Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (May 18, 1912 - May 12, 2001) is an American television singer and personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he noted exclusively for Victor's RCA label after signing it in 1943. "Mr. C.", as he nicknamed, sold millions of recordings for Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and pioneered various television shows musicals weekly, which sets the standard for the genre and proves to be one of the most successful in television history. His success on television and popular recordings was not matched by other artists at the time. A famous television artist and recording artist Perry Como produced many hit records with record sales so high that the label stopped being counted on Como's orders. Weekly television shows and seasonal specials are broadcasted all over the world and its popularity seems to have no geographical or language boundaries. Como's appeal stretches from generation to generation and he is widely respected for both professional standards and behavior in his personal life. In the official archive of RCA Records Billboard magazine, his life is summarized in a few words: "50 years of music and good living. An example for all." Composer Ervin Drake said of him, "... [o] sometimes someone like Perry comes and will not 'go with the flow' and keeps winning regardless of all the bankrupt people who surround it and import it to surrender to them values ​​only occasionally. "
One of many factors in its success is the insistence of Command on its principles of good taste; if he considers something bad or bad, it is not on show or broadcast. While her performance "Ave Maria" is the tradition of her television television program, Como refuses to sing it in live performances, saying, "This is not the time or place to do it.", Even though it is the number one request of her audience. Others are natural; people that viewers see on-screen are the same people who can be found behind a supermarket shopping cart, at a bowling alley, or in a kitchen that makes breakfast. From the first Chesterfield Supper Club television show, if the script was written at all, they were based on the way Como would say something. Como has no temperament, and can sometimes be seen as a result of the frustration of everyday life. The music director from 1948 - 1963, Mitchell Ayres, said, "Perry has temperaments like everyone else, and he loses his temper on the normal things that other people do.When we drive, for example, and someone cuts him off, he really lets offenders have it. "
Como received five Emmies from 1955 to 1959, Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with Jackie Gleason's best friend in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Science Hall of Fame in 1990 and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002; he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007. Como has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work on radio, television, and music. Bing Crosby once described it as, "a man who finds casual".
Video Perry Como
Initial years
Como was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. He is the seventh of ten children and the first born child of America from Pietro Como and Lucia Travaglini, both of whom emigrated to the US in 1910 from the town of Abruzzese, Palena, Italy. He did not start speaking English until he entered school, because Comos speaks Italian at home. The family had the old organs his father had bought for $ 3; Once Como can walk, he will go to the instrument, pump the bellows, and play the music he hears with ears. Pietro, an amateur factory and baritone hand, has all his children attend music lessons even if he can not afford it. In a rare 1957 interview, Como's mother, Lucia, described how his young son also took another job to pay for more music lessons; Como learned to play many different musical instruments, but never had a sound lesson. He showed more musical talent in his teenage years as a trombone player in a city brass band, playing guitar, singing at weddings, and as an organ in the church. Como is a member of the Canonsburg Italian Band along with the singer's father Bobby Vinton, the band's leader Stan Vinton, who is often a customer in his salon.
Young Como began helping his family at the age of 10, working before and after school at Steve Fragapane's shaving shop for 50 Â ¢ a week. At the age of 13, he has graduated to have his own seat at the Fragapane barber shop, though he stands on a box to take care of his customers. It was also around this time that the young Como lost a week's wages in the dice game. Filled with shame, he locks himself in his room and does not come out until his hunger improves. He managed to tell his father what had happened to the money his family had earned. His father told him that he had every right to make mistakes and that he hoped his son would never do worse than this. When Perry was 14 years old, his father became unable to work due to his severe heart condition. Como and his brothers became household supporters.
