Westhampton Beach - It may be hard to believe, but the King of the "Beach Blanket" movies has never set foot in the Hamptons, much less laid down a beach blanket on the sands of the country's most famous ocean front community. Well, that will all change on June 28, when singer, actor and 1960s teen idol Frankie Avalon brings his show to the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. In celebration of Avalon's first performance in the East End, Hamptons.com caught up with him for an interview, via phone, beach to beach, at his home in Palm Springs.

Poster for "Bikini Beach" starring Avalon and Annette Funicello. Image courtesy of Google Images

Born Francis Thomas Avallone in Philadelphia in 1939, Avalon's first show business appearance occurred at 12 years old when he auditioned for and appeared on the Jackie Gleason show, not as a singer, but as a trumpet playing prodigy. I asked him if the street corner, a capella vocals Philly is noted for played any part in his musical education, "There was a lot of that, but Philadelphia has produced so many people in the music business throughout the years, I am talking way back to Marion Anderson, Eddie Fisher, Buddy Greco, James Darren, Bobby Rydell, Fabian, Jim Croce, Hall and Oates, the list goes on and on. A lot of people have come out of Philadelphia, it is one of the most productive cities of singers in this country." I asked him to put his finger on why? "I don't know, I joke that we all came from the same mother. Rydell says, 'It is in the water.'" I suggested the cheese steaks. "That could be it," he laughed.

A jazz fan of the likes of Miles Davis and Red Rodney, and an obvious substantial player in his own right, as a trumpeter Avalon appeared on the cover of Down Beat Magazine in 1952. Playing in rock and roll bands in high school that performed "down the shore" in places like Wildwood, NJ, Avalon explained, "I was a trumpet player that happened to sing. So that combination happened." Avalon recorded several songs that "did not happen" and then in 1957 he had his first hit, "De De Dinah." Between 1958 and 1962 Avalon had 31 charted singles with "Venus" and "Why" both going to number one on the charts in 1959. "After 'De De Dinah' it just snowballed. I started gathering fans and fan clubs. I started singing in clubs and theaters. I went on tour for Alan Freed with Bobby Darren, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Dion and Paul Anka. We'd sit on these school buses and go do one nighters to gain more popularity and sell more records."

Avalon with his son, Frank Avalon, Jr. Avalon and his wife have eight children and 10 grandchildren. Image courtesy of Google Images

I asked Avalon his opinion of The Beatles and the British invasion of the early 1960s, "It really changed the whole scene and I wasn't too fond of it to be completely honest with you. We were the short hair, clean cut, beach party kids in 1963 and all of the sudden comes along these long haired mop heads that were singing songs that were not what we knew as rock and roll. They had their own style and we, my contemporaries, were not very fond of it. But eventually, we found that we were wrong. They were good musicians, they were good vocalists, they were good songs."

Contrary to popular belief, Avalon's career as an actor started long before the "Beach Party" movies and the list of actors he worked with is substantial. "I had been making pictures with Ernie Kovacs, Robert Wagner, John Wayne, Alan Ladd, Joan Fontaine, Walter Pidgeon, the list goes on and on with some of the greats I worked with over the years. All of a sudden I was signed to a non-exclusive contract to an independent film company called American International Pictures (AIP). I did a couple of pictures with them and then I did one picture with Ray Milland, 'A Panic In Year Zero.' I think the picture was budgeted at $320,000, and I did some appearances at the theaters that were showing it in Los Angeles, I'd sign autographs over by the popcorn stand and shake hands with the movie goers, etc. Well, the film did over $300,000 in Los Angeles alone, so they said 'let's find some other projects for this guy' and my first introduction in a starring role was 'Beach Party.' That picture had a $350,000 budget and that first beach party film did $12 million in sales, which was a lot of sales at a dollar a ticket. I think we went on to make seven or eight of them all together."

Although Avalon studied acting in New York and LA for the serious characters roles he played on film as well as television, he will probably be most remembered for his beach pictures. Unquestionably, the pairing of Avalon and America's sweetheart of the 1960s, former Disney Mousekateer, Annette Funicello was a match made in film heaven, as several generations of teenagers packed movie theaters coast to coast to see their teen idols on the big screen. Avalon said he was thrilled to read in the business section of the New York Times last week that MGM was re-releasing these cult classics, digitally enhanced, for a whole new generation, "They keep following me!"

I asked Avalon if he enjoyed his tenure as America's most popular teen idol at the time it was happening, "I never really thought about it at the time. It is right there in your face, you know it is going on, but you are just so busy. I was doing films, I was doing concerts, in between films you might have lunch at the studio, but the lunch is an interview. I'd finish a picture and then go on tour to sing, you are just so busy. Yes, I loved the experience of being a teen idol. I was, luckily, always fairly popular as a kid in school, but then all of the sudden you can't walk down the block or you see a crowd waiting outside a restaurant for you. Sometimes it was crazy, but I enjoyed it. I truly appreciated it."

Avalon continues performing at close to 70.

A cultural icon who has witnessed the fast paced social changes that have occurred over his 52-year show business career, Avalon commented on the lost innocence of the 1960s, "There was an innocence to that era that has been lost as the world moves faster and faster. I think that is what my audience harkens back to when they come to my concerts. When I sing a song like "Venus" it brings them back and that is what music can do. They were wonderful times." Avalon's marriage to Kathryn Diebel has proved to be a wonderful time as well, as they have survived the pressures of a show business marriage and have raised eight children and are the proud grandparents of 10 grandchildren.
Do not think that Avalon's audience is made up exclusively of the children of the 1960s, as his role in the enormously popular film version of the Broadway musical "Grease" introduced him to an entirely new generation through his role as "Teen Idol" and his performance of "Beauty School Dropout." He has reprieved the role several times in stage productions of "Grease" around the country and has taken on cameo roles appearing as himself in films like "Casino" with Robert Deniro. He has also appeared on "talent search" reality shows including "American Idol." In 1976 he "...remade 'Venus' as a lark for the disco generation and it hit number one again."

I expressed my amazement that Avalon had never set foot in the Hamptons throughout his illustrious career, " There again, I would come to New York City to play the Paramount, the Copacabana, the Ed Sullivan Show or the Perry Como Show, I'd come in and just have to fly right out. If I wasn't in New York, I was in California. If I wasn't in California, I was on location shooting a film. Like I said, I was just so busy." Almost 70, Avalon remains busy with his concert tours, appearances and a variety show pilot he is set to begin shooting in July.

Avalon is looking forward to his first appearance in the Hamptons and he will undoubtedly transport his multi-generational audience back to an era they lived first hand and fondly remember, or wish they had lived through and can only best do so by experiencing the timeless voice of America's Teen Idol, Frankie Avalon.