VIc Damone

Wondering if anyone believes this guys mob stories? His story in particular about costello along with other bosses having meeting in a hotel room to decide his fate due to him breaking n engagement with a mafia boses daughter , sounds ridiculous to me.

don't know much about him and the mob, sounds like they were bothered by him to have top bosses meeting him, I would like to hear more about the situation.

It could be true. But entertainers like to hear themselves talk, so who knows?

However, it IS true that he was blackballed from the Vegas casinos for awhile after he married Diahann Carroll. It eventually blew over, but some of those old timers didn't like the idea that he married a Black woman.

Its in his autobiography "Singing was the easy part".

mangauge, thank you, ill look for the book. whos daughter was it?

Some upstate mafia bosses daughter

She called his mom a bitch one day after she ( Vic's mom) suggested that she ( his fiance) learn how to cook for VIc. This , along with other things made Vic break the engagement , infuriating her father.

I cant recall the bossess name because I skimmed through the book months ago and have since forgot. I also tried googling and the story comes up but for some reason the bosses name dosent.

Nvm just found it , his name was supposedly Johnny D Angelo , but i cant find any info on him

mangauge, yeah, the name is unfamilar to me also, good of you to research it. thank you.

He did grow up in the bath beach section of Bensonhurst Brooklyn during the heights of the mob's glory days so I am pretty sure he does has some interesting stories. his cousin was doretta marrow. He also sung at some of the weddings of top made guys during the 50's and 60's.

I thought he could sing better than Sinatra, I thought he was great. in the 50s 6os the mob ruled the music world. so he very well could be telling the truth. great voice.

I remember this special from 1983 very well because we still had a Betamax at the time and I had to tape it for my grandmother, who was still alive at the time. Anyway, Vic Damone and Steve Lawrence both worshiped Sinatra, and it really comes across in this duet.

I think johnny d angelo is an alias because i cant find anything on the guy. He ( vic) claims that he was a boss as well so i imagine that SOMETHING should come up when googling him

Not to jump off topic but what you guys thought about Jimmy roselli ( god rest his soul ) ? He was my favorite crooner to this day and sung in Italian like a true napuletano. Vic was great as well... Frank was my second favorite hands Down. Who are some of your favorite crooners ?

why isn't peery como ever mentiolned, he was great, tony bennet was as good as any, vic damone, dean martin. Sinatra would be my 5th favorite. forgot to mention jerry vale.

was vic damones real name victor farinola.

I played Vic's show around half a dozen times. I have played for pretty much any singer of that era that you can name...Mel Torme', Julius LaRosa, Steve Lawrence, Sinatra Jr., Al Martino, Lou Monte and on and on....

Without a doubt Vic Damone had the most beautiful voice I ever heard in all those years. On one night we had a "tacet" where the whole band lays out and Vic just sang alone with the piano player. He sang that tune "Ruby" (they say your like a flame......)

His voice was simply angelic. Now he is NOT a swinger like Sinatra or Mel Torme, or ever Buddy Greco but just for the sheer beauty and his God given vocal "gift" I don't think I've ever heard better.

Sal

Vito farinola binnie I don't know where he got victor from lol he was called Vito growing up. I know his mom's side of the family were the Damone's tho.

If we talking multiple favorites... Everybody you mention I love listening too especially jerry vale. I grew up on perry como, Louie prima, don cornell, Frankie, Vic, Tony Bennett .. Who is last of the standing greats from that era. Am I a idiot Lml how could I forget dean martin Oops! He is my third favorite. Those guys were all fantastic.

I see you mentioned Buddy Greco - I was his Bodyguard for the evening while he was on the road with his then Wife Jackie Sabatino and her sister "BJ". They finished performing at the Club and then we went to another Club for Steak and Pizza. It was a nice evening.

As far as Vic Damone - Great Singer

I like them all especially liked Jerry Vale I used to run into him up in Harlem. We bought shark skin suits in the same place. I even saw him at the Copa.

One of my favorite movies hell to eternity Vic Damone was the third lead. Stared Jeffrey Hunter pretty good movie.

I named my oldest son Vic only because Vic sounds cool with almost any last name picture this Vic Obama even works with that

Hey you were a body guard so was I when I was a kid. Get to meet a lot of people you would not normally meet right.

A lot of Celebrities: Frankie Avalon, Shecky Greene, Buddy Greco, to name a few...

