Chasing stars, Part III

Interviewing pop star Bobby Rydell (left) after a show at the Spangdahlem NCO Club in 1969 was a tough slog. (Photo by Chuck Minx)

Six years earlier, he'd been at the top of the charts. In 1969, not so much. Bobby Rydell was on a USO tour, and one of his stops was Spangdahlem's NCO Club. Chuck Minx and I didn't have to lug the Auricon sound camera far to snag an interview for "Catch 22."

Rydell hit the high notes of his short career in the show that night. His discography included "Wild One" and "Volare" in 1960, "The Cha-Cha-Cha" in 1962, "Forget Him" in 1964 and a scattering of others that made the Top 100. But now he was a Philadelphia kid from the "American Bandstand" days trying to make a living in the face of the radical changes wrought by the British Invasion.

Rydell was one of the few entertainers I interviewed for "Catch 22" who were approximately the same age as the majority of their AFTV-22 audience. That meant he was young, and off-stage he lacked the ease and grace that were the hallmark of older performers. As we set up the camera and lights in a far corner of the NCO Club, he kept to himself, refusing to make small talk.

The interview did not go well. Rather than being enthusiastic, Rydell was cruising on autopilot and husbanding his words as though they were rationed. I think we wound up using a 45-second sound bite on the air -- out of a 15-minute filmed interview.

Rydell was an exception. All of the other entertainers we interviewed for "Catch 22" were delighted to show their support for the troops. They were playful and spirited. They seemed to get a kick out of being interviewed for this primitive little AFTV-22 outfit.

Perhaps Rydell was just having a bad night. Or maybe he was bored.