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==Film career==
==Film career==
Fabian was contracted to [[20th Century-Fox]] beginning with [[Don Siegel]]'s ''[[Hound-Dog Man]]'', based on [[Fred Gipson]]'s novel. The ''Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film'' featured a photo of Fabian's screen test where he appeared in the same outfit that [[Elvis Presley]] wore in ''[[Love Me Tender]]''.<ref>Weldon, Michael, ''Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film'' 1987 Ballentine Books</ref> He appeared in more than 30 [[film]]s, including ''[[Five Weeks in a Balloon]]'', ''[[High Time (film)|High Time]]'', ''[[Ten Little Indians (1965 film)|Ten Little Indians]]'' (1965), ''[[North to Alaska]]'', ''[[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]]'' and ''[[Ride the Wild Surf]]'' (1964) (with [[Tab Hunter]] and [[Peter Brown (actor)|Peter Brown]]. Most of his early films were comedies and cast him as a restless teenager with a penchant for singing. After 1965 his film and singing career began to fade, along with his popularity as a teen idol. He made several films for [[American International Pictures]], including a role as [[Pretty Boy Floyd]] in ''A Bullet for Pretty Boy'' (1970). He also played [[John Ashley (bandit)|Josh Ashley]] in ''Little Laura and Big John'' (1973) for [[Crown International Pictures]].
Fabian was contracted to [[20th Century-Fox]] beginning with [[Don Siegel]]'s ''[[Hound-Dog Man]]'', based on [[Fred Gipson]]'s novel. The ''Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film'' featured a photo of Fabian's screen test where he appeared in the same outfit that [[Elvis Presley]] wore in ''[[Love Me Tender]]''.<ref>Weldon, Michael, ''Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film'' 1987 Ballentine Books</ref> He appeared in more than 30 [[film]]s, including ''[[Five Weeks in a Balloon]]'', ''[[High Time (film)|High Time]]'', ''[[Ten Little Indians (1965 film)|Ten Little Indians]]'' (1965), ''[[North to Alaska]]'', ''[[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]]'' and ''[[Ride the Wild Surf]]'' (1964) (with [[Tab Hunter]] and [[Peter Brown (actor)|Peter Brown]]. Most of his early films were comedies and cast him as a restless teenager with a penchant for singing. In 1960 he was voted the number eight "Star of Tomorrow" for Quigley Publishing<ref>[http://heylookmeover.blogspot.com.au/2008/11/film-data-for-1960_16.html Film Data for 1960]</ref> but after 1965 his film and singing career began to fade, along with his popularity as a teen idol. He made several films for [[American International Pictures]], including a role as [[Pretty Boy Floyd]] in ''A Bullet for Pretty Boy'' (1970). He also played [[John Ashley (bandit)|Josh Ashley]] in ''Little Laura and Big John'' (1973) for [[Crown International Pictures]].


==Later life==
==Later life==

Revision as of 13:45, 27 April 2012

Fabian
Fabian in 1959.
Born
Fabiano Anthony Forte

(1943-02-06) February 6, 1943 (age 81)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Years active1959–present
Spouse(s)Kathleen Regan (1966-?, 2 children)
Kate Forte (1980–90)
Andrea Patrick (1998 to present, 1 child)
Websitehttp://fabianforte.net/

Fabiano Anthony Forte (born February 6, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), known as Fabian, is an American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.

Early life

Fabian is the son of Josephine and Dominic Forte; his father was a Philadelphia policeman.[1] Fabian was discovered in 1957 by Bob Marcucci and Peter DeAngelis, owners of Chancellor Records. At the time record producers were looking to the South Philadelphia neighborhoods in search of teenage talents with good looks. Frankie Avalon, also of South Philly, suggested Fabian as a possibility.

Fabian is the oldest of three brothers, and with his father ill and unable to work, he hoped to earn enough for his family. At 15 Fabian won the Silver Award as "The Promising Male Vocalist of 1958."

Singing career

With songwriters Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman writing for him, Fabian released a series of hit singles on Chancellor Records, including "I'm a Man", "Hound Dog Man", (US #9; UK #46),[2] "Turn Me Loose" (US #9), and his biggest hit, "Tiger", which reached #3 on the US charts. Other singles that charted included "String Along", "About This Thing Called Love" and "This Friendly World", which reached #12 on the US charts.

His career in music basically ended after he bought out of his contract with Marcucci[3] after signing a seven-year deal with 20th Century Fox. During the payola scandal of the 1960s,[4] Fabian testified before Congress that his recordings had been doctored electonically to "significantly improve his voice."[5]

Film career

Fabian was contracted to 20th Century-Fox beginning with Don Siegel's Hound-Dog Man, based on Fred Gipson's novel. The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film featured a photo of Fabian's screen test where he appeared in the same outfit that Elvis Presley wore in Love Me Tender.[6] He appeared in more than 30 films, including Five Weeks in a Balloon, High Time, Ten Little Indians (1965), North to Alaska, The Longest Day and Ride the Wild Surf (1964) (with Tab Hunter and Peter Brown. Most of his early films were comedies and cast him as a restless teenager with a penchant for singing. In 1960 he was voted the number eight "Star of Tomorrow" for Quigley Publishing[7] but after 1965 his film and singing career began to fade, along with his popularity as a teen idol. He made several films for American International Pictures, including a role as Pretty Boy Floyd in A Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970). He also played Josh Ashley in Little Laura and Big John (1973) for Crown International Pictures.

