Remembering Bobby...

Welcome to "Remembering Bobby." This page will feature remembrances from people who have met and/or worked with Bobby Darin and/or seen him in concert, seen him after a concert ... etc ... You get the idea! If YOU have a story you would like to share, a close encounter of the Darin kind ... PLEASE send your memories to us and we will post them here.

Shirley shares this:

I was a very young and naive secretary in the Sales and Promotion Department of Motown Records in Detroit before the relocation to California.  At the time, I was still star struck even though I had met most of the Motown singers/stars (except for Diana Ross and Michael Jackson) like Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wilson, Gladys Knight, The Temptations, Ashford and Simpson, etc.

I was sitting at my desk when the door opened and who should walk through the door but Berry Gordy and BOBBY DARIN.   I almost fainted.  It felt like I was having an out of body experience.  Oh my God, I was in the same room with BOBBY DARIN whom I idolized and adored as a movie actor and talented singer.  Surely, the Lord had blessed me that day!!  Now mind you, I am an African American female who was constantly in the presence of all of these great Motown singers and producers....and I was trying to remain calm and collected in the presence of the great BOBBY DARIN. 

He warmly smiled and introduced himself (like I didn't know who he was!!).  I couldn't think!!!  I could only respond with a "I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Darin" (he had no idea how pleased I was!!).  Never mind that the Big Boss Berry Gordy (whom I had never met before but was known to be very demanding) was standing there.  ALL of my focus was on BOBBY DARIN!! This young black girl from Detroit was in the presence of GREATNESS!!  They left after their meeting with my boss Al Valente.  I immediately got on the telephone and called everyone I knew and bragged about meeting BOBBY DARIN!!!  I believe I floated on a cloud for a month after.

I will always cherish this encounter and every single time I hear the song "Beyond the Sea" it tugs at my heart, pulls on my memory and a tear is shed for the greatness of what once was and will never be again.

-- With Affectionate Memories, Shirley Jackson

I am not famous or "in the business" but when I was 14 years old, I had saved my allowance for something special. And boy, did that SPECIAL thing come along ... it was in the form of the MOST TALENTED entertainer I have ever seen!!!!!!! He was playing special gig for the teenagers at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles. I believe the year was 1960. To this day I have never seen anyone like Bobby Darin!!! He did everything, and he did it PERFECTLY!!!!!!! For a 14 year old to be so impressed and in awe is something!! I still listen to him at home everyday or in my car. I sing along like I am part of his back-up group. Mr. Darin will always be in my heart as I believe he brought such joy to every life he touched!

-- A Fan, Judy

I met Bobby Darin at the Hilton Hotel in 1972. He had just finished his second show of the night and the third that I saw in a four day period. To this day it is still the best performance I have ever seen.

Besides playing at least four instruments, and being the band leader, he danced and did impressions of many of his peers. His charisma was magnanimous -- he lit up the room as he entered and his energy was unbelievable. Hard to believe he was ill and fighting the disease he would eventually succumb to. Maybe that's how he needed to fight it? The afterglow of the performance left the audience, in what I can only describe as ecstasy. I was 19 and in awe.

Anyway about 1:30 am in the Hilton coffee shop as I sat with friends (I was too young to frequent the bars), in walked Bobby D. He was alone and sat himself down across the aisle, in a nearby booth. I was too jazzed too even look at him. I had to, because he yelled in our direction and asked: "What's good?" I was eating a chocolate sundae and yelled back how good it was -- and what a great show he put on. He graciously thanked me for the compliment and ordered the identical sundae. From the reaction of the waitress, this was a common after midnight occurrence. I was too in awe to say much else, except on my way out I detoured his way. He shook my hand like he knew me and signed the paper napkin that supported his sundae. I will never sell that napkin nor forget "my first time."

Yeah, that's right it was like a sexual experience, and as the worldly teenager I thought I was, I did not appreciate that night until much later.

I did have the chance to meet Darin two more times after that. In Hollywood on the Universal studios lot. I told him this very story. He again shook my hand, acted like he knew me, and maybe then he did!! Sounds like a fairy tail, but absolutely true. I guess I have lived a "Forrest Gump" type life. I am in the entertainment business as a sound recordist and film editor and have met many of my heroes, Darin I will never forget. And I do believe it made me understand that no matter how famous or infamous someone is, people are people and because of that philosophy, I approach everyone with that in mind and never in awe of anyone! I believe if he were alive today, he'd be bigger than all of his peers and definitely an anti war activist. I was backstage at the NBC TV show when BOB DARIN taped the show Midnight special and sang "Sing A Song Of Freedom".

