Avalon, Frankie (1939 – )

Sweet-faced American teen idol, paired with Annette Funicello in more than a half-dozen Hollywood beach movies of the early and mid-'60s, including Muscle Beach Party (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). Born Francis Avallone, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1939, Avalon was one of the original American Bandstand stars, and in 1959 had a national #1 hit with "Venus." In the beach movies, Avalon was cast as Funicello's fun-loving and often jealous boyfri...