Bobby Pickett

Actor · Writer

Somerville, Massachusetts, USA

February 11, 1938

Biography

Bobby "Boris" Pickett (born Robert George Pickett, February 11, 1938 – April 25, 2007) was a Somerville, Massachusetts-born musician and actor, best known for singing and co-writing the 1962 hit novelty song "Monster Mash". Pickett performed the track in an impersonation of veteran horror film stars Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi (as in the line "Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?"). Bobby Pickett co-wrote the song along with Leonard Capizzi. It became a million seller, as well as reaching Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was styled as being by Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kicker 5. In Britain it took until October 1973 for the tune to become popular, but it then pinnacled at Number 3 in the UK singles chart. A Christmas themed follow-up, "Monster's Holiday", was also released in 1962, and it became a minor hit. After releasing a variety of other Halloween-based songs as well as trying his hand at script-writing, Bobby died of leukemia on April 25, 2007, at age 69.