 Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin was born Walden Robert Cassotto on May 14, 1936, in
the Bronx area of New York, and was raised by his mother - a former
professional entertainer. His father had disappeared a few months
before his birth.
As an adult, Darin learned that the woman he thought to be his
sister Nina, 17 years his senior, was in fact his mother, and the
woman he thought to be his mother was in fact his grandmother. He went
to his death without knowing the identity of his father.
An excellent scholar and musician - he could play piano, drums,
bass and guitar proficiently as a youngster - Darin won a scholarship
to study science in college. It was while completing his education
that he started singing and playing piano in New York supper clubs.
 In
1956 he was signed to Decca and released My First Love, a song
he had co-written with a friend called Don Kirshner (who later created
and produced The Monkees). Two years later he wrote and recorded
Splish Splash which brought him international stardom. The record
enjoyed outstanding chart success on both sides of the Atlantic, which
he followed up with an avalanche of hit singles: Queen Of The Hop,
Dream Lover, Mack The Knife (which topped the US and UK charts in
1959), Beyond The Sea, Clementine, Bill Bailey, Lazy River and
Nature Boy.
Besides establishing himself as a major recording artist - he had
37 hits in the American Top 100 - Bobby also emerged as a star of
television and movies, having signed a long contract with Paramount.
His film credits included Too Late Blues, Pepe, Come September,
Hell Is For Heroes and many more.
He also became one of the highest paid and most in-demand nightclub
entertainers in America, setting attendance records at the famed
Copacabana nightclub, where fans would line up around the block to get
tickets when Darin was playing there.
 During
the filming of Come September, Darin fell in love with his
18-year-old co-star Sandra Dee (pictured at right). They
married in 1960 but were divorced by 1967.
Darin's fortunes fluctuated during the early 1960's - He was
diversifying his talents too far and refused to specialize. He did
return to the charts on a number of occasions though, and scored with
three major hit singles during the decade: Multiplication
(1961), Things (1962) and If I Were A Carpenter (1966).
But he never quite consolidated his earlier success.
Bobby Darin died following surgery to repair his heart valve in
Lebanon Hospital, Hollywood, on December 20, 1973. He had suffered
from heart disease since the age of eight when he was struck by a
severe attack of rheumatic fever.
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