Singer, Actor. He gained celebrity status as an award-winning American singer in the mid-20th century.
Born into a poor, working-class family as Walden Robert Cassotto, his father died a few months before he was born. His English mother had been a professional entertainer for many years, but after his father's death, she was forced to raise him and his older sister, Nina, on welfare payments. He was a sickly child and, at eight years old, was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, which left him with a weakened heart and the fact that he would have a short life span.
After high school, he attended college on a scholarship, but, wanting a career in the New York theater, he left college to play with a music combo in small nightclubs around the city. As was common with ethnic minorities during this era, he changed his Italian name, selecting the name from the phone book, picking the first one that sounded usable.
After three mediocre recordings, his career bloomed in 1958 when he released his unique Rock & Roll song, "Splish Splash," which he had co-authored. It became an instant hit, selling more than a million copies. He had signed with Atlantic Records after the three recordings with Decca Records did not produce success, but left Atlantic for Capitol Records in 1962. In 1958, he recorded "Dream Lover," a song that would become a multi-million seller.
In 1959, Darin's next recording, "Mack the Knife," relied heavily on the stylized vocal inflections developed by Frank Sinatra. The recordings sold two million copies and stayed at the top of the Top Ten chart for months. "Mack the Knife" received two Grammy Awards, one for the Record of the Year; Darin was voted Best New Artist. In 1960, he recorded "Beyond the Sea."
Darin made several movies, beginning in 1960 with "Come September." In this movie, he co-starred with Sandra Dee; they would marry, have a son, and divorce in 1967. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his work in the 1963 film, "Captain Newman, M.D." He appeared in another eight films including "State Fair" in 1962.
In 1968, he discovered that his sister Nina was actually his biological mother, making his mother his actual grandmother. The public was never told his biological father's name. The painful revelation affected him for the rest of his life.
He died during open-heart surgery to replace a faulty heart valve. In 1990, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, actor Kevin Spacey starred in the role of Bobby Darin in the feature film biography "Beyond the Sea."
Born into a poor, working-class family as Walden Robert Cassotto, his father died a few months before he was born. His English mother had been a professional entertainer for many years, but after his father's death, she was forced to raise him and his older sister, Nina, on welfare payments. He was a sickly child and, at eight years old, was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, which left him with a weakened heart and the fact that he would have a short life span.
After high school, he attended college on a scholarship, but, wanting a career in the New York theater, he left college to play with a music combo in small nightclubs around the city. As was common with ethnic minorities during this era, he changed his Italian name, selecting the name from the phone book, picking the first one that sounded usable.
After three mediocre recordings, his career bloomed in 1958 when he released his unique Rock & Roll song, "Splish Splash," which he had co-authored. It became an instant hit, selling more than a million copies. He had signed with Atlantic Records after the three recordings with Decca Records did not produce success, but left Atlantic for Capitol Records in 1962. In 1958, he recorded "Dream Lover," a song that would become a multi-million seller.
In 1959, Darin's next recording, "Mack the Knife," relied heavily on the stylized vocal inflections developed by Frank Sinatra. The recordings sold two million copies and stayed at the top of the Top Ten chart for months. "Mack the Knife" received two Grammy Awards, one for the Record of the Year; Darin was voted Best New Artist. In 1960, he recorded "Beyond the Sea."
Darin made several movies, beginning in 1960 with "Come September." In this movie, he co-starred with Sandra Dee; they would marry, have a son, and divorce in 1967. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his work in the 1963 film, "Captain Newman, M.D." He appeared in another eight films including "State Fair" in 1962.
In 1968, he discovered that his sister Nina was actually his biological mother, making his mother his actual grandmother. The public was never told his biological father's name. The painful revelation affected him for the rest of his life.
He died during open-heart surgery to replace a faulty heart valve. In 1990, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, actor Kevin Spacey starred in the role of Bobby Darin in the feature film biography "Beyond the Sea."
