had 31 charted Billboard U.S. singles during his career from 1958 to late 1962, including "Just Ask Your Heart" (U.S. #7), "Bobby Sox to Stockings" (U.S. #8), and "A Boy Without a Girl" (U.S. #10), with most of the hits written and/or produced by Bob Marcucci, head of Chancellor Records. In 1964, he was one of the artists to help open the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, CA.