Robert Marcucci, teen-idol impresario

Robert P. Marcucci, 81, the music mogul who discovered and managed South Philadelphia teen idols Fabian and Frankie Avalon, died of esophageal problems and diabetes Wednesday, March 9, in a suburban Los Angeles hospital.

The 1980 movie The Idolmaker, in which Ray Sharkey played a wheeler-dealer named Vincent "Vinnie" Vacarri, was based on Mr. Marcucci's life. Fabian sued producers over his depiction, but Mr. Marcucci later told interviewer Gary James: "Some of it was accurate, and some of it was movie. They caught the drift of who I was and what I did during that period, and that's about it. But with a movie, if you keep it true to fact all the time, it can be very boring, because what we think is exciting is boring visually. But a lot of it was very good."

Mr. Marcucci's Chancellor Records, which he founded in 1957 with a $10,000 loan from his father and named after the Philadelphia street, was initially run out of the back room of a restaurant where he waited tables.

The label grossed $2 million in 1960, he told an interviewer in 1961.

Mr. Marcucci, who was from 10th and Porter Streets, and partner Peter DeAngelis found their first star at a teen club they founded in South Philadelphia. They persuaded Francis Thomas Avallone to sing, over his protests that he was a trumpet player. The kid became famous in 1958 as Frankie Avalon with a song called "De De Dinah," which peaked at No. 7 on the charts.

"He was my mentor, he was my creator, and he really put all of his time and efforts into creating a star," Avalon told the Los Angeles Times this week. "He had so much zest for life. And with his enthusiasm for show business and the people that he believed in, he just wouldn't stop."

Mr. Marcucci's next discovery was Fabiano Forte, a classmate of Avalon's sister's. Mr. Marcucci told interviewers that he had seen the lad on a doorstep, moping because his father had just had a heart attack.

Though Mr. Marcucci believed that the boy had the right look, the producer said, he didn't approach him until his father recovered.

Fabian became a star at 15, but the relationship cooled. Fabian bought out his contract two years later.

DeAngelis died in 1982.

Screenwriter Edward di Lorenzo took Mr. Marcucci as the inspiration for Vacarri, the high-voltage record man in The Idolmaker. Mr. Marcucci served as technical adviser and had a bit role as a nightclub heckler in the film. Fabian sued Mr. Marcucci and producers of the film, taking offense at the talentless character Caesare, who Fabian claimed was based on his life. The suit was settled out of court. Through his spokesman, Fabian declined to comment Thursday on Mr. Marcucci's death.

Dick Clark, whose American Bandstand was based in Philadelphia during the singers' heyday, called Mr. Marcucci "one of the most imaginative talent managers I ever met," according to a statement released by his publicist. "He had tremendous creativity. These qualities and his never-ending enthusiasm made him truly unique."

Mr. Marcucci later managed actress Ami Dolenz and gossip columnist Rona Barrett. He was a producer of the 1984 film The Razor's Edge, starring Bill Murray.

According to Mr. Marcucci's longtime friend Marco Rufo, he is survived by his son Marc and two grandchildren. Another son, Robert A. Marcucci, an actor, died in 2003.

A funeral service will be held Saturday, March 19, in Culver City, Calif.