- Eddie Fontaine
Eddie Fontaine (aka Eddie Reardon) (
March 6 ,1927 —April 13 ,1992 ) was an Americanactor andsinger , best known fortelevision roles in the 1960s and 1970s. Born Edward Reardon inSpringfield, MA Fontaine signed as a vocalist withRCA in 1954 after serving in theU.S. Navy . In 1955 he appeared at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in disc jockey Alan Freed's firstrock and roll show. He also sang in theJayne Mansfield movie "The Girl Can't Help It " (1956).Fontaine moved to
Van Nuys, California in the 1960s after singing in night clubs in pre-CastroCuba . He landed a role in theWorld War II series "The Gallant Men ", where he played ladies' man PFC Pete D'Angelo and occasionally sang. Although he never won another regular role in a television series Fontaine made many guest appearances on shows such as "77 Sunset Strip ", "Baretta ", "The Rockford Files " and "Quincy". He also toured as arockabilly singer, and is in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.In 1984, Eddie Fontaine was tried and convicted in a murder-for-hire case. According to police documents, in 1983, Fontaine approached a country singer with the promise of a recording contract with RCA, along with a large sum of money, if the man were to kill his estranged wife, which whom he was having a custody battle with at the time. Fontaine served four years in a California prison.
He made his last TV appearance in the series "Sisters" in 1991 and died of
cancer the following year at age 65.His son
Brian Reardon is a noted session guitarist in Los Angeles.External links
* [http://www.tv.com/eddie-fontaine/person/14281/biography.html TV.com page on Eddie Fontaine]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0284798/ IMDb page on Eddie Fontaine]
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/674/000070464/ NNDB page on Eddie Fontaine (with photo)]
* [http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/r/rear5000.htm Discography for Eddie Fontaine (under original name of Eddie Reardon)]
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