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Bobby Darin ( May 14 , 1936 – December 20 , 1973 ) was born '''Walden Robert Cassotto''' and was one of the most popular Rock And Roll American Teen Idol s of the late 1950s. However, he is widely respected for being a multi-talented, versatile performer. As Long as I'm Singin (1936–1956): Early Years Darin was born to a poor, Italian-American working-class family in The Bronx, New York . His father disappeared a few months before he was born at the height of the Great Depression . As a result, his mother had to accept social assistance to take care of her infant son. It was not until he was an adult that he learned that the woman he thought to be his sister Nina, 19 years his senior, was in fact his mother. The identity of his true father was never publicly disclosed. Frail as an infant, perhaps from the Poverty that resulted in a lack of proper Diet and medical attention, at the age of 8 he was stricken with Rheumatic Fever . The illness left him with a seriously diseased heart, and he would live with the constant knowledge that his life might end at any moment. Driven by his poverty and illness, and with an innate talent for Music , by the time he was a teenager he could play several musical instruments. An outstanding student, after graduating from the Bronx High School Of Science , Darin attended college on a scholarship. Wanting a career in the New York theater, he left college to play small nightclubs around the city with a musical combo. He chose the name "Bobby Darin" because he had generally been called Bobby as a child (some called him "Waldo", a version of his first name) and because he had seen a malfunctioning sign at a Chinese restaurant reading "DARIN DUCK" rather than the intended "MANDARIN DUCK" and thought the "darin" looked good. A time of 'Change' before 'The Curtain Falls' (1965–1973): Later Years In the mid-1960s, Darin headlined at the major casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada . He and Sandra Dee were divorced in 1967, and Darin became politically active, working on the 1968 Presidential election campaign of Robert Kennedy . Profoundly affected by Kennedy's assassination, he made two protest albums of folk music. " album (compilation released in 2004).]] At the beginning of the 1970s he continued to act and to record, including at Motown Records . In January 1971, he underwent his first heart surgery in an attempt to correct some of the heart damage he had lived with since childhood. In 1972, he was well enough to star in his own television variety show, on NBC , which ran for two years, until his health problems finally overcame him and he died on December 20 1973 . Darin also started Wayne Newton 's career. A goodwill Ambassador for the American Heart Association , on December 20 , 1973 , Darin died during surgery to repair a faulty heart valve. In accordance with his wishes, his body was donated to the UCLA Medical Center for research purposes. In 1990, fellow 1950s rock and roll pioneer, Paul Anka , made the speech for Darin's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame . In 1999 he was voted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame . He has a Star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 1735 Vine Street. In 2000, actor Kevin Spacey , a lifelong fan of Darin, acquired the film rights to his story. Spacey directed and produced the film, and played Bobby Darin — as well as co-writing the script. The film is titled after one of Darin's top hits, ''Beyond The Sea'' , and was released at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival . In spite of its high production values and strong studio promotion, the movie's box office results were disappointing. Discography
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