RIP Bobby Rydell
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https://nypost.com/2022/04/05/bobby-rydell-teen-idol-and-volare-singer-dead-at-79/
Bobby Rydell, the 1960s teen heartthrob who appeared in the 1963 musical comedy “Bye Bye Birdie,” has died. He was 79.
According to Variety, the cause of death was pneumonia. He passed just weeks before he would have turned 80 on April 26.
The triple-threat from Philadelphia, born Robert Louis Ridarelli, was famous for such hip-swinging rock & roll hits as “Volare” and “Wild One,” and acted alongside Ann-Margret, Dick Van Dyke and Janet Leigh in the Oscar-nominated “Bye Bye Birdie.”
Ukee Washington of CBS3 in Philly shared the news with social media on Tuesday. “A Philly Music Legend … has passed on. Sending prayers of comfort, strength and love to the family and fans of Bobby Rydell,” he wrote on Twitter.
The lively shores of nearby Wildwood, New Jersey, were where Rydell was inspired to sing “Wildwood Days.” The hometown hero is now the namesake for several streets around both Philadelphia and Wildwood. He reportedly grew up in the same neighborhoods as Frankie Avalon and Fabian, other iconic singers of the era.
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