Despite his musical abilities, Como's main ambition is to be the best barber in Canonsburg. Practicing in his father, young Como mastered the skills well enough to have his own shop at the age of 14. One of Como's regular customers at the barber shop had a Greek coffee house which included a barber shop area, and asked the young barber if he would want to take over from his shop. Como has so much work after moving to a coffee shop, he has to hire two barbers to help him. Customers work mainly in nearby steel mills. They are well paid, do not mind spending money on themselves and enjoying Como songs. Perry does very well when one of his customers gets married. The groom and his men will take advantage of every care offered by Como and his assistant. Como sings romantic songs while busied himself with the groom because the other two barbers work with the rest of the groom's party. During wedding preparations, friends and relatives of the groom will come to the store with prize money to Como. He became very popular as a "barber wedding" in the Greek community that he was asked to give his services in Pittsburgh and throughout Ohio.
Maps Perry Como
Singing career
Freddy Carlone and Ted Weems
In 1932, Como left Canonsburg, moving about 100 miles away to Meadville, Pennsylvania, where his uncle had a salon at the Conneaut Hotel. About 80 miles from Cleveland, it is a popular stop on the itinerary for dance bands working up and down the Ohio Valley. Como, Roselle, and their friends went to nearby Cleveland; their wonderful times took them to the Silver Slipper Ballroom where Freddy Carlone and his orchestra were playing. Carlone invites anyone who thinks he might have the talent to come and sing with his band. Young Como is frightened, but his friends push him and push him onto the stage. Carlone was so impressed with Como's performance that he immediately offered him a job.
The young man was not sure if he should accept the offer Freddy Carlone made, so he returned to Canonsburg to discuss the matter with his father. Perry hopes he'll get her to stay in the barber business, but surprisingly, Como senior tells her if she does not take a chance, she may never know if she can be a professional singer or not. The decision was also made by overseeing finances; Como gets about $ 125 a week from his shaving salon while work with Carlone pays $ 28 per week. Roselle is willing to travel with her husband and band, but her salary is not enough to support two people on the street. Perry and Roselle were married in Meadville on July 31, 1933; four days later, Como joins band Freddy Carlone and starts working with them. Roselle returns to Canonsburg; her new husband will be on the road for the next 18 months.
Three years after joining the band Carlone, Como moved to Ted Weems's Orchestra and the date of his first recording. Como and Weems met in 1936 while the Carlone orchestra played in Warren, Ohio. Perry initially did not accept an offer to join the Weems orchestra. Apparently realizing it was the best move for his young vocalist, Freddy Carlone urged him to sign with Weems. Art Jarrett just left the Weems organization to start his own band. Weems need a vocalist; Como got a raise, because Weems paid him $ 50 a week, and his first chance for a national exposure. Ted Weems and his orchestra are based in Chicago, and remain on radio shows like Jack Benny's Program and Fibber McGee and Molly. Band Weems also has its own weekly radio program on Mutual Broadcasting System from 1936 - 1937.
This is where the young Como gets his unique style and style, with the help of Ted Weems. The affiliate network Mutual, WGN, Chicago, threatens to stop the Weems broadcast from Chicago's Palmer House if the new singer Weems is not developing. Weems have recordings of some previous radio programs; One night he and Como listened to them after the show. From listening to them, Como was shocked to realize that no one could see the words for the song he was singing. Weems tell Como no need for him to use vocal tricks; all it takes is to sing from the heart.
Como's first recording with the Weems band is a new song called "You Can not Pull the Wool Over My Eyes", recorded for Decca Records label in May 1936. During one of Comca's early Comca recording sessions with the Weems orchestra, Weems were told to get rid of "the boy" (Como) because he sounded too much like Bing Crosby, who was also recorded for Decca. Before Como can answer, Ted Weems speaks, saying that Como is part of the session or is over. By the time Como had been with Ted Weems for about a year, he was mentioned in the NBC Radio advertisement in 1937 Life for Fibber McGee and Molly as "causing the horror of his heart with his singing. "The weekly radio show, Beat the Band, which took place at NBC from 1940 - 1944, was a music quiz show of" band stumps "in which the Weems and orchestra were the flagship bands of 1940-1941.
