THE '50S FOREVER

Former teen idol Frankie Avalon still performs and runs a health-products business.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
It wouldn't surprise pop singer Frankie Avalon to see little girls in poodle skirts and saddle shoes at his Greater Youngstown Italian Fest show Saturday at Canfield Fairgrounds.
"The '50s will never go away," says Avalon, whom subsequent generations know as the Teen Angel in the movie musical "Grease." "It was an exciting time. The music is enjoyable ... No one resents the '50s music."
Avalon has toured here and there recently with a stage production of "Grease," performing his song "Beauty School Dropout" during the show and several of his hits afterward. "You'd be surprised now, when we play theaters. ... I'm amazed when I look at the audience and see 10-year-olds, 12-year-olds, 14-year-olds ... in poodle skirts and into the '50s."
Avalon is Italian (born Francis Avallone in Philadelphia) and proud of his heritage, but he won't perform an Italian program on Saturday night. In other words, say ciao to "Venus" and "Earth Angel," the hits that made him a teen idol of the '50s, and arrivederci to that Italian standard, "That's Amore."
"I don't think I'm there to sing Italian songs," he said recently, just back from a trip to the Bahamas. "It so happens that I am Italian. I've been singing for a long time. It works hand in hand."
Busy career
During his 40-year career, Avalon has recorded 16 albums; appeared on "American Bandstand" and "The Ed Sullivan Show"; and acted in more than 30 movies, including a 1960s beach movie series with frequent co-star Annette Funicello.
These days, Avalon's performance schedule includes corporate functions, theaters and casinos. He tours with "Grease" about 15 times a year. He also is president and chief executive officer of Frankie Avalon Products Inc., which makes herbal aids, pain-relief products and tanning lotions. Those goods are sold on Home Shopping Network cable channel and through a Web site (www.frankieavalon.com).
"I only do about three Italian festivals a year," Avalon said. He's enjoying all of the activity, but Avalon, a sexagenarian, is planning to slow down his pace next year.
In Canfield, Avalon's show will be a combination of his hits, some film songs and new music that either he has written or someone has written for him, he said. He doesn't cut records anymore.
Asked if there's a modern-day equivalent to 1950s music, "No, I can't think of anything," Avalon said. "Things come and go fast. There are so many different types of music."
Thoughts on today's industry
Would he like to start his career today? "No, thank you very much," Avalon said. "Maybe just from the financial point of view. I think it's a lot more difficult today." Only a handful of performers are making music for motion pictures, he noted, and with so much musical variety, artists don't stick around for long.
When Avalon was an up-and-comer, there were only three major television networks in the United States. Thus, appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show" was invaluable to a singer's chart success. "Ask someone today who is No. 1 on the charts and no one knows," he said. Is that for the better, or worse? "I can't say. It's just progress."
Italian heritage is something to be savored, Avalon said. What he appreciates about it is the inclination to "enjoy family -- the respect, the love, the camaraderie," he said.
Avalon also savors the Italian food that will be showcased at the festival.
"I love it all," he said. "There isn't anything I turn away."
shaulis@vindy.com