He is the older brother of Florida Marlins' TV broadcaster Frank Forte.
He was awarded a Star on the HOllywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard in HOllywood, California.
His initial records didn't click, but appearances on Dick Clark's "New American Bandstand 1965" (1952) made him a huge overnight success.
Inducted into the Philadelphia Hall of Fame on November 17, 2000.
Occasionally tours with Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell. He and Avalon were discovered by Bob Marcucci. Their formative years with Marcucci was the basis for The Idolmaker (1980).
Posed nude for "Playgirl" magazine in 1973, but regretted the attempt for renewed publicity, claiming he looked "fat and stupid."
Rock-and-roll folklore has it that Fabian was sitting on his front porch stairs in acute despair over his family's extreme poverty and health problems when he was approached by two music promoters, Robert P. Marcucci and Peter De Angelis, and asked if he wanted to be a pop star.