RCA Victor and radio
Comos's first child, Ronnie, was born in 1940 while the Weems band worked in Chicago. Como left the show to be on his wife's side even though he was threatened with dismissal if he did. Although Perry now makes $ 250 a week and travel expenses for the family are not a problem, young Ronnie can not get used to normal routines when they can stay in one place for a certain period of time. The Beat the Band radio program is not always from Chicago, but is often done from locations such as Milwaukee, Denver and St.. Louis, as the band continues to play the road engagement while part of the radio show throws. The Comos decided the way of life was not the place to try to raise a child, and Roselle and her baby returned to Canonsburg.
In late 1942, Como made the decision to quit the Weems band, even though that meant quitting singing. He returned to Canonsburg, his family, and his trade, bored with life on the road without his wife and young son. Como accepted an offer to become a fraudster of Frank Sinatra, but chose to maintain his own style. While Perry negotiates for a store rental to reopen the barber shop, he receives a call from Tommy Rockwell at the General Artists Corporation, which also represents Ted Weems. Como fielded many other calls that also brought the offer, but he liked and trusted Rockwell, who offered him the ongoing (and unlicensed) Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) radio broadcast, offering to give him a recording contract. The offer was also interesting because it meant staying in New York with no more road trips. When Perry contemplates the job offer, Roselle tells him, "You can always get another barber if that does not work!" Until the radio show and recording contract offered, he did not really see singing as his career, believing the year with Carlone and Weems had been fun, but now it's time to get back to work. Como said in a 1983 interview, "I thought I would have fun and I would go home to work."
Perry airs for CBS on March 12, 1943. Rockwell's next move is to order Como to the famous Copacabana Night Club for two weeks starting on 10 June 1943. One week later he signed his first RCA Victor contract and three days later. who cut his first record for the company, "Goodbye, Sue". It was the beginning of a 44 year professional relationship. He became a very successful player in the theater and nightclub engagement; The first two weeks of como in Copacabana in June runs until August. There were times when Frank Sinatra asked Como to fill him in at his Paramount Theater show.
The booming madness was at its peak during this time and the teenage girls "bobby soxer" and "fainted" wild about Sinatra added Como to their list. A "funerary" club chose him as the "Crooner of the Year" in 1943. The line for Perry Como Paramount's performances was three deep and twisted city blocks. Como's popularity was also extended to a more mature audience as he played Versailles and returned to Copacabana, where management put the "SRO-Swooning Ruled Out" card on their desks.
Doug Storer, who was advertising manager with Blackman Company at the time, became convinced of Como's ability after hearing it on an unsupported CBS Radio show. Storer produced a recording of a radio program demo with Como and Mitchell Ayres Orchestra which he brought to the advertising agency that handles Chesterfield Cigarettes accounts. Initially, the agency liked the format of the show, but wanted others as a star, asked Storer to get the release of the singers they liked, so he would be free for their new program. Storer decides not to do anything to free the singer from his contract. When he was contacted by the agency a few weeks later, saying that they were ready to run the program on NBC, Storer bluntly told them that the person attending their show was the one they heard on the demo tape. The program is scheduled to debut within about a week; the only option is to hire Como for the show. Storer then arranged for Como's release from his CBS contract. On December 11, 1944, he moved from CBS to NBC for a new radio program, Chesterfield Supper Club.
April 5, 1946, a broadcast from Chesterfield Supper Club occurred 20,000 feet in the air; this is the first known example of a full radio show presented from an airplane. Como, Jo Stafford, Lloyd Shaffer Orchestra and the rest of the "Supper Club" crew make a flight for the show. There were two broadcast flights of "Supper Club" that night: at 6 pm and again at 10 pm for broadcasting on the West Coast. A total of three flights were made; there are previous training flights for admission purposes. In addition to instruments for the band, the plane also carries a small piano. Because the microphones that are held are not very useful on the plane, the handheld microphone is then used, but due to the cabin pressure, they become very heavy to hold after a few minutes. This aerial show caused the Federation of American Musicians to take this as a new type of engagement and issue a set of special rates for it.
