Bobby Darin

Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973)[1] was an American musician, songwriter and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music.

Bobby Darin
Darin in 1959
Born
Walden Robert Cassotto

(1936-05-14)May 14, 1936
New York City, U.S.
DiedDecember 20, 1973(1973-12-20) (aged 37)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
Years active1956–1973
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1960; div. 1967)​
  • Andrea Yeager
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1973; div. 1973)​
Children1
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
  • drums
  • harmonica
  • xylophone
DiscographyBobby Darin discography
Labels

Darin started his career as a songwriter for Connie Francis. Darin co-wrote and recorded his first million-selling single, "Splish Splash", in 1958. That was followed by Darin's own song "Dream Lover", then his covers of "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea", which brought him worldwide fame. In 1962, Darin won a Golden Globe Award for his first film, Come September, co-starring his first wife, actress Sandra Dee.

During the 1960s, Darin became more politically active and worked on Robert F. Kennedy's Democratic presidential campaign. He was present at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles at the time of Robert Kennedy's assassination in June 1968. That same year, Darin discovered the woman who had raised him was his grandmother, not his mother as he thought, and learned that the woman he thought was his sister was actually his mother. Those events deeply affected Darin and sent him into a long period of seclusion.

Although Darin made a successful comeback (in television) in the early 1970s, his health was beginning to fail following bouts of rheumatic fever in childhood. The knowledge of Darin's vulnerability had always spurred him on to use his musical talent while still young. He died at the age of 37 after a heart operation in Los Angeles in 1973.[2][3][4][5]

Early years

Darin was born as Walden Robert Cassotto on May 14, 1936, in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City.[6]

His maternal grandfather, Saverio Antonio "Big Sam Curly" Cassotto (born January 26, 1882), was of Italian descent and died in prison from pneumonia a year before Darin's birth. He was a made man and "soldier" in the Genovese Crime Family, and a close associate of Frank Costello, apparently serving as a witness at Costello's 1914 wedding, though the relationship soured after he accused Costello of withholding money that was meant for Cassotto's family.

His maternal grandmother, Vivian "Polly" Fern Walden, born in 1891 of English, Danish, and Norwegian ancestry,[7][8][9] was a vaudeville singer.[10]

Darin's birth mother, Vanina Juliette "Nina" Cassotto (born November 30, 1917), became pregnant with him in the summer of 1935 when she was 17. Nina and her mother decided to pass of her baby off as Nina's younger brother.

Darin was thus taught to believe his mother Nina was his elder sister and that his grandmother Polly, who had raised him from birth, was his mother. In 1968, when Darin was 32 and considering entering politics, Nina told him the truth, reportedly devastating Darin.[11] She refused to reveal the identity of his biological father and took that secret to her grave when she died in 1983.

By the time he was a teenager, Darin could play several instruments, including piano, drums, and guitar. He later added harmonica and xylophone.[12]

Darin moved to the Bronx early in his life (with a rented summer home in Staten Island)[13] and graduated from the prestigious Bronx High School of Science. In later years, Darin attributed his arrogance to his experiences there, where he was surrounded by brighter students who teased him.[14] Darin then enrolled at Hunter College and soon gravitated to the drama department. After only two semesters, he dropped out to pursue an acting career.[15]

Darin took his stage name, Bobby Darin, when he began to record.[16] One version of how he got the name is that the first three letters on a Mandarin Chinese restaurant were burned out.[17][18] According to another version, he adapted it from the first name of actor Darren McGavin, TV's Mike Hammer. He said, "my legal name will remain Cassotto. Cassotto was my mother's name, and it will be my children's name."[16]

Music career

Darin's career took off with a songwriting partnership, formed in 1955 with Don Kirshner, whom he met at a candy store in Washington Heights.[1] They wrote jingles and songs, beginning with "Bubblegum Pop".[19] In 1956, Darin's agent negotiated a contract with Decca Records.[1] The songs recorded at Decca had minimal commercial success.[1]

A member of the Brill Building gang of struggling songwriters, Darin was introduced to singer Connie Francis, for whom he helped write several songs. They developed a romantic interest, but her father was not fond of Darin and did not approve of the relationship, and the couple split up. At one point, Darin wanted to elope immediately; Francis has said that not marrying Darin was the biggest mistake of her life.[20]

Darin left Decca to sign with Atlantic Records' Atco subsidiary, where he wrote and arranged music for himself and others. Songs Darin recorded, such as Harry Warren's "I Found a Million Dollar Baby", were sung in an Elvis style, which did not suit Darin's personality.