Later life

Forte never regained his teenage popularity, but has continued performing for more than 40 years. Recently[when?] he has been appearing with Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell to perform concerts as The Golden Boys.

The 1980 film The Idolmaker, written by Edward Di Lorenzo and directed by Taylor Hackford, was a thinly-disguised biography of Fabian (called "Caesare" in the film), as well as songwriter/producer Marcucci (called "Vinnie Vacarri") and Frankie Avalon (called "Tommy Dee"). In the movie version, singer Caesare--a pretty boy with little singing talent--goes through a whirlwind of success in a short time, and in a fit of pique, he abruptly fires his songwriters and quits his record label. The real-life Fabian threatened a lawsuit at the time of the picture's release, though the filmmakers insisted that the movie presented only fictional characters (even though Marcucci was a paid consultant on the film). Fabian claimed they settled out of court, where he and his wife received apologies and Marcucci's 7.5% ownership of the film passed to Fabian.[3]

He appeared in a 1982 television commercial for The Idols of Rock n' Roll and in the 2005 documentary film The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania.

In his latest endeavor, Fabian hosts and headlines in the hit show The Original Stars of Bandstand at The Dick Clark Theater in Branson, Missouri.[8] The show stars Fabian and Bobby Vee and features The Chiffons, Brian Hyland, Chris Montez and rare footage of the performers and Dick Clark.

Personal life

He was drafted, but rejected, for military service during the Vietnam War. According to USMC Lt. Col. Arthur Eppley, Fabian was declared 4F (unfit for service) after presenting a doctor's note stating that induction into the army could cause him to develop homosexual tendencies.[9]

He has been married three times - first to Kathleen Regan (1966, with whom he had 2 children); then to Kate Netter Forte from 1980 to 1990; and 3rd to his current wife, Andrea Patrick, a former Bituminous Coal Queen and Miss Pennsylvania USA, whom he married in 1998.[10] He has a son, Christian (born 1969), and a daughter, Julie (born after 1969), from his first marriage. Christian is a screenwriter with the 1996 movie Albino Alligator, starring Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, and Gary Sinise and directed by Kevin Spacey, to his credit. He also both wrote and directed Deep in the Valley with Denise Richards, Chris Pratt, and Brendan Hines, released in October 2009,[11] and he is the co-screenwriter for The Monkey Wrench Gang, which is scheduled for release in 2013.[12] Christian and his wife have one daughter, Ava Josephine.

Fabian and his wife are actively involved in the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association and Fabian has helped raise money for veterans with his Celebrity Golf Tournament in North Carolina. They live on 20 acres (81,000 m2) in Southwestern Pennsylvania with their dog, Max, in a home which Andrea designed.

Filmography

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Television appearances

Singles

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  • "I'm In Love/Shivers Chancellor" (1958)
  • "Be My Steady Date/Lilly Lou" (1958)
  • "I'm A Man/Hypnotized" (1959)
  • "Turn Me Loose/Stop Thief" (1959)
  • "Tiger/Mighty Cold" (1959)
  • "Come On and Get Me" (1959)
  • "Got The Feeling" (1959)
  • "Hound Dog Man" (1959)
  • "This Friendly World" (1959)
  • "String Along" (1960)
  • "About This Thing Called Love" (1960)

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  • "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter/Strollin' In The Springtime" (1960)
  • "King Of Love/Tomorrow" (1960)
  • "Kissin' And Twistin'/Long Before" (1960)
  • "You Know You Belong to Someone Else/Hold On" (1961)
  • "Grapevine/David and Goliath" (1961)
  • "The Love That I'm Giving to You/You're Only Young Once" (1961)
  • "A Girl Like You/Dream Factory" (1961)
  • "Tongue Tied/Kansas City" (1961)
  • "Wild Party/Made You" (1961)
  • "Break Down and Cry/She's Staying Inside With Me" (1963)[14]

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Quotation

On his audition for Bob Marcucci.

As I'm tone-deaf, I didn't think he'd like it much - but I sang for him. It sounded like a jackass! You could have bowled me over when he said I had possibilities.

NME - October 1959[15]

Pop culture references

In the 1986 US film Peggy Sue Got Married, Nicolas Cage's character keeps a picture of Fabian on his car's sun visor. On the TV show Laverne & Shirley, the title characters would often talk about how much they loved Fabian (he guest-starred in the Season 3, Episode 8 episode "Laverne & Shirley Meet Fabian").

See also

References

  1. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 68. CN 5585.
  2. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 192. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ a b "The Music Index - Story Of The Stars - Fabian Interview". Story Of The Stars. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  4. ^ Music.com
  5. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir, Woodstra, Chris & Erlewine, Stephen Thomas All music guide to rock: the definitive guide to rock, pop, and soul 2002 Backbeat Books. p. 1386
  6. ^ Weldon, Michael, Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film 1987 Ballentine Books
  7. ^ Film Data for 1960
  8. ^ Dick Clark's AB Theater - Branson Missouri
  9. ^ Eppley, Arthur. "A Marine Mustang". Trafford Publishing, 2007, p. 146
  10. ^ Bryant, Jean (1998-09-22). "Former Connellsville Beauty Queen weds Fabian". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. G1.
  11. ^ "IMDb.com".
  12. ^ IMDB: The Monkey Wrench Gang
  13. ^ Fabian Filmography
  14. ^ Fabian's Discography
  15. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 73. CN 5585.

External links

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