Bobby Darin biography

Synopsis

Challenging Childhood

Born on May 14, 1936, in the Bronx, New York, entertainer Bobby Darin reached the heights of fame in his all-too-brief life. He grew up poor in New York City. Throughout his childhood, Darin was told that his parents were Sam and Polly Cassotto. Sam Cassotto had been an associate of crime boss Frank Costello and had died in Sing Sing Prison. Polly, a former vaudeville performer, encouraged young Bobby to become a star like Frank Sinatra.

In fact, Darin was actually the son of Polly and Sam's daughter Nina Cassotto, a woman he believed to be his sister. Nina had gotten pregnant as an unwed teenager, and she and Polly decided that it would be if Polly to assume the role of mother. While he later learned the truth about his mother, Darin never discovered who his father really was.

Darin was a thin, sickly child. Several bouts of rheumatic fever had permanently damaged his heart, and he was plagued by other health problems as well. Around the age of 6 or 7, Darin overheard a doctor's grim prognosis for him. The doctor said he didn't expect Darin to live past the age of 16. Rather than depress him, these words seemed to serve as an inspiration for Darin.

Early Ambitions

Well versed in several instruments, Darin started out as playing in a band in high school. One of his first gigs was a school dance. At 16, he and his band mates landed a job at a Catskills resort for the summer. Darin showed a knack not just for music but comedy as well. After high school, he briefly attended Hunter College. Darin launched his professional music career writing songs for the Aldon Music label and eventually landed his own record contract with Atco.

In 1958, Darin hit the pop charts with the light-hearted catchy rock tune "Splish Splash"—a song he wrote. He quickly became one of the teen idols of the era with such songs as "Queen of the Hop." Darin, however, proved himself to be more than another Dion or Frankie Avalon. In 1959, he scored big with two songs, "Dream Lover" and "Mack the Knife," the latter of which was his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts and won him a Grammy Award for record of the year. Darin also won a Grammy for best new artist.

Top Entertainer

Darin continued to enjoy great popularity in the early 1960s. Moving from the concert stage to the big screen, he starred in the romantic comedy Come September (1961) with Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida and Sandra Dee. Darin and Dee were a celebrity couple off-screen as well, having eloped together the previous year.

Trying his hand at a musical, he starred with Pat Boone and Ann Margaret in State Fair (1962). Darin went on to earn an Academy Award nomination the following year for his work in Captain Newman, M.D..