Fabian

Swinging teen idol 'Fabian' (qv)o Anthony Forte, better known to his fans as 'Fabian' (qv), was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1943, to a police officer. His father took ill and died when 'Fabian' (qv) was young and the boy was forced to find work to help pay the family bills. With no experience but looks to die for, he was "discovered" one day by record promoters and artificially groomed for rock 'n' roll stardom. Given singing lessons and a complete visual makeover (including black pompadour and sexy V-neck sweaters), 'Fabian' (qv) was marketed with a rebel image and snarling baritone unlike the other clean-cut heartthrobs of his heyday, 'Frankie Avalon' (qv) and 'Bobby Rydell' (qv). After a couple of false starts, including one of his earliest singles entitled "Shivers", 'Fabian' (qv) zoomed to stardom on the strength of 'Dick Clark' (qv)'s American _American Bandstand (1952)_ (qv), later winning the Silver Award as "The Most Promising Male Vocalist of 1958".From 1959-1960, 'Fabian' (qv) recorded a number of "Top 10" hits, including "Tiger", "Hound Dog Man" and what would be his signature song, "Turn Me Loose". He was able to parlay his pop success into an acting career in the early 60s, coasting for awhile on his single name alone. Trained in acting by 'Sanford Meisner' (qv), some of his more notable film achievements include _Hound-Dog Man (1959)_ (qv) (his movie debut), _North to Alaska (1960)_ (qv) with 'John Wayne' (qv), _High Time (1960)_ (qv) with 'Bing Crosby' (qv) and the all-star war epic _The Longest Day (1962)_ (qv). Most of his other films, however, were geared toward the young, finding himself entrapped in cheap-jack beach or biker films. The invasion of 'The Beatles' (qv) in the mid-60s left 'Fabian' (qv) and many of his contemporaries by the musical wayside. He continued to hang on and billed himself as 'Fabian' (qv) Forte for a time in low-budget films, including _A Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970)_ (qv) in which he played the notorious criminal "Pretty Boy Floyd". He also made frequent appearances on the traveling nostalgia revue circuit, courtesy of 'Dick Clark' (qv). In the 1990s, 'Fabian' (qv) evolved into a minor TV, film and music producer. Married to his third wife 'Andrea Patrick' (qv), a one-time "Miss Pennsylvania" AND "Miss West Virginia" since 1998, he has two children from his first wife: 'Christian Forte' (qv), a screenwriter, and 'Julie Forte' (qv), an animator, born in 1969 and 1970, respectively.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]