Guided by Atlantic's star-maker Ahmet Ertegun, Darin's career finally took off in 1958 when he recorded "Splish Splash".[1] Darin co-wrote the song with radio D.J. Murray Kaufman after a phone call from Kaufman's mother, Jean, a frustrated songwriter. Her latest song idea was: "Splish, Splash, Take a Bath". Both Kaufman and Darin felt the title was lackluster, but Darin, with few options, said "I could write a song with that title." Within one hour, Darin had written "Splish Splash".[21] The single, Darin's first successful foray into the rock and roll genre, sold more than a million copies.[22][23] His partnership with Kirshner, who was not involved in the writing of that song, ended at that time.[19] Darin made another recording in 1958 for Brunswick Records with a band called The Ding Dongs.[1] With the success of "Splish Splash" the single was re-released by Atco Records as "Early in the Morning" with the band renamed as The Rinky Dinks.[1] It charted, and made it to number 24 in the United States.[24][25]

In 1959, Darin recorded the self-penned "Dream Lover", a ballad that became a multi-million seller.[1] With it came financial success and the ability to demand more creative control of his career, he meant for his That's All album to show that he could sing more than rock and roll as a result.[26] Darin's next single, "Mack the Knife", the standard from Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, was given a vamping jazz-pop interpretation.[1] Although Darin was initially opposed to releasing it as a single,[26] the song went to No. 1 on the chart for nine weeks, sold two million copies, and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1960. Darin was also voted the Grammy Award for Best New Artist that year, and "Mack the Knife" has since been honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

Darin followed "Mack" with "Beyond the Sea", a jazzy English-language version of Charles Trenet's French hit song "La Mer".[1] Both tracks were produced by Atlantic founders Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun with staff producer Jerry Wexler and they featured arrangements by Richard Wess.

The late-1950s success included Darin setting the all-time attendance record at the Copacabana nightclub in Manhattan and headlining at the major casinos in Las Vegas.

Darin's 1960 recording of "Artificial Flowers", a song by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock from the Broadway musical Tenderloin about the death of a child laborer, featured a jazzy, big band arrangement by Richard Behrke, that was in sharp contrast to its tragic lyrics.[27]

In the 1960s, Darin owned and operated, with Doris Day's son Terry Melcher, a music publishing and production company (TM Music/Trio). Darin signed Wayne Newton and gave him the song "Danke Schoen", which became Newton's breakout hit. Darin also was a mentor to Roger McGuinn, who worked for him at TM Music and played the 12-string guitar in Darin's nightclub band before forming the Byrds. Darin also produced Rosey Grier's 1964 LP Soul City, and Made in the Shade for Jimmy Boyd.

In 1962, Darin began to write and sing country music, with hit songs including "Things" (US No. 3/UK No. 2) (1962), "You're the Reason I'm Living" (US No. 3), and "18 Yellow Roses" (US No. 10). The latter two were recorded by Capitol Records, which he joined in 1962, before returning to Atlantic three years later.[28] Darin left Capitol in 1964.[29] Two years later, he had his final UK hit single, with a version of Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter", which peaked at No. 9 (No. 8 in the US). Darin performed the opening and closing songs on the soundtrack of the 1965 Walt Disney film That Darn Cat!. "Things" was sung by Dean Martin in the 1967 TV special Movin' With Nancy, starring Nancy Sinatra.[30]

Acting career
"Deadeye" and Darin in a 1965 Red Skelton Show skit

In the fall of 1959, Darin played "Honeyboy Jones" in an early episode of Jackie Cooper's CBS military sitcom/drama Hennesey. In the same year, he became the only actor ever to have been signed to five major Hollywood film studios. Darin wrote music for several films in which he appeared.

Darin's first major film, Come September (1961), was a teenager-oriented romantic comedy with Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida and featuring 18-year-old actress Sandra Dee.[1] They met during the production of the film, and got married soon afterward.[1] Dee gave birth to a son, Dodd Mitchell Darin (also known as Morgan Mitchell) on December 16, 1961. Dee and Darin made a few films together with moderate success.

