Bobby Darin signed a six-year film contract with Paramount, which was expected at the time to earn him $1 million. As he transitioned from a teenage idol to a more universal artist, he wanted to move beyond roles aimed solely at teenage audiences and insisted on quality acting and serious filmmaking.
Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” debuted at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 30. It came from the 1928 German play “Three Penny Opera”, later became Darin’s biggest hit, reached No. 1 and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
Bobby Darin performed his final concert at the Las Vegas Hilton. Members of his band later said that he repeatedly pretended to leave the stage and prolonged his bows so that he could use an oxygen mask backstage for several seconds before continuing the show. He died on December 20 of the same year following heart surgery at the age of 37.