Rudy Maugeri, 73; Founding Member of the Crew-Cuts

Rudy Maugeri, 73, co-founder of the 1950s doo-wop band the Crew-Cuts, died Friday in his home in Las Vegas of pancreatic cancer.

Maugeri, Pat Barrett and brothers John and Ray Perkins, friends and choristers from a Catholic high school in Toronto, formed the Candelaires in 1952. Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle renamed them the Crew-Cuts, after the popular hairstyle, and paired them with Mercury Records.

The Crew Cuts’ first hit, co-written by Maugeri, was “Crazy ‘Bout Ya Baby” in 1954, a song later incorporated into the stage musical “Forever Plaid.”

They were among the first white groups to record black R&B; hits, and had huge success with the Chords’ “Sh-Boom” and the Penguins’ “Earth Angel.” Other hits were “Ko Ko Mo” and “Gum Drop.”

After the group disbanded in 1964, Maugeri spent 15 years in radio broadcasting in New York and Los Angeles. In 1979, he and his wife, Marilyn, founded the Fully Alive wellness center for people with addictions. They added a Las Vegas branch in 1990.