Como at concert
Como did not make a nightclub appearance in 26 years when he received an engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in June 1970, which also produced his first live album, Perry Como on Person at International Hotel, Las Vegas. Ray Charles, whom Ray Charles Singers heard with Como for over 35 years, formed a special edition vocal group for his Las Vegas opening. Prior to this he last appeared in New York's Copacabana in 1944. Como continues to engage in periodic engagements in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, limiting his nightclub appearance to Nevada.
The live performance again brought Como a new sense of enjoyment. In May 1974, he started his first concert performance outside the United States, a show at the London Palladium for Variety Club of Great Britain to help the children's charity. This is where he finds what he has lost when the audience cheered for ten minutes after he walked on stage. At the end of the show, Como sat in a chair, happy to chat back and forth with his equally happy fans. Perry returned to England in November for Royal Variety Performance to utilize Artist's Virtue of Artist Fund with the Queen Mother in attendance. Como was invited to visit Buckingham Palace the day after the show. At first, the invitation did not extend to his traveling companion and worked with him, and Como politely declined. When the word reached the Palace on the grounds Perry declined the invitation, it was later extended to include everything in Como's party and Como accepted this invitation. Soon after, he announced his first concert tour that began in England in the spring of 1975.
In 1982, Como and Frank Sinatra were invited to entertain Italian President Sandro Pertini at a White House dinner when he made an official visit. President Perini enjoyed their performances enough to join them in singing "Santa Lucia". The couple overhauled this routine next year in California as part of entertainment for Queen Elizabeth's visit. Perry is on the program with special request from Queen.
In 1984 found Como touring the United States with a 50th Anniversary tour. After spending most of his professional life on the radio or recording studio and on the television platforms, he enjoyed performing live shows. Even after her 80th birthday, Perry went on a concert tour. There, however, is a cardigan sweater that has become the subject of his weekly television show, and which he really hates to wear. Como is now performing with a tuxedo, saying, "It shows respect to the audience." The return of the live performance also gave Como the chance to have fun with his "Mister Nice Guy" drawing in Ray Charles and Nick Perito as his closest collaborator since 1963, writing and writing for him:
No need for a man equipped with ESP, to see what is cooked with your curiosity!
Is "Mister Nice Guy" just a press pitch? her dear friends say she is...... You never thought you'd see me in Las Vegas 'live' I have not played a "club" since 1885!
It's spelled out in dollar sign (you believe more!) I can almost read your mind!
-Nick Perito and Ray Charles, "If I Can Almost Read Your Mind"
Vocal Characteristics
Perry Como praised Bing Crosby for influencing his voice and style. Perry Como's voices are widely known for the kind of vocal acrobatics depicted in his very popular novelty songs such as "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)", but there is another side to Perry Como. The music critic, Gene Lees, explains it in his arm note for Como's 1968 album Look To Your Heart :
Despite his great popularity, Como is rarely rewarded for what, once you stop and think about it, he is so clear: one of the greatest performers and one of the great artists of our time.
Perhaps the reason why people rarely talk about their tough attributes as a singer is that he's so little bit concerned about it. The ease with which he celebrated was too little understood. Ease in any art is the result of mastery over the details of the craft. You get them together to the point where you can forget about how you do things and concentrate on what you do. Como gets them together so that his muscles are not visible. It seems easy, but a lot of effort has been made to make it look that way. Como is known to be very thorough about the material exercises for an album. She tries things on different keys, gives thought tracks, makes suggestions, tries again, and again, until she's satisfied. His hidden work made him look like Mr. Casual, and too many people to follow - but gladly.
