Cool, suave and smooth are three adjectives that can be attributed to one of my favorite teen idols and entertainers of all time. He is the charismatic, electric, legendary Mr. Bobby Darin. One of the most popular rock and roll teen idols of the late '50s, Bobby Darin was one of the premier song stylists of the 1950s.
Moving into the pop mainstream and nightclub circuit, his pheonomenal career moved rapidly and flourished through the 1960s.
Bobby Darin worked very hard to make it to the top and was often quoted by the press as saying he wanted to be a "legend by the time I'm 25."
Robert Walden Cassotto was born May 14, 1936, in the Bronx, NY. His father died a few months before he was born. His English mother had been a professional entertainer for many years. After her husband's passing, she was forced to raise Bobby, and his sister, Nina, on welfare. Bobby contracted rheumatic fever at age 8. This disease left him with a weakened heart and a condition that he would suffer from the rest of his life.
Sandra Dee was Bobby's beautiful co-star in the film "Come September". On December 1, 1960, they married. Their only child, Dodd Mitchell Darin, was born on December 16, 1961. The couple divorced on March 7, 1967. There was a brief reconciliation, however, this beautiful couple was not to reunite. Dodd Darin documented his parents' marriage in his book "Dream Lovers". In 1973, Bobby married Andrea Joy Yaeger. Together for many years prior to marriage, they divorced shortly before his death.
In a bizzar twist, it was in 1968 when Bobby discovered his mother, Polly, was actually his grandmother, and, his sister, Nina, was actually his mother. This horrific revelation altered him for the rest of his life.
On December 20, 1973, sadly Bobby Darin died, at 37, during heart surgery to repair a faulty heart valve. His body was donated to the UCLA Medical Center for research purposes.
In 1990, Bobby Darin was inducted into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame, where Dodd Darin gave a moving acceptance speech and paid homage to his father. This accolade, although warranted, was exceedingly overdue. For me, however, Bobby Darin found a place in my heart, and was in "my" Entertainer Hall Of Fame, ever since I first heard him sing.
Further, we also mourn the beautiful Sandra Dee, who passed over on February 20, 2005 from complications due to kidney disease, in Los Angeles, California. She was 62. May you both rest well and know you are both missed tremendously. Blessings to Dodd Darin and his family.
