Edd Byrnes, who played TV dance show host Vic Fontaine in "Grease," was known for more than his flirty prom scene in the hit film.
While his character in "Grease" had eyes for Dinah Manoff's Marty Maraschino, two decades earlier, young fans had their eyes on him. The actor first shot to fame in the 1950s detective series "77 Sunset Strip," where he played the comb-obsessed nightclub valet, Kookie, decades before Fonzie of "Happy Days" incessantly combed his own signature ducktail. At one point, Byrnes was such a heartthrob that he was receiving upwards of 15,000 fan letters per week, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Sadly, like so many stars, Byrnes struggled with addictive tendencies. Drugs and alcohol were his vices, and in 1988, Byrne publicly spoke about both his own addiction and his father's death from cirrhosis of the liver (according to The Washington Post). The younger Byrnes, thankfully, became sober before hitting age 50 and would go on to live for decades after finding sobriety.
Byrnes died on January 8, 2020 at his home in Santa Monica, California, with his family reporting it was natural causes (via ABC). He was 87 years old.
