Bikini Beach is a 1964 American teen film directed by William Asher and starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.

With the teenagers demoralized and discredited, Honeywagon plans to turn Bikini Beach into a senior citizens retirement home.

Meanwhile, foppish British rocker and drag racer Peter Royce Bentley, better known as "The Potato Bug" (played by Frankie Avalon in a dual role), has taken up residence on Bikini Beach.

Frankie Avalon's dual role as an English singer named "The Potato Bug" was created to replace the four Beatles in the story.

[8] Don Rickles plays Big Drag, proprietor of The Pit Stop, a teen hangout where several musical numbers are performed.

When Deadhead says he looks familiar, Big Drag admits he was once Jack Fanny, his character from the earlier film, Muscle Beach Party.

Warren stated in a reply to the Los Angeles Times report of Ackerman's death, "When director William Asher requested that I growl during my brief sequence, my ever-protective agent, 'Uncle' Forry quickly reminded him that said role had now become a 'speaking part' and, as such, I was entitled to a cast credit as well as the Screen Actors Guild pay standard of an additional 250 bucks.

When Asher consented, Forry, like the big kid he was, expressed his delight by turning to face me with a beaming smile and an exaggerated wink.

[13] Sauer was also the stunt coordinator for another beach party film that used his surfboards, Columbia Pictures' Ride the Wild Surf, which was released the following month.

"[18] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "A couple of truckloads of good-looking healthy kids, plenty of singing and dancing, and solid comedy from some old pros add up to two hours of mindless relaxation at theaters and drive-ins everywhere.