Bob Marcucci, 'Idolmaker' from Philly

BOB MARCUCCI went to California and became a big movie producer, manager of stars, the hero of a popular movie about his life, and other accomplishments in the entertainment field, but he never forgot his roots in Philadelphia.

"Being from South Philly, being raised in that environment, is a lot of the reason why I'm successful," he once told an interviewer.

"I'm street-tough, you know what I mean?"

Everyone in Philly knows what he meant. His own childhood memories included going to late-night dance parties and having breakfast at dawn at the Melrose Diner.

Robert T. Marcucci, who is probably best known locally for discovering Fabian and Frankie Avalon and turning them into international stars, died March 9 of respiratory complications in Ontario, Calif. He was 81.

His career inspired the 1980 film, "The Idolmaker."

Even at the height of his movie-producing career, Bob spoke wistfully of his hometown.

"When the hometown loves you," he said, "it's like your family being proud of you. Money is important, but there are some things that money cannot buy."

Bob began his career in entertainment in the late 1950s, using a $10,000 loan from his father to establish Chancellor Records, taking the name from Philly's Chancellor Street where the office was situated.

He and his former partner, the late Peter DeAngelis, another South Philly kid, wrote songs, Bob penning the lyrics and DeAngelis writing the music.

Their first hit was "With All My Heart," which they wrote and which became a hit for Jodi Sands.

Bob then went looking for new talent and discovered Avalon, who was a 16-year-old trumpet player and singer in a local group called Rocco and the Saints.

Bob wanted him to concentrate on his singing.

"Bob was the one who really got me into the singing career," Frankie told the Los Angeles Times. "He said to me, 'Kid, you got it, and I think you can become a star.' "

Bob often told of finding Fabian, whose real name was Fabiano Forte, sitting on a doorstep in a Philly rowhouse neighborhood.

Fabian and Marcucci later had a falling-out. The singer sued him and others for the way he thought he was portrayed in "The Idolmaker."

Dick Clark called Bob a "promoter, manager and dreamer."

Local entertainer Jerry Blavat said Bob was "looking for teen idols" when he discovered Fabian and Frankie Avalon.

"Bob was very creative," Blavat said. "He was a marketing genius. He was able to get the boys on 'American Bandstand,' which was a national show, and start their careers. He was a creative genius."

Bob ended his association with Fabian and Avalon in the mid-1960s, moved to California and got into the production of movies and television shows and managing the careers of a variety of actors and entertainers.

A chance meeting in 1978 with producer Gene Kirkwood led to the making of "The Idolmaker," on which Bob served as technical adviser. It was a rough approximation of his career.

Bob went on to produce other films, including a remake of "The Razor's Edge," with a serious role for comedian Bill Murray, and "Stitches," a comedy about medical schools. Neither film did much at the box office.

He also produced "A Letter to Three Wives," which was shown on NBC's Movies of the Week series.

In 1995, Bob and DeAngelis were inducted into Philadelphia's Walk of Fame.

Bob is survived by a son, Marc, and two grandchildren. He was predeceased by another son, Robert Marcucci, an actor who died in 2003.

Services: 11:30 a.m. tomorrow at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, Calif.