Robert Phillip Marcucci (February 28, 1930 – March 9, 2011) was an American lyricist,

talent manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of Entertainer, artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to ove ...

, film producer, and the owner of

Chancellor Records Chancellor Records was an indie record label based in Philadelphia. It was distributed as an imprint of ABC-Paramount Records, and was an integral part of the teen idol and rock and roll craze of the 1950s and 1960s. Its first hit was "With All ...

and Robert P. Marcucci Productions. He discovered and managed the careers of Fabian and

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including Record ...

, among others. The 1980 movie, '' The Idolmaker'', is loosely based on his life in the

record industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent a ...

Early life and career

Born and raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Bob Marcucci started in the music industry at age 25, as a songwriter, and subsequently borrowed $10,000 from his father to launch Chancellor Records. He signed Frankie Avalon as one of his first acts, but by the time Frankie had reached the age of 19, his appeal as a recording artist had begun to wane and Marcucci was in need of a new star. His next act was his neighbor's 14-year-old son. Marcucci's neighbor had suffered a heart attack, after which Marcucci went to help the family. He spotted the neighbor's young son and after the father had recovered, inquired as to whether the youngster would be interested in a career in music. Fabian initially declined but, because his family needed the money, eventually signed on as Marcucci's next act. After two years Fabian bought out his contract. Marcucci was the long-time manager of Hollywood gossip columnist

Rona Barrett Rona Barrett (born Rona Burstein, October 8, 1936) is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizen ...

. He was co-producer of the 1984 version of ''

The Razor's Edge ''The Razor's Edge'' is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. Maugham is th ...

'', starring

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

in a rare dramatic role. The following year, he produced ''A Letter to Three Wives'' for television.

Later years

In his later years, Marcucci continued to manage artists such as

Danielle Brisebois Danielle Brisebois (born June 28, 1969) is an American producer, singer, songwriter and former child actress. She is best known for her role as Stephanie Mills on the Norman Lear-produced sitcoms ''All in the Family'' and its spin-off '' Arch ...

, Ami Dolenz, Michael T. Weiss, Ron Moss and Cheryl Powers through his production companies. Marcucci died on March 9, 2011, at a hospital in

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

, of respiratory complications and severe infections.

References

External links

*
Interview at LukeFord.Net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcucci, Bob 1930 births 2011 deaths American talent agents American people of Italian descent Film producers from Pennsylvania Songwriters from Pennsylvania Musicians from Philadelphia Deaths from respiratory failure