In 1961, Darin starred as a struggling jazz musician in Too Late Blues, John Cassavetes' first film for a major Hollywood studio.[31] Writing in 2012, Los Angeles Times critic Dennis Lim observed that Darin was "a surprise in his first nonsinging role, willing to appear both arrogant and weak".[32] In 1962, Darin won the Golden Globe Award for "New Star of the Year – Actor" for his role in Come September.[33] The following year he was nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe for Pressure Point.

In 1963, Darin was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a shell-shocked soldier in Captain Newman, M.D.

In October 1964, Darin appeared as a wounded ex-convict who is befriended by an orphan girl in "The John Gillman Story" episode of NBC's Wagon Train western television series.

Later years

"Now my attitude is very simple: I must do what artistically pleases me."

Bobby Darin, 1967 Pop Chronicles interview[26]

Dean Martin Presents: The Bobby Darin Amusement Company, L-R: Dick Smothers, Tom Smothers, and Bobby Darin as the Marx Brothers (1972)

Darin became more politically active as the 1960s progressed, and his musical output became more "folksy". In 1966, Darin had a hit with folksinger Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter",[26] securing a return to the Top 10 after a two-year absence.[1]

Darin traveled with Robert F. Kennedy and worked on the politician's 1968 presidential campaign. He was with Kennedy the day he traveled to Los Angeles on June 4, 1968, for the California primary, and was at the Ambassador Hotel later that night when Kennedy was assassinated. That event, combined with learning about his true parentage, had a deep effect on Darin, who spent most of the next year living in seclusion in a trailer near Big Sur.

Returning to Los Angeles in 1969, Darin started his own record label which was titled Direction Records, putting out folk and protest music. Darin wrote "Simple Song of Freedom" in 1969, which, in an interesting turn of events, was first recorded by Tim Hardin and the song became Hardin's best-selling record. It reached #48 in Canada.[34] Also in Canada, a version by Buckwheat reached #52.[35] Darin himself sang the song "live" on several television variety shows.

Of his first Direction album, Darin said, "The purpose of Direction Records is to seek out statement-makers. The album is solely [composed] of compositions designed to reflect my thoughts on the turbulent aspects of modern society."[36] He later signed with Motown.

Beginning on July 27, 1972, Darin starred in his own television variety show on NBC, Dean Martin Presents: The Bobby Darin Amusement Company, which ran for seven episodes ending on September 7, 1972. Beginning on January 19, 1973, Darin starred in a similar show on NBC called The Bobby Darin Show. That show ran for 13 episodes, ending on April 27, 1973. Darin subsequently made television guest appearances and remained a top draw.[37][38]

Other interests

Darin was an enthusiastic chess player.[39] His television show included an occasional segment in which he would explain a chess move.[40] Darin arranged with the United States Chess Federation to sponsor a grandmaster tournament, which pitted him against the young Eastern Division champion Stephen Ryder, with the largest prize fund in history,[41] but the event was canceled after his death.[38]

Personal life

Darin married actress Sandra Dee on December 1, 1960.[42] They met while filming Come September (which was released in 1961).[43] On December 16, 1961, they had a son, Dodd Mitchell Darin[44] (also known as Morgan Mitchell Darin). Dee and Darin divorced on March 7, 1967.[45]

Darin's second wife was Andrea Yeager, a legal secretary whom he met in 1970[46] and married on June 25, 1973, after the couple had lived together for three years.[47][48] Four months later, in October 1973, the couple divorced[47] amid strain caused by Darin's worsening health problems.[49]

Health

Darin had poor health throughout his entire life. He was frail as an infant and, beginning at age eight, had recurring bouts of rheumatic fever that left him with a seriously weakened heart.[38] During his first heart surgery in January 1971, he had two artificial valves implanted, then spent most of that year recovering from the surgery.

During the last few years of his life, Darin was often administered oxygen during and after his performances on stage and screen.

