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1-9 of 9
- Music Artist
- Producer
- Actor
The extraordinary, easy-listening crooning talents of Andy Williams were first unveiled when he was 8 years old and inducted into the Williams Brothers Quartet as its youngest member. Born in Wall Lake, Iowa on December 3, 1927, Andy started singing with his three older brothers (Bob Williams, Dick Williams and Don Williams) in his hometown's Presbyterian church choir. The quartet became instant local news and made its professional singing debut when Andy was in the third grade. A bonafide hit, they went on to become a staple on radio in nearby big city Des Moines. From there, the harmonizing siblings found widespread popularity on wartime radio, including Chicago and Cincinnati. Andy graduated from high school in Cincinnati. They eventually caught the attention of crooning king Bing Crosby, who included the boys on his mammoth 1944 hit single "Swinging on a Star". Bing, of course, was keen on the boys' combined talents, having his own singing quartet of sons at home. Speciality film appearances in musicals were also a rage and the boys appeared in such film fare as Janie (1944), Kansas City Kitty (1944), Something in the Wind (1947) and Ladies' Man (1947). They then joined singer/personality Kay Thompson in 1947 with her eclectic nightclub act and stayed with the popular show until they disbanded in 1951. Andy was the only Williams brother who ventured out to the East Coast to seek a solo singing career.
His career received a major boost when he co-starred with Chico Marx on the short lived television show called The College Bowl (1950 - 1951). On the show he acted, sang, and danced along with others. The show lasted for 26 weeks. After College Bowl was cancelled Andy Williams was offered regular singing duties on Steve Allen's The Tonight Show (1953) show, which led to Andy's first recording contract with Cadence Records in 1956 and his first album. A "Top 10" hit came with the lovely ballad "Canadian Sunset". This, in turn, was followed by "Butterfly" (#1), "Lonely Street", "I Like Your Kind of Love", "Are You Sincere" and "The Hawaiian Wedding Song", the last tune earning him five Grammy Award nominations. An ingratiating presence on television, he was handed a musical show co-hosting with June Valli and a summer replacement series of his own. In the meantime, he developed into a top nightclub favorite.
In 1962, Andy made a lucrative label change to Columbia Records, which produced the "Top 10" pop hit "Can't Get Use to Losing You" and a collaboration with Henry Mancini, which inspired Andy's signature song, "Moon River," the Oscar-winning tune from the popular Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Andy had the honor of singing the song during the Oscar ceremony. Other major chartbusters for Andy came with the movie theme songs Days of Wine and Roses (1962), Dear Heart (1964) and Love Story (1970).
An attempt to parlay his singing fame into a film career was one of Andy's few missteps in a hugely successful career. He co-starred in the light, screwy Ross Hunter comedy soufflé I'd Rather Be Rich (1964) starring Sandra Dee and enjoyably squared off with fellow singing suitor Robert Goulet. Andy and Robert also sang in the picture (including sharing the title song), which was a tepid remake of It Started with Eve (1941) starring Deanna Durbin. It was an artificial role to be sure and is only significant in that it was Andy's sole legit acting experience on film.
What truly put Andy over the top was the phenomenal success of his weekly variety show The Andy Williams Show (1962). Andy was a natural in front of the television camera and his dueting with such singing legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland and Peggy Lee kept audiences enthralled week after week. What goes around comes around for Andy would often invite his brothers to sing with him and also introduced another talented harmonizing boy group--the seven "Osmond Brothers". The series, which concluded in 1971, won three Emmy Awards for "Best Musical/Variety Series". Andy himself picked up a couple of nominations as performer.
In 1961, Andy married a stunning, whispery-voiced French chanteuse named Claudine Longet (born in Paris in 1942), who was 15 years younger. The couple had three children. She made a mild hit of the song "Love Is Blue" and enjoyed slight celebrity status. Like the Crosby family, Andy's clan became an integral part of his annual classic Christmas television specials. Despite the fact that the couple separated in 1969, Claudine continued to appear in these specials in the early 1970s.
In tandem with his famous television show, Andy opened Caesar's Palace in 1966 and went on to headline there for 20 years. Following the demise of his television success, Andy continued to tour both here and abroad. He laid low for a time to protect his children through a tragic crisis when his ex-wife Claudine (since 1975) became enmeshed in a tabloid-styled shooting in March of 1976. The 1970s also deemed the cardigan-wearing Andy as too square and clean-cut to prod younger audiences. Nevertheless, he hosted the Grammy Awards a few times and returned to a syndicated series format in 1976, which was short-lived. Andy remarried happily in 1991 to non-professional Debbie Haas.
Inspired by singer/friend Ray Stevens, Andy had built a $12 million state-of-the-art theater, which opened in 1992 and was christened the Andy Williams Moon River Theater. Andy became the first non-country star to perform there and other theme shows have since been inspired to populate the small town--now considered the live music capital of the world. At age 70+, he continued to perform in Branson, Missouri, where he and his wife reside, and in Europe. Andy Williams died at age 84 of bladder cancer in Branson, Missouri on September 25, 2012.- Music Department
- Actor
- Writer
Billy Barnes was known as the "Revue Master of Hollywood" in the 1950s and 1960s, creating the famous "Billy Barnes Revues", including "Billy Barnes' People", "Billy Barnes' Hollywood", "Billy Barnes' Party", and "Billy Barnes' LA". Barnes composed the ballad "(Have I Stayed) Too Long at the Fair", introduced by his then-wife, Joyce Jameson, in the original "Billy Barnes Revue" and subsequently popularized by Barbra Streisand, and the jazz standard "Something Cool", recorded by June Christy. Barnes was the musical director for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967) television show in the 1960s, and he is famous for composing "special material" - comedic and topical songs - for many of show business's greatest personalities.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Neset Ertas was born in 1938 in Kirsehir, Turkey. He was a composer and actor, known for Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2019) and Behzat Ç: An Ankara Detective Story (2010). He died on 25 September 2012 in Izmir, Turkey.- Mila Vannucci was an actress, known for L'indizio (cinque inchieste per un commissario) (1982), La fine dell'avventura (1969) and Le inchieste del commissario Maigret (1964). She died on 25 September 2012 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Miguel Angel Fuster was born in 1933 in Spain. He was a composer and actor, known for Crónica de un subversivo latinoamericano (1975), La invasión (1978) and El regreso de Sabina (1980). He died on 25 September 2012 in Caracas, Venezuela.- Bohdan Wróblewski was born on 23 October 1929 in Poland. He was an actor, known for Bicz bozy (1967), Yaroslavna, koroleva Frantsii (1979) and Guests Are Coming (1962). He died on 25 September 2012 in Skolimów, Konstancin-Jeziorna, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Brando Giordani was born on 13 July 1931 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was a writer and producer, known for Italia proibita (1963), SuperTotò (1980) and Immagina (1987). He died on 25 September 2012 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Sound Department
Ted Gomillion was born on 9 April 1935 in the USA. He is known for NBC Special Treat (1975), Black Shampoo (1976) and The Astral Factor (1978). He was married to Mary. He died on 25 September 2012 in Encino, California, USA.- Jürgen Trimborn died on 25 September 2012 in Bad Münstereifel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.