Then other Celebrities like Milton Berle, Dottie West, Hager Brothers, Lynda Day George...

There were quite a few these are just a random sample.

I played Buddy just once at the old Carrilon Hotel on Miami Beach.

I don't think he had a body guard (maybe when he went outside the hotel?)

He seemed like a very nice guy. He did something very few of these guys do...attend their own rehearsals. Most have a conductor or MD (musical director) and you never see them until show time. Then they go right to their dressing rooms and we go home.

But I remember Buddy staying though the whole rehearsal.

Buddy Greco- What a fucking talent......GREAT singer, GREAT piano player. Hes a real "musicians" singer.

Did you know that he played piano with Benny Goodmans band as a kid? Major talent.

The fellow who said he was Buddys bodyguard....was he a cool guy? I'm sure you had way more contact with him than I did. Its funny though, sitting up there watching from behind you can kinda tell who the assholes are.

Sal

ahhhhhh........... Louis prima, " im just a gigolo" ,how about " marie " have you ever heard dean martin sing marie. the old version when he sings it in Italian late fouries, greatest hes ever done. did you know? Louis prima wrote " sing, sing, sing" the great benny goodman tune.

NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT!!!!

pb. hey that's it!!!! thank you man!!!

My pleasure, buddy. That video is part of the soundtrack of my life .

he lived on either bat 16th or bay 14th..he sung with freddie inzerillo when they were teens..freddie wound up selling furniture..hey vinny i think you are older than 31 ..you are right about the names

louie prima was a bronx guy..sicilian

Louie Prima was born in New Orleans La. You can take that to the bank. He also had a brother who played trumpet named Leon.

New Orleans was LOADED with Sigis at the turn of the century,

Sal

there will never be another dean martin, or louie prima, can you imagine what these two artists would think of rap? it would be an insult to their musical souls.

Lol let me help with that one Bronx .... Louie prima, Sicilian from New Orleans lol but yeah, i am 33 Bronx. Born in 81 lol and correct me if I am wrong but damone lived close to St finbar Catholic Church on benson st and bay 20th so I am guessing he did live on bay 16th like you said. Either bay 16th st and benson or bay 16th and bath. He was church choir's finest there as a kid.

Absolutely Binnie :)))) those guys still give me a chill when I listen to them sing in my iPod. Mr Bennett is left.... And jerry vale as well. What you think about jr Sinatra? are you a fan of his serenade?

On the money Salvi62
http://www.louisprima.com/newtry_biography.html

Vinnie, no, never a fan of jrs. you know I liked dion and the belmonts when I was growing up, dion denuchi was the lead singer. ever hear of those guys.

correct..vinny..everybody went to st finbar..st francis was built mid sixties

salvi, your are correct, mid 1800's

salvi what year did prima come to the bronx? i used to go to a restaurant in NJ VILLA AMALFI joe demere would sing there..pizza maybe you went also

Hey Bronx, hows it goin'?

I'm no bullshitter bro. I really don't know shit about anything NY except what my parents/grandparents told me.

Yes I was born there but I moved to South Florida in 1971. Believe it or not this was a really swinging place all through the 70's-80's and even up to the late 1990's. All these singers came down here and played the big Hotels on the beach. That's where I came in contact with them. And the few real gangsters I met here and there was when I worked in nightclubs.

I know I wasn't asked this question directly but I think Jr. is an excellent singer. Nothing like his Father of course, but a good solid singer. I played many times with him and heard him sound amazing some nights and not so good on others.

Jr,'s problem is his name, and that he has almost no personality on stage. He can't really "connect" with an audience like his Dad could. He also came up in a totally different era.

Sal

turridu, the fountain blue is where you were at? did you go to the wreck bar castaways?

That place was wiseguy central back in the '80s. The Sheraton completely redid the place recently. It's all families now.

off topic but why would you call him that way?

that whole strip is changed..diplomat was international union conventions.. thunderbird ,chinees restaurant..rascal house,,julius larossa's lets see who remembers that far..ia getting a headache knocking off the rust..

another version of salvatore…too me

Yes, I know that. But was just wondering why you decided out of the blue to use that nickname in sicilian.

im siciliano

your sicilian is better than mine..i feel my way through

it's two u's at the end?

