The stage musical Bye Bye Birdie was first adapted to film in 1963. The screenplay was written by Michael Stewart and Irving Brecher, with music by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. It was directed by George Sidney and starred Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson, Maureen Stapleton as Mama Mae Peterson, Janet Leigh as Rosie, Paul Lynde as Mr. MacAfee, Bobby Rydell as Hugo Peabody, and Ann-Margret as Kim MacAfee. The story was inspired by the phenomenon ...
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The stage musical Bye Bye Birdie was first adapted to film in 1963. The screenplay was written by Michael Stewart and Irving Brecher, with music by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. It was directed by George Sidney and starred Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson, Maureen Stapleton as Mama Mae Peterson, Janet Leigh as Rosie, Paul Lynde as Mr. MacAfee, Bobby Rydell as Hugo Peabody, and Ann-Margret as Kim MacAfee. The story was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his being drafted into the US Army in 1957. In the film, Jesse Pearson plays the role of teen idol Conrad Birdie, whose character name is a wordplay on another pop singer of the era, Conway Twitty. Ed Sullivan appears as himself, host of the popular, long-running CBS TV variety show. The film is credited with making Ann-Margret a superstar during the mid-1960s, leading to her appearing with the real Elvis Presley in Viva Las Vegas (1964). The film's soundtrack was released by RCA Records in 1964.
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