Fabian il Forte

Who came first?

No, we're not rewriting the old Abbott and Costello routine. Nor are we talking about the chicken or the egg.

Instead we're asking who came first, the teen idol or the teen singer?

Well, in Fabian's case, it was the teen idol. The singing came later.

The story of Fabian's discovery is pretty well known. But there are variants in the telling. One is that Fabian Anthony Forte¹ was standing outside his house in South Philadelphia when record producer Bob Marcucci spotted him. Fabian was only 14 at the time but Bob thought he just looked like a pop star.

Another account is that Bob actually lived next door and knew the Fortes. Still another is that he was visiting a friend who lived next door when he saw the handsome young man. Then we also hear that Bob learned about Fabian from their fellow Philadelphian, Bobby Rydell, who was already performing professionally.

In any case to help his family out (his dad was unable to work due to ill health), Fabian agreed to cut a record. But since he was the sole support of his mother and siblings, he continued working at a number of part time jobs while going to high school.

But Bob was determined. Dang it, Fabian was going to be a star. Since they were in Philly naturally Bob got ahold of Dick Clark whose American Bandstand was then broadcast from the Town That Snowballed Santa Claus². Dick agreed that Fabian really looked the part and agreed to feature him on Bandstand.

There was a wee bit of a problem. Although Fabian looked like a teen idol rock 'n' roller, his singing experience was slight. But no hurdle cannot be overcome by determined impresarios. Dick decided that the best thing for the first Bandstand appearance was that Fabian just wouldn't sing. When he appeared later in the year, he lipsynced his words (which was typical on Bandstand) and that's all it took. Fabian (only one name was needed) was a star.

The appearance of the young clean cut singers like Fabian was one way to mollify the parents who were shocked! shocked! at the stage persona of the Young Man from Memphis. Fabian was more restrained in his mannerisms - in his performances Elvis was quite animated - and he was far more palatable to the adults who were aghast³ at the frenzied hormone filled audiences surrounding Elvis. Better to have their daughters listening to Fabian sing "This Friendly World" or have them lounging around their bedrooms blubbering over J. Frank Wilson's "Last Kiss".

The pinnacle of Fabian's career was fairly brief - two, three years - although he always continued to perform (and still does). But he had three Top 10 Hits in two years - which ain't bad - and it was inevitable that he would be cast in a movie. Like another clean cut singer, Bobby Darin, Fabian really seemed to prefer acting to the stage.

You may see some comment that Fabian mostly starred in teen/beach movies with Annette Funicello. However, that's confusing Fabian with Frankie Avalon - another Philadelphia native. Fabian only had two real beach movies - Ride the Wild Surf (a drama) and Love in a Goldfish Bowl with Tommy Sands (who at the time was married to Nancy Sinatra). Fabian's movie Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs with Vincent Price is not a beach movie. Instead it was a follow up of (and is sometimes confused with) the spy-spoof Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine which starred, yes, Frankie Avalon along with Vincent.

As an actor Fabian was quite prolific. He made 22 films; some were comedy, others more serious. His first movie was Hound Dog Man with Stuart Whitman (Fabian also sung the title song and it became a hit). Then in High Time - a surprisingly good movie - he played a college student who with some friends roomed with a retired hamburger restauranteur who decided to go back to college (played by Bing Crosby). Over the years Fabian starred alongside other top names in some quite credible appearances: Jimmy Stewart (Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation), John Wayne (North to Alaska), Jack Palance (The Greatest Show on Earth), Red Buttons and Peter Lorre (Five Weeks in a Balloon), Hugh O'Brien (Ten Little Indians), and a lot more (The Longest Day). He was also in a number of television shows ranging from The Virginian to The Rat Patrol.

What is unusual regarding Fabian was how young he was when he had his hits. His first releases were in 1958 when he was only 15. His big hits, "This Friendly World", "Hound Dog Man", and "Hold that Tiger" were in 1959 - when Fabian was 16.

But we said his pinnacle was brief. His last charted record, "Kissin' and Twistin'" was in 1960. It placed 91 on Billboard.

Fabian wasn't really sad to see his recording career fade. In fact, it was likely his idea since he clearly wanted to focus on acting (he continued to act on television almost to the end of the Millennium). Regarding his recording career, he later said:

I was doing it for my family. I didn’t really like what I was doing with the pompadour and the white bucks, which I [absolutely]⁴ hated. But I had a goal.

But there were certainly memorable events as a teen idol. Fabian himself tells how he once got an unexpected phone call. Not that a phone call itself is unexpected. What was unexpected was that the Voice at the Other End was none other than Elvis Presley. Elvis said he'd like to meet him.

Fabian immediately asked: "Why?"

But, yes. The two men did meet and quite congenially at that. In fact, during the meeting Elvis had been giving a karate exhibition (Elvis was actually quite skilled at martial arts). Then after a particularly vigorous high kick, he found he had ripped his pants. But crisis was averted - Elvis usually didn't wear underwear - after Fabian loaned him a pair.

"That," he said, "is how I met Elvis."

References

"Fabiano 'Fabian' Forte", History of Rock 'n' Roll.

"A Tale of Two Idols, Fabian and Neil Sedaka", Jeff Marcus, Goldmine.

"Fabian Forte Proves He's More Than a Rock and Roll Footnote - He's Still Singing - and Living for the Future, Not the Past", Elaine Jarvik, Deseret News, August 26, 1988.

"Fabian Chart History", Billboard.

"Fabian Forte", Internet Movie Data Base.

"Fabian: About this Thing Called Luck", Ronald Sklar, Pop Entertainment, March 7, 2014.

"Gary James' Interview With Fabian Forte", Classic Bands.

"What's My Line", Fabian (Mystery Guest), Dorothy Kilgallen (Regular Panelist), Shelley Berman (Guest Panelist), Arlene Francis (Regular Panelist), Bennett Cerf (Regular Panelist), John Daly (Host), CBS, November 15, 1959, Internet Movie Data Base.

High Time, Bing Crosby (Actor), Fabian (Actor), Fabian (Actor), Nicole Maurey (Actor), Tuesday Weld (Actor), Richard Breymer (Actor), Blake Edwards (Director), Tom Waldman (Writer), Frank Waldman (Writer), Bing Crosby Productions, 1960.

"Former Teen Idol Fabian Defends Justin Bieber, But Says He Doesn't Get Miley Cyrus", John J. Moser, March 7, 2014.

"Fabian Forte", Discogs.

"Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine", Vincent Price (actor), Frankie Avalon (actor), Dwayne Hickman (actor), Susan Hart (actor), Norman Taurog (director), Elwood Ullman (screenplay), Robert Kaufman (screenplay), James Nicholson (story), American International Pictures, 1965, Internet Movie Data Base.

"Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs", Vincent Price (actor), Fabian Forte (actor), Laura Antonelli (actor), Mario Bava (director), Franco Castellano (screenplay), Giuseppe Moccia (screenplay), Louis M. Heyward (English screenplay), Robert Kaufman (English screenplay), Italian International Film, American International Pictures, 1966, Internet Movie Data Base.