-Gene Lees-sleeve note, Look At Your Heart
From 1989 until his death in 2001, Como hosted a weekly syndication radio show with John Knox, called Weekend With Perry.
Movie careers
Como Hollywood's handsome face earned him a seven-year contract with 20th Century-Fox in 1943. He made four films for Fox, Something for Boys (1944), March of Time 1945), Doll Face (1945), and If I'm Lucky (1946), plus Words and Music for Metro -Goldwyn-Mayer (1948). He never really felt comfortable in the movie, felt the role given to him did not fit his personality.
Some misguided press agencies in Hollywood are trying to change Como's life story by changing the previous work of barbers into coal miners, claiming that it will make a better press. Fred Othman, a Hollywood columnist, publicly declared that he believed Como barber was just a publicity gimmick. Perry gives her pieces and haircuts in Fox Studio's barber shop to prove her wrong. In 1985, Como told the story of his first film role experience in Something for the Boys . He sat ready to work in the locker room for two weeks without being called. Perry spent the next two weeks playing golf, still not missed by the studio. It's been five weeks before he's actually called to the set, despite initial urgent reports for job notifications. When Como finally appeared, the director did not know who he was.
By the time Como was signed, the music movie was diminishing and he became a studio contract player, where actors or actresses worked only when the studio needed to fill the schedule. Although his latest film, Words and Music, was made for the prestigious Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Como fared no better. Less than two weeks before the release of the film Walter Winchell wrote in his syndicated column, "Someone at MGM must be asleep when they write the script for Words and Music." In most of Perry Como's movies is called Eddie Anders and ahead end (for no reason) they started calling her Perry Como. "Como requested and received an exemption from the rest of his film contract in the same year. Quoting Como, "I'm wasting their time and they're wasting their time."
Como's comments during the 1949 interview were prophetic, as far as his success was concerned. At the time he did Chesterfield Supper Club on radio and television, "Television will make me better than any movie ever... The reason must be clear, television, I'm allowed to be myself: in my picture always other people.I'm just like any other vagrant in a tuxedo. "Como was offered several film roles that attracted him after he started appearing on weekly TV shows, but there was never enough time to pursue any movie work.
Television career
Initial years: 1948-1955
Perry Como moved to television when NBC initially broadcasted the Chesterfield Supper Club radio program on December 24, 1948. The very special guest on the first television show was Como's eight-year-old son, Ronnie, as part of the children's choir the man who sings "Silent Night" with his father. The show was a regular Friday night Chesterfield Supper Club with an important exception - it was also broadcast on television. The experimental simulcast was to resume three Friday show "Supper Club", but it went well, NBC decided to extend the version that aired through August 1949. Years later, Como confessed fear and feel awkward at first, but somehow managed to just be herself. Como says, "You can not act on TV, with me, what you see is what you get." While still in the experimental stage, Como and television shows survived on broadcasting locations in Durham, North Carolina, on April 15, 1949.
On September 8, 1949, it became a weekly half-hour offer on Sunday night, just across Ed Sullivan Toast of the Town. In 1950, Perry moved to CBS and the event title was changed to The Perry Como Chesterfield Show , which again sponsored by Liggett & amp; Myers' Chesterfield Cigarettes. Como hosted this informal 15 minutes musical on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, soon after CBS Television News . The Faye Emerson Show originally aired in the same time slot on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In 1952, it proved that television would replace radio as the main entertainment media. Gary Giddins, biographer Bing Crosby, said in 2001, "He (Como) comes from this whole generation of crooners - Crosby and Sinatra, but he is the only one of them who invented TV." Como's 15 minute television show was also broadcast on radio via the Mutual Broadcasting System beginning on August 24, 1953; while the Chesterfield Supper Club broadcast is broadcast on radio and television, this is the first example of a simulcast between two networks.
