At 82, Frankie Avalon Is Still Stunning And Cooks For His Huge Family Every Weekend At His Home

Aug 22, 2023

Frankie Avalon was one of the most sought-after teen actors during his prime years. With his charming smile and captivating personality, fans immediately fell in love with him the moment he appeared on their TV screens for the first time in 1952.

He made his television debut in December 1952 on the famed TV sitcom “Honeymooners,” and he played the trumpet in the sketch called “Christmas Party” as a part of “The Jackie Gleason Show.”

Avalon began working as a musician as young as 12 years old as he recorded the single “Cupid” at the time. Years later, his song “DeDe Dinah” became a massive hit to his fans from all over the world.

By the 1960s, he gained more popularity as he was dubbed a “teen idol” because of his talent in music as well as his handsome face. Some of the most popular tracks that the public loved were “Bobby Sox to Stockings” and “Venus.”

Avalon was not only a talented musical artist, but he also dabbled into acting around the time he was gaining traction with his music. Most of his credits were beach-themed films like “Muscle Beach Party,” “Beach Party,” and many more. 

The reason why he starred in a handful of movies in that particular genre was because it was popular at the time.

The actor went on to return to his musical roots by the 1970s by giving his classic song “Venus” a brand new twist. He also made an appearance in the hit musical movie “Grease” by singing the track “Beauty School Dropout” to the character of Frenchy, played by Didi Conn.

Although Frankie Avalon’s career slowed down in the succeeding decades, he was still able to make a few appearances on different programs like “American Idol.” He also went on tour in the 2000s along with fellow teen idols Fabian and Bobby Rydell.

Regarding his romantic interests, he married Kathryn Diebel, a beauty pageant winner, in 1963 and has been loyal to her ever since. They have eight children together and over ten grandchildren.

By 2015, the actor/singer went a completely different route and decided to pursue a career in the world of culinary arts as he published the book titled “Frankie Avalon’s Italian Family Cookbook” featuring over 80 classic Italian recipes which he loved to serve to his wife and big family.

In an interview with Fox News in 2015, he revealed that the reason why he switched career paths was because he has a large family, and most of them loved eating his homemade food.

Even though most of his children already have families of their own, the actor said in the interview that they still maintain the tradition of having Sunday dinners at his place, where he would cook different Italian dishes.

“That’s been a ritual for me and that’s what I wanted to relay with this book that tradition is very important to me,” he said.

The reason why it was easy for him and his children to get together on weekends was because all of his eight kids live within ten miles of where he resides.

He told VC Star in a 2015 interview that he wanted to keep the tradition going until after he passes away.

“Now my kids and grandkids have got this piece of material they can refer to,” he added.

In a 2016 interview with AZCentral, he recalled some of the most memorable moments from his career, including working with his on-screen partner Annette Funicello, who passed away in 2013 at the age of 70.

The outlet asked him if the actress was as nice as everyone says, and he agreed because, based on his experience and memory, his former co-star was “nicer than anybody” he had ever worked with in the past.

Even though Funicello already passed away, he mentioned that both of their families “were very close and still are.”

The reason why they were able to maintain a close bond was because he was her first daughter’s godfather, and her husband, Jack Gilardi, was still his agent at the time. 

“It’s always been a family kind of situation, and it was just a terrible ending of a life. (Multiple sclerosis) is such a debilitating disease,” he said of Funicello’s death.

Since Avalon has been in the industry for decades now, many would assume that he would be a part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but this wasn’t the case for him.

He said in the interview that regardless of having the honor to be inducted into the Rock Hall or not, it doesn’t make any difference to him, but he questioned why some of the artists received the honor even though he didn’t know who they are or what they contributed to the industry.

Despite being already well into retirement age at the time of the interview, when asked about possibly retiring from what he was doing, he noted that he liked being active.

It appears that Avalon will not slow down anytime soon as he remains active on social media and every now and then holds live streams on Facebook where he shares recipes and does cooking demonstrations.

What do you think of Frankie Avalon at the age of 82? Would you uphold the same tradition as he does with his big family? Let us know your thoughts, and make sure to pass this on to your friends and family.