-- Mark

Bobby was a joy to work with - a true musician and a wonderfully nice man.
One night after my group's part of the show, I went downstairs to the dressing room to get out of my show clothes and back into my jeans ... I put a leg in the jeans and it wouldn't go through! I pulled, and tugged, and cussed a little, and then hollered a little, and finally realized that someone had crudely sewn my pant legs together ... about at the knee.
Well, I pulled the thread out, got dressed and left for the night.

The next evening, when we all got there, Bobby's dressing room door was open, and as I came by, he turned on a tape recorder . . . which played back the sounds of my pulling and tugging and cussing and hollering! He was the one who had sewn my pant legs together, and he had left a recorder running nearby in the dressing room!

I stopped by his door and listened, and when he saw me there, he started laughing ... a big, loud, belly laugh ... and I knew I had been HAD by Bobby Darin! One of my favorite show-biz memories!

I also remember that he told my wife and me to stop by a certain little coffee shop along the way back to Los Angeles - we did, and the people there knew Bobby and thanked us for stopping by, on his recommendation.

Grace and Peace,

-- Ralph

My wife Charlene & I spent a week with Bobby in the late 50’s working with him on the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. He was a joy to be with & a fine young man.

What a great week it was. The year was either 1958 or 1959. Bobby did 4 shows a day & if it rained we cut the feature film & Bobby did 6 shows. He appeared in the Music Hall Theater. We had a feature film & then the guest star of the week. The lineup would include a juggler, dancers or an animal act & a comedian. I remember the comedian of the week with Bobby was a fellow by the name of Gary Morton. He would later marry Lucille Ball. Yes, the one & only I Love Lucy. My girlfriend at the time even sat for Bobbie’s nephew. I married that girlfriend & we just celebrated our 45th Anniversary.

-- Alan "Woody" Woodin

It was in 1971, I think, while working as a production assistant (you know, a go for) with The Mike Douglas Show where I had the absolute pleasure and honor to meet and have conversations with Mr. Darin. He treated me with respect, asked about my life plans and gave me advice that a father would do for his son.

He was what he wanted in his life, to be the best entertainer and the best human being. He passed away much too soon. The world and the entertainment industry would be in much better shape if he had survived. He would have been only 70 years old and giving "The Stones" a run for their money.

My father loved him, bought all of his albums, and the very first record I bought with my own money was a 45, "Mack the Knife." I was 9 years old.
He personally autographed the label.

Needless to say, my belated sympathies to his son for the recent loss of his mother. Mr. Darin was one of a kind the world will never produce again.
May God bless him and keep him.

-- James

I met Bobby in 1958 at a radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts. He had just released "Splish Splash" and was booked to play at "White City Amusement Park", which most rock stars would do, in those days. I had seen him on a Dick Clark show, and I was impressed with him and his music.

I was a kid in high school, but I managed to get into the studios of WORC, an all request station, in spite of their policy of "No visitors". I spent several years their, mostly on Saturdays, helping the DJ's and learning the business. In those days I bought the entire top 40 every week. Bobby came into the studio and was told that their were no visitors, and he began to turn around and leave.... I called to him, "Bobby, Don't Go"....I told the DJ that this was the new guy I was telling you guys about, he has a great song called "Splish Splash"... a song I made them play, of course. Bobby and I hit it off like brothers, he the older, of course. I wrote to him several times, and then we kind of lost contact with each other... I still have at least one of the letters. He knew that he was going to die young, and I believe that he was quite shocked that he lived as long as he did.

I owe him for getting a kid of rock interested in the standards, and Pop music. I'm sure that I would never have been interested if not for his music. Bobby has a certain "mystique" for those who never really knew him. Other DJ's that I have spoken too were never impressed with him. Many times I had to show them all that he accomplished in his short life. He did all right for a brash young kid from The Bronx. After watching specials and programs about him, I managed to convert many of his critics to fans.

Bobby had many unique careers in one..........musician, writer, rock singer, pop singer, actor, folk singer, country singer, etc. Anyone who opens himself to see the complete picture has to agree that he deserves any award any can bestow on him.

