Background
He was born, Frank Marco Sardo, on September 16, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, into an Italian-American family. His father, Marco Sardo Senior was a bricklayer and his mother Anita (Avianca) Sardo, was a housewife.
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Frankie Sardo
Edit ProfileEducation
After high school graduation, Frankie attended Fork Union Military Academy (FUMA), in Fluvanna County, Virginia where he also acted in stage plays.
Career
By age 5, Frankie Sardo had his first musical debut on stage of the theatre of Little Italy, in the Bronx. He served in the military in of Korea. On his return to the United States, Frankie joined a comedy group, before making his first recordings as a singer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Records in 1958.
After the tour concert at Clear Lake, Iowa on February 2, 1959, Sardo traveled to the next venue by bus with Dion and the Belmonts and Holly"s backing group The Crickets, while Holly, Valens, and Richardson took a plane.
The plane crashed in the early hours of February 3, killing the three stars and pilot Roger Peterson. On September 7, 1960, Frankie Sardo appeared on American Bandstand where he performed his single "When The Bells Stop Ringing".
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Using the name Frank Avianca, he worked as a film actor and producer. His film credits included co-writing the lyrics of several songs for the 1969 movie Hell"s Angels (1969).
He produced Clay Pigeon (1971), co-produced The 14, also known as Existence (1973).
Produced and acted in The "Human" Factor (1975). And appeared in Matilda (1978). He then co-wrote and co-produced the horror film Blood Song in 1982, and also co-wrote and co-produced the feature length animated film Ferretina - The Promise.
He lived in many places including England, Canada and California.
In 2010, Frank was interviewed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame about his experiences on the 1959 tour. This will be included in the documentary Gotta Travel On: Remembering When the Music Died, to be released in 2014.
Frankie Sardo died of cancer in Somers, New York on February 26, 2014, aged 77.
Membership
He was a member of the ill-fated Winter Dance Party in 1959 after which Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and Justice of the Peace "The Big Bopper" Richardson lost their lives in a plane crash the morning after a show in Clear Lake, Iowa.
