Why Frankie Avalon Didn’t Want to Star in ‘Grease’ & His New Release of ‘Beauty School Dropout’ (Exclusive)
Philadelphia-born Frankie Avalon has been turning heads since he picked up a trumpet at age 9, quickly showing the world what a true music prodigy was all about. Fast forward 75 years and a career that has included countless hits (“Venus,” “Beauty School Dropout,” “Why?”), timeless and beloved movies (Beach Party, Bikini Beach), along with a massive blockbuster (Grease), the former teen idol — now 84 — is actually busier than ever.
In addition to touring solo and with his pals Fabian and Bobby Rydell under The Golden Boys, he went back to the studio to record a new rendition of the title song “Beach Blanket Bingo” and Grease’s “Beauty School Dropout” with a singer he’s taken under his wing, Tommy Cono.
We caught up with Avalon to reminisce on his career and to talk about Grease, which originally premiered on June 16, 1978.
Why did you initially turn down the role of Teen Angel in 1978’s Grease?
Frankie: I had seen the play on Broadway. I was playing at the Copa Cabana and the production company of Grease that was on Broadway asked me to do a promotional thing because it was about the 1950s. I went to see the play, and I enjoyed it very much. [Later] I was playing golf, and I came off the golf course and my manager at the time, he said to me, “I’ve got a script here for you. Paramount wants you in this picture.” I said, “What’s the picture?” He said, “Grease.” I said, “OK, what role?” And he said, “Teen Angel.” And I thought about it, and I remembered, I said, “pass.” And he said, “OK.” I came back after the second nine holes, and he was still there. He said, “They won’t take no. They said they would like to have a meeting with you to discuss it.” I said, “OK, I’ll go to Paramount.” And I went and had a meeting with Alan Carr [one of the writers] and Randal Kleiser [the director] and Patty Birch [choreographer], and they said, “Why don’t you want to do this?” I explained how I remembered the play, and it’s an extension of Presley, and I love Elvis Presley, but I’m not Presley with those long sideburns, dressed in black, and so forth. And they said, “We’ll change it. We’ll put you all in white and we’ll do this and do your style.” I said, “OK, let’s do it.”
Everett Collection
What was it like coming into this cast where John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John weren’t well-known stars, and you were? How were you greeted?
Very kindly. A lot of the people who knew of me, of course, they were younger than I was, but they knew from the Beach Party pictures and all that other stuff. So it was an admiration. It was wonderful. It was a great feeling, and I think that’s why the character worked. Frenchy was Frenchy (Didi Conn). She was a fan, and I got to know Olivia and Travolta, the whole cast. It was very nice. I was on the set for about six days, rehearsing, and then two days of filming, and that was it.
The great part about it is when I was filming it, it was two days, 14 hours a day shooting that one scene. And the director, Randal Kleiser came to me during one of the breaks, and he said, “Frankie, do you remember me at all?” And I said, “I didn’t.” He said, “I was an extra in your picture, Fireball 500. I said, “Are you kidding?!” He was an extra in that picture.
Everett Collection
I read that there were no railings on the stairway in which you came down, and that you had a fear of heights.
Well, I was up about 25, 30 feet up. There was no railing, and I don’t like heights. Anyway, when they took out the pole in the middle of the top stair, I felt really uneasy, and I yelled, “Cut. I can’t do this, Randal.” I said, I’m supposed to be this cool Teen Angel guy and when I walked out, my legs are wobbling. So he got an idea to put all of these white mattresses all along the side. So if I did fall, I’d fall and go to sleep on a mattress.
When you’re not performing, what makes you happy?
The relationship that I’ve had with my wife for 63 years now [Kathryn “Kay” Diebel] has been absolutely amazing; through the ups and downs of marriage, we’ve lasted together. We love each other. We respect each other. My children [he’s got eight!], we still have our Sunday dinners where I make pasta, and all of the holidays and special days. We’re all together, and thank God they’re all doing well. My grandsons and granddaughters are good kids [he’s got 10]. Two of my grandsons are now pilots. It’s a blessed family.
Remind
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