Bobby Rydell Dies: ‘Wild One’ Teen Idol, ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ Actor Was 79

deadline.com:

Bobby Rydell, the Philly-born teen idol of the early 1960s whose hits included “Volare” and “Wild One” and who took part in a scene-stealing dance number with Ann-Margret in the 1963 film Bye Bye Birdie, has died.

He was 79.His death was reported by Philadelphia’s CBS affiliate. Additional details were not immediately available.So engrained in the early ’60s pop milieu that the musical Grease named its Rydell High School after him, Bobby Rydell recorded a few local hit songs before scoring with his first Top 20 in 1959 with “Kissin’ Time.” That song earned him a spot on an Australian concert tour with The Everly Brothers, The Crickets and others.His next hit was even bigger: “We Got Love” went gold, and was followed up by “Wild One”, a 1960 million-seller that remains a staple of Golden Oldies radio.

Later that year came “Volare,” which went to #4 on U.S. charts.His success continued with his casting in the film version of the Broadway hit Bye Bye Birdie, with his character Hugo expanded from the Broadway staging to cash in on Rydell’s popularity.

In addition to his song duets with Ann-Margret, the two lead one of the film’s most memorable dance scenes, the musical number “A Lot of Livin’ To Do.”In a 2020 interview, Rydell recalled the scene. “I was never a dancer.