The Diplomat is a fucking behemoth now. I liked it better the old way. Not to mention the fact that Hallandale is a slum now. Don't get me wrong, the Diplomat is a beautiful resort today. But there's nothing there, and you don't want to get lost in that neighborhood at night.

The Rascal House. My father and his coomps would go there just to order Jell-O .

No. It's exactly as you spelled it.

60' and 70's hollywood hallendale were great quiet towns.. two tracks, valentino disco, lots of italians from NY some from chicago golden beach sunny isles..can not replace those times..

thank you..

I'm 55, Bronx. I started going to Florida as a young kid in the '60s. By the mid '70s my parents had a place in Sunny Isles and they were splitting their time between Florida and New York. There were LOADS of Italians in that area back then. Today it's mostly Russians and Brazilians.

nino lived in sunny isles

yeah went to a few brazilian clubs there and in pompano about 10 years back

Jimmy Blue Eyes owned an entire high rise there. He never bothered to convert it into a hotel. But he'd set up a lot the Westside guys down there in the winter.

Bal Harbour is still gorgeous. Barney has a place there. But since his wife passed away I doubt he'll ever use it again.

the hotel is closed?

Bronx, its all good bro, just a nickname it was used in "Cavalleria Rusticana". Besides I don't think many here use there real names anyway. Its not the name but whats in your heart that counts. Like Shakespeare said "A rose by any other name......."

Ahhh the "old" Diplomat or the "Dip" as we used to call it. Man was there a lot of work there back in the day. Played Dolly Parton in the Café Chrystal, Tony Bennett (not one of my faves) Steve and Edie, Lionel Hampton and on and on.

Even though Fl is a "right to work" state the local 655 union would send delegates to hang out in the lobby just to break balls if the saw you walk in with an instrument case.

I watched them blow the old place up. My friend had a condo right across the street and he had a party. We all watched it come down. It was fascinating and sad at the same time.

We (the musicians) had high hopes when we found out that the union pipefitters were taking over the new place. We figured union=work, but I haven't set foot in that place in close to 10 years. Nobody has. I think the last time I works there was a private party with Jr.

Yeah, the Café Chrystal, The Tack Room, and what was the name of that little lounge right next to the the Café as you walked in on the left. Lou Tulli an accordion player/comedian had that gig for over 20 years. Then he started working at "RunWay 84" on SR 84 in Laud. He was there until he died a few years ago.

Sal

anthony's runway? i forget the name of the restaurant on a1a over the hollywood bridge.. ahh gold coast..

I was just talking about Runway 84. Same crowd as Martorano's. Except at Martorano's they make no bones about where they come from.

At Runway 84, Anthony's father was the crookedest politician to ever set foot in the Queens courthouse, which is really saying something. But they would have had you believe that the old man was Gandhi.

That said, I like Runway 84 because they're stuck in the past. Just like me .

The Tack Room, yeah. That's where all the babas met up. Fuck the pool bar .

pizza as we get older thats all we have is the past.. great memories..get down much anymore? salvi still playing music down south?

Still trying Pal, but it gets tougher and tougher every year.

Let me know when you'll be in town, and I'll let you know the name of the joints I'm at.

Sal

Yeah, we've had a place in Delray Beach since '97. We're there on and off from New Years til Easter. But to be honest, we don't go too far south anymore. And if we do, we usually stay in Lauderdale by the Sea because it's still nice and mostly quiet (except for the bars at the pier, of course).

thanks salvi..i was in miami a few months ago, i like what they did with lincoln road..no wolfies lol..but very nice.. i go to osteria on wash and espanola way when i go down.

never was in delray, hows the restaurants

Expensive, over priced like everything else in the Boca Delray area.

PB- you remember a really nice jazz club that was walking distance from you called "Ernies"? That was one of the nicest jazz clubs ever , anywhere. Some arabs bought it and turned it into a disco. It went out of business after over 30 years.

It was right on Atlantic on the south side of the street about 1/8th of a mile before the beach. It was in an old shopping center.

Hey Bronx- Check you PM

Sal

A dozen decent restaurants, and one great one. Tramonti. Same people as Angelo's of Mulberry.

If you scroll to the bottom of Angelo's website, you'll see that they're promoting Tramonti as their sister restaurant.

http://www.angelosofmulberryst.com/

Of course. Did you ever work for Peggy? Or see the Ted Knight Trio there?

