Edd Byrnes, 'Grease,' '77 Sunset Strip' Teen Idol Dead At 87

SANTA MONICA, CA — Edd Byrnes, the actor whose golden looks and famed pompadour made him one of the first teen idols of the early TV era, has died. He was 87.

The actor, best known for his roles on the 1950s TV hit "77 Sunset Strip" and in the 1978 movie "Grease," died at his home in Santa Monica Wednesday of natural causes, according to an announcement posted on Twitter by his son, Logan, a news anchor at KUSI in San Diego.

"It is with profound sadness and grief that I share with you the passing of my father Edd Byrnes," his son wrote. "He was an amazing man and one of my best friends."

Byrnes got his start in "77 Sunset Strip" as the "hipster" parking attendant "Kookie." The show about wisecracking private detectives aired for six seasons from 1958 to 1964, and by the end, Byrnes was a bonafide teen idol. ABC received more than 15,000 fan letters a week for Byrnes, and his character inspired the hit novelty song, "Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)," featuring Byrnes and actress-singer Connie Stevens, which reach No. 4 on the Billboard charts in May 1959 and earned a Gold record.

In 2005, TV Guide listed Byrnes at No. 5 on their list of "TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols."

Though famous for his Sunset Strip role, Byrnes was a New York native and bit of a TV journeyman, appearing on dozens of television shows including "Murder She Wrote" and "Married With Children," and a handful of movies.

Byrnes wrote about his unlikely path to stardom in his memoir 1996 “‘Kookie’ No More.” The candid memoir dives into his troubled childhood with an abusive, alcoholic father who died when Byrnes was a young teen. Byrnes dropped out of high school to support his family and became a model and a male prostitute, according to his book. Movies were his escape, and he taught himself to act and headed to Hollywood, the New York Times reported. With the highs and lows of fame came struggles with drugs and alcohol and eventual sobriety and steady work in TV, according to the Times.

In "Grease," he played Vince Fontaine, the slick dance party TV show host who hits on one of the 'Pink Ladies.'

According to his son, Byrnes is the rare story of a Hollywood dreamer who made it.

He was "an ambitious young kid who in his 20s drove out to Hollywood from New York City with a few hundred dollars and a dream of making it big in the entertainment business," said Logan Byrnes.

In addition to his son, Byrnes is survived by his longtime partner Cathrine Gross "and their beloved maltipoo" dog Marlowe. He was divorced from his wife of nine years, Asa Maynor.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.