Singer, Actor. He gained celebrity status as an award-winning American singer in the mid-20th century.
Born into a poor, working-class family as Walden Robert Cassotto, his father died a few months before he was born. His English mother had been a professional entertainer for many years, but after his father's death, she was forced to raise him and his older sister, Nina, on welfare payments. He was a sickly child and, at eight years old, was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, which left him with a weakened heart and the fact that he would have a short life span.
After high school, he attended college on a scholarship, but, wanting a career in the New York theater, he left college to play with a music combo in small nightclubs around the city. As was common with ethnic minorities during this era, he changed his Italian name, selecting the name from the phone book, picking the first one that sounded usable.
After three mediocre recordings, his career bloomed in 1958 when he released his unique Rock & Roll song, "Splish Splash," which he had co-authored. It became an instant hit, selling more than a million copies. He had signed with Atlantic Records after the three recordings with Decca Records did not produce success, but left Atlantic for Capitol Records in 1962. In 1958, he recorded "Dream Lover," a song that would become a multi-million seller.
In 1959, Darin's next recording, "Mack the Knife," relied heavily on the stylized vocal inflections developed by Frank Sinatra. The recordings sold two million copies and stayed at the top of the Top Ten chart for months. "Mack the Knife" received two Grammy Awards, one for the Record of the Year; Darin was voted Best New Artist. In 1960, he recorded "Beyond the Sea."
Darin made several movies, beginning in 1960 with "Come September." In this movie, he co-starred with Sandra Dee; they would marry, have a son, and divorce in 1967. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his work in the 1963 film, "Captain Newman, M.D." He appeared in another eight films including "State Fair" in 1962.
In 1968, he discovered that his sister Nina was actually his biological mother, making his mother his actual grandmother. The public was never told his biological father's name. The painful revelation affected him for the rest of his life.
He died during open-heart surgery to replace a faulty heart valve. In 1990, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, actor Kevin Spacey starred in the role of Bobby Darin in the feature film biography "Beyond the Sea."
Born into a poor, working-class family as Walden Robert Cassotto, his father died a few months before he was born. His English mother had been a professional entertainer for many years, but after his father's death, she was forced to raise him and his older sister, Nina, on welfare payments. He was a sickly child and, at eight years old, was diagnosed with rheumatic fever, which left him with a weakened heart and the fact that he would have a short life span.
After high school, he attended college on a scholarship, but, wanting a career in the New York theater, he left college to play with a music combo in small nightclubs around the city. As was common with ethnic minorities during this era, he changed his Italian name, selecting the name from the phone book, picking the first one that sounded usable.
After three mediocre recordings, his career bloomed in 1958 when he released his unique Rock & Roll song, "Splish Splash," which he had co-authored. It became an instant hit, selling more than a million copies. He had signed with Atlantic Records after the three recordings with Decca Records did not produce success, but left Atlantic for Capitol Records in 1962. In 1958, he recorded "Dream Lover," a song that would become a multi-million seller.
In 1959, Darin's next recording, "Mack the Knife," relied heavily on the stylized vocal inflections developed by Frank Sinatra. The recordings sold two million copies and stayed at the top of the Top Ten chart for months. "Mack the Knife" received two Grammy Awards, one for the Record of the Year; Darin was voted Best New Artist. In 1960, he recorded "Beyond the Sea."
Darin made several movies, beginning in 1960 with "Come September." In this movie, he co-starred with Sandra Dee; they would marry, have a son, and divorce in 1967. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his work in the 1963 film, "Captain Newman, M.D." He appeared in another eight films including "State Fair" in 1962.
In 1968, he discovered that his sister Nina was actually his biological mother, making his mother his actual grandmother. The public was never told his biological father's name. The painful revelation affected him for the rest of his life.
He died during open-heart surgery to replace a faulty heart valve. In 1990, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, actor Kevin Spacey starred in the role of Bobby Darin in the feature film biography "Beyond the Sea."
Bio by: MC
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