And I know I have nothing to prove, but you know that can't be found in a web search.

that would be rino ,who had areo's in bklyn and now has the old ponte vecchio, angelos was his fathers place..gold mine..he is now on the jersey housewives..i don't recall ernies…on the north side heading west is a club well two clubs if you keep driving if i remember

could be the people who had vesuvio's in ft lauderdale,he was cousins with rino..

I know. I remember his Dad well. My uncle had a walk-up on Baxter Street, right across the street from the back entrance of Most Precious Blood. I spent way too much time down there as a kid lol.

do you remember mike marty had the lime house or charly's on kenmar

Of course. Little Charlie's was the best fish house down there (and probably the least known to tourists, which made it even better). A lot of the Lucchese guys hung out there. Even the Bronx guys would show up .

Wow it's like The Golden Girls in here.

I know, I know..I'm going to bed, don't have to kick me out.

i was a bklyn guy then lol….as far as a cafe i would go to bella luna. great cannoli .frankies son blew himself right out of a gold mine, nice guy very bad gambler..

There was a lot of that going around .

talking about all this food i'm going lock myself in the fridge and eat my way out..

Good idea. A couple Oreos and milk and I'm going to bed.

my son had then tonight..barring a heart attack well talk tomorrow ..enjoy the oreo's .. great idea!

As far as the "Cool Guy" - yeah he was Cool - I think that he could get a little irritated quickly. As an example, the Night that he finished at the Club and we went to the other Club. He wasn't expecting to get a Bill for his Drinks and Meals. So when the Owner of the Club presented him with the Bill he got really pissed. He then asked everybody at the Table to Pay for each of their own Meals and Drinks including myself, then wanted to abruptly leave so I had to scramble on that one.

I don't want that to be a characterization but he would Publicly show a lot of affection for his Wife Jackie. He did take his rehearsals seriously as I remember, thinking back some 34 years ago.

That's a great story about Buddy. Like I said I had very little contact with him except for the few comments he may have made during rehearsal.

You wanna talk generous.....SINATRA JR. This guy can't do enough for the band. New Years Eve. 1998 I was playing with Jr. at the Fontainebleau on Miami Beach. After the rehearsal he told the entire band (we are talking like 40 people) to go to the steakhouse downstairs and order anything we'd like and just say that we where with "Mr. Sinatra". Guys were getting 3lb lobsters, prime porterhouse steaks. I can only imagine what the bill must have been.

34 years ago Buddy was in his musical and vocal prime. I remember he had some nice arrangements.

Sal

Yesssssss loved loved loved dion and the belmonts!! Prima Madonna, runaround sue, wonder why.... The wanderer!! Great catch binnie!! I like Doo wop period....both black doowop and Italian Doo wop. I could name them all

Speaking of Frank Jr. he sang at Tommy Lasorda 87th Birthday celebration at the LA Dodger Stadium on September 22nd. I spoke briefly with Tommy Lasorda the previous Thursday at Connies Pizza in Chicago when he was in town. He was at his usual Table and I at Mine. He is so funny giving the Manager a Hard Time and making him jump and run.

Vinnie, yeah a lot of great groups plus a lot of one hit wonders. [ in the still of the night] by the 5 satins. the sherriles [ dedicated to the one I love] you can still find them all on e-bay.

friend of the family... I think the dodgers could use tommy Lasorda back as manager.

I go to any doowop concert I can find in Brooklyn or Manhattan. I saw Dion at the Beacon theather middle of June. It was a great show at first it was just bilked Dion. I thought good he would be performing for a couple of hours. Then they added acts to the show as only guys in the rock & hall hall of fame.

They sucked can't even remember who they were. Dion can still bring it e was good but only on for a little more then an hour.

The other groups used the house band. Dion brought his own guys to play.

He performs in long island alot. I don't go that far out to see anything. Glad he was here hope he comes back.

One time he was on those religious shows. He is born again I think he said he was in a manhattan gang when he was kid. Well I am pretty sure he never was in that gang.

foots, I got a c.d with all his great old numbers. still listen to it. he must be getting up there in age now, must be close to my age im 72.

Dion is 75 I just turned 75 Oct 6 a few days ago.

Do you have his two blues CDs there pretty good.

He was a Born Again Christian for about twenty years. He returned to the Catholic Church back in the '90s and hasn't looked back. He's a very devout man who takes the Church and his faith very seriously.

As far as his gang affiliation, he was a Baldy for about five minutes back in the mid '50s.