Death

In 1973, after failing to take antibiotics to protect his heart before a dental visit, Darin developed sepsis, an overwhelming systemic infection, which further weakened his body and affected one of his heart valves. On December 11 of that year, he checked himself into Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles for another round of open-heart surgery to repair the two artificial heart valves he had received in January 1971.[1] On the evening of December 19, a four-person surgical team worked for over six hours to repair Darin's damaged heart. Shortly after the surgery ended in the early morning hours of December 20, Darin died in the recovery room without regaining consciousness. He was 37 years old.[2][3]

Darin's last wish in his will was that his body be donated to science for medical research, and his remains were transferred to the UCLA Medical Center shortly after his death.[3]

Legacy

In 1990, Darin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with singer and close friend Paul Anka announcing the honor.[50] In 1999, he was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Songwriter Alan O'Day alluded to Darin and his recording of "Mack the Knife" in the song "Rock and Roll Heaven" (made a hit by the Righteous Brothers), a tribute to dead musicians, which O'Day wrote shortly after Darin's death.

On May 14, 2007, Darin was awarded a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars to honor his contribution to making Las Vegas the "Entertainment Capital of the World" and named him one of the twentieth century's greatest entertainers. Fans paid for the star. Darin also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On December 13, 2009, at its 2010 Grammy Awards ceremony, the Recording Academy awarded Darin a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award.

Biopic
Main article: Beyond the Sea (2004 film)

In 1986, director Barry Levinson intended to direct a film based on Darin's life and had begun preproduction on the project by early 1997. He abandoned the project, the rights to which were subsequently bought by actor Kevin Spacey, along with Darin's son, Dodd. The resultant biopic, Beyond the Sea, starred Spacey as Darin, with the actor using his own singing voice for the musical numbers. The film covers much of Darin's life and career, including his marriage to Sandra Dee, portrayed by Kate Bosworth.

Beyond the Sea opened at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. Although Dodd Darin, Sandra Dee, and Blauner responded enthusiastically to Spacey's work and the film was strongly promoted by the studio, Beyond the Sea received mixed-to-poor reviews upon wide release, and box office results were disappointing. Spacey, however, was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor—Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, but the award that year went to Jamie Foxx for his portrayal of Darin's musical contemporary Ray Charles.

Musical

In September 2016, Dream Lover: The Bobby Darin Musical had its world premiere at Sydney Lyric Theatre, Australia. The production featured the story of Darin with an 18-piece big band. Darin was played by David Campbell.[51] Darin had an unusual upbringing, being raised by a "mother" who was actually his grandmother and alongside a "sister" who was actually his mother, a fact he did not discover until he was 31 years old.[52] Campbell grew up in a similar circumstance,[51] leading Bobby's son Dodd Darin to describe Campbell as perfect for the role, stating, "You have to have lived something like that to understand it and [Campbell] has, and I think he can relate to my dad, he can relate to the pain."[53] Campbell made similar observations, describing playing Darin as a "cathartic experience" and stating, "I feel like I'm healing things during this show."[53] The production was nominated in six categories in the 18th Helpmann Awards, including for Best Musical, with Campbell receiving the Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical.[54]

Discography
Main article: Bobby Darin discography

Studio albums

Filmography

Books
  • Dodd Darin and Maxine Paetro: Dream Lovers: the Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee. New York: Warner Books, 1994. ISBN 0-446-51768-2
  • David Evanier: Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-4384-3458-2
  • Shane Brown: "Bobby Darin: Directions. A Listener's Guide: 2nd edition". 2018 ISBN 978-1790349470