-- Richard

Steve Ihnet and I, Forrest Draper, played cops in this "Murder in the First" episode of Bob Hopes Chrysler Theatre at Universal. Steve and I shot for three days and ended up with about 20 seconds near the end of the show in the police station grilling Brad.

The first day on the set the scene was set in Brad's apartment, where Steve and I made our way up the stairs to Brad's apartment. With guns drawn Steve knocked and Brad opened the door. I think you viewers will find it interesting that Sid Pollack reshot this scene 28 times before he got the shot he wanted. It was a critical scene as Brad stopped stuttering at the moment he was told he was under arrest.

 I was on the lot as usual with my manager, and we ran into Sid Pollack, director,  who was not even known at the time. Bill asked Sid if he was doing any thing and he told us he was shooting this show. Any parts open? Need another cop besides Steve. That's how I got the part. As I was from Hartford, Conn., and this took place in Conn. near Yale U, it kind of flipped me out.

I worked with Bobby before in the Catskills and this time at Salisbury Beach Frolics in Salisbury, Mass around the late fifties as a comic I was with by the name of Jerry White, who owned The Bowery, second largest club on the beach. Bobby was a great talent that should have lived much longer. At that time, he was separated from Sandra and was kind of hurting. We talked about it a lot the week he was there. Years later, Boom. We did the show.

-- Forrest

I was the bandleader for a show group called "The Celebration" in 1970 when they appeared with Bobby at the old Landmark Hotel in Las Vegas.  It was two weeks I will never forget.

Bobby opened his own show, which most headliners didn't do.  He came out in a tux with the full band behind him, and did a somewhat "glitzy" set of hits. 

Then The Celebration came out and we did our 20 minutes.  After that Bobby came back out in a denim suit carrying his guitar, and sat on a stool and did a "gentle" set, which concluded with "If I Were a Carpenter" and "Simple Song of Freedom."  It was fantastic.

Bobby Darin was a class act.  A great musician, a great singer (who would certainly have taken over for Frank Sinatra, if he had lived long enough) and a very very nice man. 

-- With Kindest Personal Regards, Ralph

I'm a television news anchor now, but back in the mid sixties, I was a DJ and I had an "in" with a Syracuse supper club owner at the Three Rivers Inn, the only "Las Vegas" style supper club with a T-shaped stage in upstate New York.  It had a very professional orchestra and that's why big stars like Bobby Darin liked to play there.

I had a reputation for interviewing famous stars. But this was to be a special night. I went to see Bobby's show. From the "no-intro" opening, where the house lights went out and all you could see was the silhouette of the orchestra and the form of a young man entering snapping his fingers to Mack The Knife...to his rousing big-band rendition of "Talk To The Animals"...I was hooked. 

Anyway, when the show ended, the owner took me up to Bobby's dressing room and to my surprise (Because Bobby had a reputation for being "quick" with people)...I found him to be a genuinely nice man. He put some coffee on for me and we spent an hour or so talking into the tape recorder.

He was now separated (Possibly divorced, I don't remember) from Sandra Dee.  I remember him saying that his heart was bad and the only thing he was living for now was his son.

I also remember the night we saw the show was the same night Dr. Martin Luther King was shot, because we got the news on the car radio afterward on the way back.  I often thought, in retrospect, what Bobby's thoughts were when he heard the news. I know he recorded a famous version of "Has anybody seen my old friend John".

This interview and meeting this giant of show business was and is one of the lasting memories of my career.

-- Bill Worden

My father's name is Arlin Ullrich. He doesn't remember the details too well due to the amount of time that's passed since he toured with Bobby. But what he does remember is he was given the opportunity to tour with him by these 2 bookers (agents). They called my dad and asked if his band wanted to tour with Bobby. My father's response of course was "Duh is the Pope Catholic?" My father says that he toured for only 13 days (1959) but what an experience it was. He told me the first time he was on stage with Bobby that he had more adrenalin in his bloodstream then he ever had before. And then to have Bobby introduce him onstage, wow, what a thrill!

My father tells me that they only played about 5 clubs in California i.e.: San Francisco, etc. There is a funny story that I learned of. One night at a post concert party my dad was hanging out with what he tells me was a beautiful woman. Well, along comes Bobby and he is introduced to the woman by my father. Well, as the night progresses Bobby is working his charm to have the woman for himself, which at that time was making my dad angry but he now looks back and laughs at it.