PB- check you pm's

Will do.

footreads, I thought I was the oldest member on the board. well, I guess we are a couple of old survivors. happy birthday no. 75. ill be 72 nov4 looks like im catching up to you! the dion album I have is an early one, a couple of band members on the cover with him, they look to be about 16, a teenager in love, I wonder why, where or when. his old ones.

pb... dion was great. his songs bring back a lot of memories to me. I believe it was 58 or 59 when he started. my teenaged years.

I've been a fan all my life. I grew up on 187th and Hoffman. Dion was from the same neighborhood, but a little closer to Crotona and Southern Boulevard. He's twenty years older than I am, and he was already gone from the neighborhood by the time I came along. But there's still a connection because of the Church and the Mount Carmel Society. Since he returned to Catholicism he comes back for functions every so often. When Monsignor Ruvo retired he showed up unannounced for the dinner at the Marina del Rey.

He's lived in Florida for close to fifty years now. First in Miami, later on in West Boca. He lives over by Clint Moore and Jog in a beautiful (but unpretentious) home. When he's not touring he's all over the place down there in the local restaurants, supermarkets, etc. He's still a regular guy.

he would like the nice things you said about him. I really liked the heck out of him, will always love the mans music.

That's true but even the one hit wonders of that time were better than the one hit wonders coming out today lol music today sucks so if it's not the oldies, it's only rock ( alternative, soft and hair metal )

vinny, the music today cant compare with the great Italian vocalists, they don't even come close. and believe it or not their music will stand the test of time better than the beatles [ whom I never saw the big deal about] and elvis [ who who doesn't sell enough anymore fo stores to stock his cds] the Italians will stand the test of time. they still sell.!!!

How many stores sell cds in this day and age anyway?

It's all digital. And for the holdovers like us who still want the physical disc, there's always Amazon. I must buy fifty cds and dvds a year online. And that estimate is honestly on the low side.

Anyway, it's all how you interpret the term "record sales." Because it can be argued that Elvis is still the best selling artist in history.

Here's an interesting article backing that up: http://www.elvisinfonet.com/elvisvsbeatlespart1.html

well, that seems like good evidence, I surely thought he was going down in sales. I guess I was wrong. still, give it another ten years when my 5os generation dies out. I always liked the Italian vocalist. I even liked Frankie Avalon, along with all the rest. too numerous to mention. the only one I didn't like was Fabian. when I was young I never got into c and w. was always dion and the belmonts, vic damone, jerry vale, these were my guys. nobodys got voices like Italians. you can have the music today.

First there was Buddy Holly. Then Dion and the Belmonts. Then The Beatles. Then The Rolling Stones.

Fabian sucked. If you've never seen the movie "The Idolmaker" you should check it out.

The movie was filmed and set in my old Bronx neighborhood, but it was based on a guy named Bob Marcucci who managed Fabian and Frankie Avalon in Philly. The character Cesare was based on Fabian. He was picked for his pretty boy face or he'd still be a busboy. The other character, Tommy D, was based on Frankie Avalon. At least Frankie had some musical training with the trumpet, so he knew how to breathe, and they were able to make a singer out of him.

When it comes to the Italian soloists of that generation that came out of Philly, I actually like Bobby Rydell the best. His real last name is Ridarelli. Here's a cheesy, loung lizard version of "Volare." But I love it .

p.b. that was great, I heard it three times going to download it off of u tube. once again thank you for a dynamite recording.

moe tilden.. ill take dion and the belmonts hands down, theres none better. to me, the rolling stones always sucked.

This is what I do .

great, keep it up.

ray sharky was in that movie..too bad he was shooting h,died too young

Yeah, he was a very talented guy. But from what I've read a bit of a lowlife. Towards the end they say he had sex with several women and never told them that he was infected with HIV. One of them sued his estate after he died and won. Unfortunately the guy didn't have a pot to piss in and she didn't get any real money.

He was half Italian but he was raised Irish by his mother's family because his old man split when he was a kid. But he spoke very good Italian in "The Idolmaker." It was only a few lines but his diction was excellent.

right on again pizza..

I've got a GREAT Bobby Rydell story for you guys.

About 15 years ago Bobby came down here right smack in the middle of the season to do a "Condo Run". This is where you play every single condo, trailer park clubhouse, and every theater in the tri county area. It was like 28 strait days of shows with doubles on the weekends.

