Bye, Bye Bobby Hello Robert Rydell Teen Screen There was no doubt about it! Teen Screen's file on Bobby Rydell had all the proof we need! At first glance, you could hardly notice it...pictures never lie...Bobby had changed. Perhaps his fans were the first to notice it. The letters of enrapture from sighing youngsters had changed to attact letter of endearment, invitations to parties -- some fans tired to hide in a bus that Bobby was using to tour cross-country. One girl locked herself in Bobby's hotel closet and Bobby's manager threatened to call the hotel detective if she didn't leave her "haven." Why all the commotion? Wasn't Bobby the same? Why the mad wild reaction rom the girls? "Bobby Rydell seems to have become the Frank Sinatra of the teen-set," said one recent newspaper article...and so the editors of Teen Screen started their own investigation and the facts were staggering! From a thin, quiet young teenager Bobby Rydell of today, there is a marked difference. He seems to be in command of the things around him -- that fun-loving manner and soft-spoken approach is still with him, but there is a suredness; an understanding that make s him put women at ease very quickly. He has always had a great sense of humor, but he has developed it where socially, he can draw the girls from all ends of the room leaving some huge hunk of a man wondering what's HE got? THAT's what we wanted to find out! Someone in the Photo Dept. at Columbia Pictures (where Bobby is currently filming BYE BYE BIRDIE) commented with a rather surprised look --"Take a look at the pictures that we just shot of Bobby with Ann-Margret." The candid shots showed Bobby and Ann laughing and chatting informally during a rehearsal of one of their scenes... "What's so unusual?" we asked... "Funny thing, Ann never lets anyone take pictures with their arms around her...take another look." Every picture shot that particular day had Bobby holding hands with Ann or his arm around her shoulders or waist. When we approached Ann, she simply laughed and said, "When you work with Bobby you just relax and enjoy being with him. He's fun to be with...You can't help liking him." Maybe it was the Copa that started the changes in him. He was only eighteen when he had to face the roughest audience in the world but the critics acclaimed him as a "powder keg of talent." Or was it in Las Vegas? One photo showed him with a wonderful tan looking very outdoorsy with at least 7 chorus girls around him...Or was it the world tour?...meeting different people?..seeing new lands...perhaps getting to appreciate America even more...Trouble is Bobby never sought out the glamour girl or the movie star -- even when he visited foreign lands he preferred dating some of his fans, or daughters of the record distributors. He has remained quiet about his private life...whom he dates...He seeks out restaurants that are quiet...he refuses to have pictures taken of mob scenes... "Do I have to show the world that girls like me? My fans get along pretty well with me...must I let the whole world know about it?" Pictures of Bobby doing television specs show him doing dance routines, playing instruments -- and telling a few jokes. "I'm an entertainer...and I've got a lot to learn and thank God the top pros in our business always have time for young people like me and give us a tip or just a friendly helping hand. I want to be around this business a long time...so I have to work hard and learn all I can. People like Red Skelton, George Burns, Danny Thomas...Maybe I'm taking this business too seriously...but I love it and I'm determined not to abuse the privileges extended me. I've been given a chance to prove I've agent. Well, having it and continuing to develop it are two different things. Each day I learn something else. Change? Of course I've changed! You can't be a vegetable and not learn anything about life...I've had to grow up...accept my responsibilities...There are times I'm so tired of working...so tired of learning...but without it, I'd be miserable..." Pictures of Bobby doing charity work... "Look, everyone in our business does charity work. Entertainers are the first to give their talents for free for a good cause. I don't like talking about what I do with my free time...every other performer does the same thing. Besides, I've gotten a lot from doing these benefits. You come to understand the people of this world; their hardships...the unhappiness of families when a child is going in their midst and science hasn't found the answer to help them. Of course you're affected!" Teen Screen got a note from a fan of yours in a little town in Pennsylvania. He said you came to their parish recently and was their altar boy at their mass. Any comment? "I'd prefer not to talk about it." We continued, "He says some of the boys in the parish were getting into a lot of trouble...and that some of the guys in the gang dug your records and the parish priest appealed to you to serve mass to show it wasn't 'sissy' to lead a good life...or something like that." "Looks like you have the whole story," said Bobby. Pictures of Bobby's clothes...the whole wardrobe has changed -- the clothes appear sharper, smarter...more mature and a little more sophisticated. "Se what happens when you change tailors?" he grinned mischievously. How do you feel when people say you're a "Young Sinatra?" "Well, if they're not members of my family, fan club or my secretary I'd run out and give him a great big kiss. That's nonsense! Every young performer holds the greatest respect and admiration for Mr. Sinatra as a performer and a gentleman. I think it's presumptuous for anyone to even mention me in the same breath as him...Probably a member of my family told you that...Have you ever met my mother?" We notice that older women seem attracted to you... "I bring out their motherly instincts," he said while giving us a big wink. "Now you're trying to make me into a big bad wolf...are you? Let's just keep it a secret -- makes me sound interesting." But there are certain qualities that haunt changed in Bobby. He still lives in South Philadelphia. He's a family boy in that he enjoys spending his free time off the road at home; he has his father as his road manager; he still loves spaghetti and meatballs the way "grandma cooks them," and he is still a "loner." "There's nothing wrong in staying home once in a while. I think some people still don't know how to enjoy themselves." Changes for the better...I don't think there is any doubt in anyone's mind...and as usual with ROBERT RYDELL, the change came naturally, and quietly...a Rydell specialty!