A Sunday Dose of Darin - More

“Do you realize you’re alone in your generation? Sammy, Dean and I are all ten years ahead of you. Unless you destroy yourself, no one else can touch you… you have the talent, kid. You’re alone.” - Jerry Lewis

I fear that, perturbed by this blogs' recent, light-hearted but exceedingly respectful profile of her very admirable career - candidate for Senate and witchy Wiccan wonder, Christine O’Donnell may have been responsible for the technical difficulties that prevented me from sharing, “A Sunday Dose of Darin,” on its proper day. But, spell now lifted, please enjoy another great Bobby Darin performance and an interesting, rarely seen photo.

If when you think of Staten Island you think of gravity-defying hair, the world’s largest landfill and the daily harassment of Mexican immigrants, then you would no doubt be surprised to find out that at one time the self-proclaimed forgotten borough was a thriving resort area. And for Walden Robert Cassotto and the rest of the Cassotto clan of the Bronx, New York - South Beach, Staten Island was a frequent summer vacation destination. Yes, for those of you who would like to boast of a glamorous jaunt to South Beach but don’t have the scratch for a pillow-less plane ride to Florida, just pull together two-bits, hop on the S.S. Andrew Barberi and should the ferry successfully arrive without crashing into the dock, as is sometimes its want, you’ll soon be headed for surf, sand and, if very unlucky, the Situation. But who is Walden Robert Cassotto? He was a very ambitious and very talented young man struggling to make a name for himself in the entertainment field but, unfortunately, that name neither tripped easily off the tongue, nor seemed quite dynamic enough to light up a Hollywood marquee. So, as the story goes, one day Walden was passing a Mandarin Chinese restaurant with a faulty neon sign out front in which the “M-A-N” letters in Mandarin were burned out. From that day forward Walden Robert Cassotto would be forever known as Bobby Darin.

(Almost) This Day in Darin History - On September 25, 1959, Bobby Darin appeared as a guest star on a Jimmy Durante television special. He performed his current hit, Mack the Knife, and sang two duets with Durante.


From the album, “From Hello Dolly to Goodbye Charlie,” released in 1964 - “More.”