References
  1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 628/9. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. "Bobby Darin of 'Mack the Knife' fame dies". Eugene register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. December 21, 1973. p. 1A.
  3. "Bobby Darin, Pop Singer, Dies at 37". The New York Times. December 21, 1973. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  4. "Bobby Darin dead at 37". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). wire services. December 20, 1973. p. A2.
  5. "Singer Bobby Darin dies". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 20, 1973. p. 2.
  6. Dream Lovers, pp. 9–10
  7. "Pauline Vivian Fern Walden". FamilySearch. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  8. "Chapter One: The Hidden Child" (PDF). Images.rodale.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  9. "He Quit Rockin' – Now He's Rollin'". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. January 9, 1960. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  10. "Bobby Darin: Brash, But Talented". CBS News. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  11. Biography: Bobby Darin Archived July 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, The Biography Channel. Retrieved August 12, 2007. Also mentioned in the "Bobby Darin" episode of the Biography series.
  12. "Talent in Action". Billboard. Vol. 82, no. 42. October 17, 1970. p. 28. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  13. "Famous Staten Islanders from all walks of life". Staten Island Advance. April 23, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  14. Dream Lovers, pp. 16-17
  15. Dream Lovers, pp. 22-23
  16. "Saturday Evening Post, 5/6/61". Bobbydarin.net. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  17. Lees, Gene. "Bobby Darin: The Career That Almost Was". Bobbydarin. net. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  18. Hochman, Steve (January 7, 1990). "Bobby Darin: A Reluctant Rocker in Hall of Fame". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  19. Sisario, Ben (January 18, 2011). "Don Kirshner, Shaper of Hit Records, Dies at 76". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  20. Autobiography Who's Sorry Now by Connie Francis
  21. "Stay Tuned By Stan Cornyn: My Friend Bobby Darin". Rhino.com. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  22. de Heer, Dik (April 10, 1958). "The Splish Splash Session - Session Notes". Bobbydarin.net. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  23. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 100. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  24. Jones, Peter (August 1981). "The Bobby Darin Story: Stylish Vocalist Who Made Many Collectable Records in the Fifties and Sixties". Record Collector. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013.
  25. ""Early In The Morning," The Rinky-Dinks". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  26. Gilliland, John (April 27, 1969). "Show 13 – Big Rock Candy Mountain: Rock 'n' roll in the late fifties. [Part 3]: UNT Digital Library". Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  27. Artificial Flowers, from YouTube.
  28. "Billboard". July 17, 1965.
  29. "Billboard - Google Books". March 21, 1964. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  30. Nancy Sinatra (2000). Movin' with Nancy (Song listing). Chatsworth, CA: Image Intertainment.
  31. Brody, Richard (September 5, 2012). "DVD of the Week: "Too Late Blues"". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  32. Lim, Dennis (May 27, 2012). "A Second Look: John Cassavetes' touch is clear in 'Too Late Blues'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  33. "Browse Results – Golden Globe Awards Official Website". Goldenglobes.org. Archived from the original on May 21, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  34. "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 30, 1969" (PDF).
  35. "RPM Top 100 Singles - May 6, 1972" (PDF).
  36. "Bobby Darin Quotes". BrainyQuote. May 14, 1936. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  37. "Bobby in Las Vegas 1960's and 1970's". Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  38. Dee, Sandra (March 18, 1991). "Learning to Live Again: A Former Teen Queen Shakes Free of Her Humiliating Past to End Years of Self-Hate and Loneliness". People Magazine. Vol. 35, no. 10. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  39. "Bobby Darin & Terry Kellman". bobbydarin.net. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  40. "Bobby Darin's Last Shows". tvparty.com. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  41. "Announcing the First Annual Bobby Darin International Chess Classic". bobbydarin.com. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  42. "Darin, Sandra Dee Married, Fly Here". Los Angeles Times. December 2, 1960. p. 2 – Part I. Retrieved December 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. Wilson, Earl (December 6, 1960). "Never Thought We'd See a Humble Bobby Darin". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. p. 33. Retrieved December 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. "First Son Born to Bobby Darins". Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. December 17, 1961. p. 14-A. Retrieved December 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. "Granted Divorce". Chicago Tribune. March 8, 1967. p. 8 – Section 2. Retrieved December 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  46. Evanier, David (August 2010). Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. pp. 214–215. ISBN 9781438434582.
  47. Evanier, p. 234.
  48. "Bobby Darin Honeymooning". The Independent. Long Beach, California. Associated Press. June 27, 1973. p. B-5. Retrieved December 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. Evanier, p. 236-238.
  50. "Bobby Darin: inducted in 1990 | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  51. Domjen, Briana (April 3, 2016). "Singer David Campbell to channel 50s crooner Bobby Darin in new musical". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  52. Starr, Michael Seth (2004). Bobby Darin: A Life. Taylor Trade Publications. p. 167. ISBN 9781589795983.
  53. Robinson, Lesley; Wearring, Myles (October 5, 2016). "David Campbell's family secret makes him perfect to play Bobby Darin, says Darin's son". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  54. "2018 Helpmann Awards – Nominees and Winners (Musicals)". Helpmann Awards. 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
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