One of the best-selling vocalists in popular music history, Connie Francis died aged 87 on July 16, 2025.
She was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in 1937 to an Italian-Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey. Her father encouraged her to perform from an early age, singing and playing the accordion. Arthur Godfrey, host of the CBS show, Talent Scouts, advised her to drop the instrument and change her name.
As a teenager, Connie sang on demonstration records to help unknown composers promote their songs, and she appeared regularly on NBC’s Star Kids. She was signed to MGM Records, but her early singles flopped, and she worked as a ‘ghost singer’ for movies, dubbing Jayne Mansfield’s musical sequences in The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958.)
Connie’s romance with singer Bobby Darin began in 1956, but her parents didn’t approve and when her father learned of their plans to elope, he threatened Darin at gunpoint. She later said that not marrying him was the biggest mistake of her life.
After being dropped by MGM, Connie considered leaving the music business to study medicine. Her father urged her to record a 1923 song, ‘Who’s Sorry Now?’ Although she disliked it, her cover was played on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in January 1958, and within six months, it had sold a million copies.
She was working with songwriter Neil Sedaka, and had rejected the ballads he had in mind when he reluctantly offered her something more upbeat. Connie loved it, and her judgement was correct as ‘Stupid Cupid’ became a global hit.
In 1959, she attained two gold records for her double-sided release, ‘Lipstick On Your Collar’ and ‘Frankie.’ She travelled to London that summer to record Connie Francis Sings Italian Favourites. It was her most successful album to date, and she went on to record albums of Jewish, German and Irish standards.
Connie made her acting debut in Where the Boys Are (1960), a campus co-ed tale set in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which introduced the concept of ‘spring break.’ Other films followed: Follow the Boys (1963), Looking for Love (1964), and When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965.)
After Marilyn Monroe was found dead in 1962, Connie was one of many celebrities to express their condolences. “She was one of my best friends, and though I have been expecting her to do something like this for some time, I still can’t believe it,” she told reporters. “Since Marilyn left Arthur Miller she had never been the same. She became very unhappy.”
One of Monroe’s first biographers, Fred Lawrence Guiles, noted that the pair were friendly. She was said to have liked ‘Where the Boys Are,’ as well as another hit from 1960, ‘Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool.’
Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Connie released one of the first charity singles, ‘In the Summer of His Years,’ and appeared at a campaign rally for his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. She would later record a campaign song for Richard Nixon, but described herself as a ‘die-hard liberal.’
By 1964, newer sounds were bringing Connie’s teen idol reign to an end, but she remained popular with adult listeners and was a huge concert draw, performing for Queen Elizabeth II, and US troops in Vietnam. Privately, her life was turbulent and her first two marriages ended within months. In 1973, she married restaurateur Joseph Garzilli, and they adopted a son.
However, Connie’s world was turned upside down in 1974, when she was brutally raped and left for dead at a Howard Johnson’s lodge in New York State. Her attacker was never found, and she later sued the motel chain for a reputed $2.5 million (equivalent to over $14 million today), which led to a reform in hotel security.
Connie went into seclusion, developing a severe addiction to prescription drugs. She divorced for a third time in 1977, and later underwent nasal surgery which caused her to lose her voice for three years.
Another horrific trauma forced Connie to rebuild her life, when in 1981, her brother George Franconero Jr. was shot dead outside his New Jersey home by Mafia hitmen. He was an attorney who had testified against mob activity, refusing witness protection.
‘Anger is often a good catalyst,’ Connie said. But after a brief comeback, her emotional problems worsened and, in 1984, a suicide attempt left her comatose for several days. She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
After another short-lived marriage, she released a new album, Where the Hits Are, in 1989, featuring re-recordings and covers. A live album and a tribute to the music of Buddy Holly followed in 1996. She returned to headline Las Vegas in 2004, and shared a showcase with Dionne Warwick in 2010. In the same year, she fronted Mental Health America’s trauma campaign.
After the publication of her third autobiography, Among My Souvenirs, Connie retired to Florida in 2018. Her companion of twenty years, singer Tony Ferretti, passed away in 2022.
In early 2025, Connie suffered a hip injury and was confined to a wheelchair. She was undergoing stem cell therapy and hoped for a recovery. In May her 1962 album track, ‘Pretty Little Baby,’ became a surprise hit after going viral on videos shared via social media. She had forgotten the song but was delighted by its resurgence.
Connie made plans for a radio interview, and was looking forward to seeing herself depicted in Dream Lover, a jukebox musical about Bobby Darin, on Broadway. But in June she was hospitalised for a pelvic fracture. She developed pneumonia, and finally lost consciousness at her home in Pompano Beach, Florida on July 16.
The death of Connie Francis was announced by her friend and publicist, Ron Roberts, and she is survived by her son, Joseph Garzilli Jr. “The world saw the star,” he said. “But I saw the struggle. And in her final days … she was tired. Not of life — but of the weight she carried alone for so long.”
The Marilyn Report 