Eddie Fontaine (March 6, 1927 – April 13, 1992) was an American actor and singer, best known for television roles in the 1960s and 1970s.

Biography

Born Edward Reardon in Springfield,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, Fontaine signed as a vocalist with

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

in 1954 after serving in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. In 1955, he appeared at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in disc jockey Alan Freed's first

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

show. He also sang in the

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

movie '' The Girl Can't Help It'' (1956). Musically, he is best remembered for his 1958 single " Nothin' Shakin' (But the Leaves on the Trees)", which was later covered by English rock band,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. He is listed as a "legend" but not an inductee at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame site. Fontaine moved to

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

, in the 1960s after singing in night clubs in pre- Castro

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

. He landed a role in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

series '' The Gallant Men'', in which 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 ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

'', '' Baretta'', ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'', ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

'' (as a different character in four episodes) and '' Quincy''. In 1984, Fontaine was 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 A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with RCA and a large sum of money if the man were to kill his estranged wife, with whom he was engaged in a custody battle. Fontaine was sentenced to four years in a California prison. He had previously been convicted of child molestation and grand larceny. Fontaine successfully appealed his murder-for-hire conviction based on the trial judge's rulings concerning these earlier offenses. He made his last TV appearance in the series ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

'' in 1991, and died of throat cancer the following year at age 65 in

Roselle, New Jersey Roselle (, ) is a borough located in Union County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 21,085,Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

References

External links

TV.com page on Eddie Fontaine
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontaine, Eddie 1927 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers Actors from Springfield, Massachusetts Apex Records artists American male guitarists American male television actors American people convicted of child sexual abuse American rock guitarists American rockabilly guitarists American rockabilly musicians Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Deaths from esophageal cancer Decca Records artists Guitarists from Massachusetts Liberty Records artists Musicians from Springfield, Massachusetts Prisoners and detainees of California Singers from Massachusetts United States Navy sailors X Records artists