Bobby Rydell, the pop singer and onetime teen idol from Philadelphia who starred opposite Ann-Margret and Dick Van Dyke in Bye Bye Birdie, has died. He was 79.
Rydell died Tuesday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia reported. He was still touring and scheduled to perform at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City in June.
After hitting it big with such songs as “Wild One” and his version of “Volare,” Rydell portrayed Hugo Peabody in the George Sidney-directed film adaptation of Bye Bye Birdie (1963) in the role that Michael J. Pollard originated on Broadway opposite Van Dyke, Susan Watson and Chita Rivera.