On one of the Saturdays Bobby got a stomach flu and the show was called off at 7pm. Now understand that this was a prime Saturday. All of us had turned down jobs that paid very good money to do this run with Bobby. And I'm sure the little rat prick agent made himself a real nice taste on 28 dates.

We (the musicians) thought that we deserved half the money for the called of show. This agent told me personally "well it looks like we all take a loss on this one" well what about the big profits he makes on these runs, does he share with us....never but all of a sudden now he wants to become "partners" with us....

Remember these shows individually don't pay all that well, but when you add up 28 in a row it becomes a nice check.

Well comes the next night and Bobby is all better. We are playing the big Italian American club in Tamarac. We tell him whats going on and how they won't give us a dime for the missed show.

Now something happens that I have NEVER EVER SEEN OR HEARD OF. Bobby Rydell takes out his cell phone and calls the agent and tells him if you don't agree to pay the musicians in full for the missed Saturday day that he will not go on tonight!

What a guy! I have never seen an act stand up for a bunch of local sidemen before or since. I will never forget what Bobby did for us.

How did it all end???? Well the agent agreed to pay us just like Bobby demanded. Then instead of paying right at the end of the tour the agent sent us all checks after Bobby had long gone back to Philly, and you guessed it ......they fucked us out of the money.

But the fact that Bobby took a stand like that for the band is something I will never forget. What a guy!

Sal

I love hearing when performers like that are "regular guys." It's rare, but it's nice to hear that it happens once in a while. I loathe the average Hollywood type with the "diva" personality. So that story about Rydell was a welcome change, Sal .

I forgot to add one thing.....

About two weeks after the run was over, Bobby Rydell actually called my house. My Mother answered the phone. Bobby Rydell is from her generation so she was flipping out when she picked up the phone.

She was going crazy "Bobby Rydell is on the phone!!!!"

All Bobby wanted to know was if we actually got paid. I told him no. He said he'd try and see what he could do, but really what could he do all the way back in philly......

But it does show you what kind of a stand up guy he is.

Sal

These guys are touring together right now. They were in Jersey this weekend. Anyway, Frankie Avalon is the oldest of the three. He's 74, and Rydell and Fabian are both 72. But I think Avalon looks the youngest of the three. But he always looked good for his age. He was already about 40 when he appeared in "Grease," and he looked much younger even then.

That's not Bobby Rydells drummer. He was an older guy named "Jerry" who was also his Conductor.

Hal Linden (Barney Miller) carried a piano player with him , a real old guy named Howard Salat. When I was watching the movie "Death Collector", that's the movie that Joe Pesci and Frank Vincent made their first film appearance in I noticed in the credits "music by Howard Salat".

This guy also did the music for a lot of early porn films.... I forgot to ask him if he ever met "Johnny Wadd"

Sal

I thought he was Italian on his mother's side? I read once that his Grandmother used to talk in Italian to him so that's probably where he got the diction from.

Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Sharkey is a common Irish name in New York, so his mother probably raised him with the father's last name. But I knew he was half Irish.

he drove car service before he went out to cali..he was with bobby b.

Yeah, that I knew. They used to park their cars at LaBella every so often .

PB should I tell him?

And........you already did. Good. Best place I've been into in Florida and I've been going down to boca/del ray every year for a while.

Speaking of Frankie Avalon...

He introduced me to someone who became my Wife.

Short Story and certain details will be left out.

Back in about November/December 1980 - I had a mutual friend that my wife and I knew who was Showing Frankie Avalon around Town in Ohio. I was Bodyguard to Frankie Avalon and his Manager a particular evening. Frankie had finished up a Show and we went to another Club. My Wife was working for our mutual friend's regular Job that night. When my Wife came to the Club to turn over the keys to our mutual friend. BTW my Wife knew Frankie before that event. Frankie Introduced me to my Wife and since I already knew the Mutual Friend no introductions were necessary. Short time later we were married.

Frankie Avalon is a great Guy and I have great respect for him.

friend of the family, doesn't Frankie Avalon have 8 kids, and still married to the same woman. that's a wonderful thing. I always liked him.

Kay is his Wife since 1963:

Kids are 4 Each:

Frankie Jr., Tony, Dina, Laura, Joe, Nick, Kathryn, Carla

If you don't run their names through your head several times it won't stick.