The Idolmaker

In the history of the Philadelphia pop music scene, the name Bob Marcucci is legendary. Talent manager, songwriter, promoter, Marcucci was most famous for being a starmaker, who in the 1950s discovered two Philly teenagers he believed he could mold into rock and roll teen idols. Their names were Frankie Avalon and Fabian, and Marcucci plucked them from obscurity and began to relentlessly create and control everything about their singing careers—from the songs they sang to the clothes they wore to learning how to move on stage. Before long, Avalon and Fabian were fast-rising stars. Their shows were packed with teeny boppers screaming their heads off as their idols sang best-selling hits like “Venus” and “Turn Me Loose.”

In 1980, director Taylor Hackford made a terrific version of Marcucci’s story in the film The Idolmaker. While the names are different and the story is somewhat fictionalized, the drama of Marcucci’s quest to duplicate the success of heartthrob stars like Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson is all here.

You lose yourself in Sharkey’s magnetic performance

In the film, Marcucci is named Vincent Vacarri and is played with intense charisma by the great actor Ray Sharkey. What a shame that Sharkey passed away at just 40 years of age. In The Idolmaker, he plays the role of teen idol puppet master with such verve that the somewhat predictable turns of the plot don’t matter. You lose yourself in Sharkey’s magnetic performance as he lurks in the shadows of the backstage and compulsively, obsessively hungers for and grooms the success of his teen sensations.

Actor Paul Land portrays the version of Frankie Avalon that we see here. And the Fabian role is played by Peter Gallagher. Both are believable and appealing as they bend over backwards to follow Sharkey’s rules for achieving stardom. Eventually they begin to rebel against the tight harness that Sharkey keeps on them, and they break away to pursue their careers without him. In leaving, they take Sharkey’s dream with them, and he is left with no talent to manage, no one left to sing his songs. Broken and isolated, he turns to the only person left who might help save him—himself. The end of the film may drip with forced sentiment, but it works.

While the producers of The Idolmaker marketed the film as a fictitious treatment of Marcucci’s life, the real-life Fabian sued them for portraying him as talentless and egotistical, and he collected a hefty out-of-court settlement. Frankie Avalon, on the other hand, had nothing but good things to say about the role that Marcucci played in his career.

I give The Idolmaker a glowing three-and-a-half out of four stars. Ray Sharkey’s heartfelt performance alone makes it a must-watch.