I recently bought my dad "Beyond the Sea" with Kevin Spacey. I knew my dad would enjoy it and I also knew that he would be a very good judge of Spacey's performance due to the fact that he performed side by side with Bobby. Well, as you'd guess he loved it. He was very impressed with Spacey's performance. As we all are, I'm sure.

God bless and my family will never forget Bobby.

-- Jeff Ullrich

Back in the late-60's and early-70's I was a lead-guitar player for several "biggest names in showbiz" folks. One of them was Bobbie Gentry.

When we were in Las Vegas at the Landmark Hotel in 1971 or 72, we were talking with the stage-manager who had been around for years, and who had worked with Bobby Darin at one point over at one of the other hotels.

He told us a WONDERFUL story about Bobby that I've never seen printed anywhere. It seems that Bobby was REALLY into wearing denim all the time at that point, and the hotel, (and the entertainment manager), had a rule then that ALL male headliners had to wear tuxedos. Needless to say, Bobby told him what he could do about his "rule". They locked horns, and the upshot of it was: "No tuxedo--no appearance."

According to the story, Bobby got on a plane, flew to a tailor that he knew in the Bahamas and overnight had a tuxedo made out of blue denim!! He returned, and much to the chagrin of the Entertainment Director, he went on the next night...wearing the "required tuxedo"--in blue denim!

If that's a true story--and I hope it is--it was very much in character for the man that I'd heard about.

I never got to work with Mister Darin, and it would have been an honor to do so. But I still listen to his music and loved his style.

It's wonderful that his memory is being kept alive, and I'm so glad Kevin Spacey finished his project...(I just saw it this evening!)

-- Brandy Herbert (Check out her website)

I'm a 57 year young radio and mobile disc jockey from Flint Michigan, and a Bobby Darrin fan since age 15. I always play Bobby's music in radio or in my live private party shows. I own most of his 486 recordings and put what I feel is the best from each lp on 20 separate CD's of 20 songs each.

One of my biggest kicks was in the spring of '73 seeing Bobby at one of his last shows at the Las Vegas Hilton. He told the story of turning down 3 of songwriter Tim Harden's songs that were pitched to him that became hits for other artists, and brought a big laugh to everyone when he said "fourth time he opened the door I said..."whatever it is, I'll sing it, I'll do, don't give it to anyone else, I don't care what it is I'll record it".

When they brought the pin spot light slowly narrorwer into his eyes during the last 30 seconds of If I Were a Carpenter, the hair on my arms stood straight up and the entire Hilton showroom was absolutely electrified. We will not see his like again. There were things I liked and didn't like about the Kevin Spacy movie but overall it was great.

I miss Bobby very much. "Nobody is really gone as long as someone remembers".

-- Dan McPhail, Radio Air Personality since 1967 and owner, the Smilin' Scotsman Party DJ Emcee Service, Flint Michigan

I am just writing this short note to thank you for the praises this website gives to Bobby. One of my best friends, for many decades, has been Larry Devers who was Bobby's drummer in the Vegas, Copa, etc. years.

He loved Bobby very much and said to me yesterday on the phone, "Steve, if Bobby knew that his song, "Beyond the Sea," was being used for a cruise line commercial, he would be tickled pink!"

I only met Bobby, great guy that he was, one time out here in Los Angeles. Bobby treated the band just like family up until the last gig in Mexico City when he had to cancel the remaining dates due to illness and take a private jet home. The band was also told to just get on a flight and come back to Los Angeles where everything would be explained to them there. When they arrived in L.A and exited the plane, all the band members were given an envelope. There was a letter stating that Bobby would not be able to complete the engagements they were contracted for and each member was given 3 months pay. At that time, Larry was making close to a grand a week backing Bobby.

That was the last Larry every played in Bobby's band, and I believe the last time he performed in public.

Take care and just know that Bobby is looking down at the way the world remembers him and just smiling big time.

-- Steve Fischler

My mother who was a cabaret singer in New York back in the fifties and sixties had taken me on my 13th birthday to see Bobby at the Copa. He was bigger than life - I can hear the announcer now: Ladies & Gentlemen, Mr. Entertainer himself, Mr. Bobby Darin! Wow! I was at the front table and couldn't sit still. Bobby had me on his knee and I was in heaven with all the attention.

That night I met Eddie Fisher, Dick Clark and Andy Williams in the audience.

It affected me greatly as I ended up as an entertainer and worked from Vegas to Cruise ships. Thank you Bobby for all your talent -

-- Michael ("Mike Rosa") Wolf

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