CBS Como's contract expires on July 1, 1955. A year earlier, he was asked to host ceremonies and narrators of NBC Radio's special 35th anniversary. That April, Perry Como signed a 12-year "unbreakable" contract with NBC. At his last CBS event, June 24, 1955, Como was excited, bringing everyone working in space to be introduced. Perry tried his hand at work, taking pictures in the air but the upside. In recognition of the 11-year association, his sponsor, Chesterfield, gave him all the musical arrangements used during this time as a farewell gift.
Sing to me, Mr.. C.: 1955-1959
He moved back to NBC with an hour-long variety show featuring additional music and production numbers, comedy sketches and guest stars called The Perry Como Show , premiered Saturday, September 17, 1955. His version of the show was also so popular that during the 1956 - 1957 television season he reached the ninth rank in Nielsen, the only event on NBC that season for the top ten.
Comic "Dream Along With Me" became the opening song of the show, "Mr. C." received the first of many "piles and stacks of letters" asking him to sing a particular song. It was also here where he started wearing his trademarked cardigan sweater. "Sing to me, Mr. C." Como segment shows with Perry sitting on the bench singing dancers asking for a song rooted in the first television broadcast of Chesterfield Supper Club . When the camera enters the "Supper Club" radio studio, they find Como and his guest sitting on a bench behind the music stand. The closing theme of the show is, "You Are Never Far Away From Me".
Broadcaster Perry on broadcast, Frank Gallop, becomes a foil for Como's jokes. When the television show started, there was not enough room for Gallop to appear on stage; he was a "voice from the cloud" that was not visible until the 1958 - 1959 show. There is a lot of fun in the exercise as in the show itself. The relaxed and fun way of Como during the rehearsals makes the guests restlessly comfortable. It was common for Como to leave Saturday afternoon exercise for about half an hour to go to confession. She saved time by asking her music publisher, Mickey Glass, to queue up with her in the confessional. Glass, who is a Jew, agrees best with this, but wonders what to do if his turn comes before Como arrives.
Perry really enjoys what he does, saying in an interview in 1989, "I'm kicking out of live television. Spontaneity is fun." Spontaneity and the ability to be himself are useful for the swimmer/actress, the guest appearance of Esther Williams on March 16, 1957. Damage to the wardrobe means that viewers see more Esther television than the 1950s are considered good taste; more direct event accidents followed. At the end of the show, Williams was swimming in a specially built pool on set for his performance. Como just said, "Good evening, friends," and jumped, dressed completely, into the pool.
On December 17, 1955, viewers could see firsthand what Perry did to earn a living before he became a professional singer. Actor Kirk Douglas is one of the guests of Como television; Douglas has grown a beard for Vincent van Gogh's role in Lust For Life, which finished filming that week. Como shaved Douglas's beard directly on national television. On September 15, 1956, the inaugural season of The Perry Como Show was broadcast from NBC's new color television studio at New York Ziegfeld Theater, making it one of the first weekly color TV shows. In addition to this inaugural season as a color television show, there is also a royal visit from Prince Rainier of Monaco and the six-month bridegroom, Grace Kelly.
Como competes with Jackie Gleason in what is called the "Battle of the Giants" and wins. This is now rarely mentioned, in part because Como generally downplayed his own achievements, and also because the two men were friends. The winners of the weekly rankings will call the losers for some ostensibly gloating. At the height of this television competition, Como requested the help of Gleason: visiting his home when his mother-in-law, a huge Gleason fan, was there. Although Mrs. Belline does not speak English and Gleason does not speak Italian, Roselle's mother is very happy. Como's words to Gleason after the visit, "Whatever you want, you get it.In fact, I'll even do one of your events so that the rankings will be better." Como was among those who filled in for Gleason on The Jackie Gleason Show in 1954 when the entertainer broke his ankles and legs as he fell in the air.
The example of Como's popularity came in 1956, when Life was polling young women, asking them which men in public life best suited their ideal husband concept: it was Perry Como. A 1958 national poll of US teenagers found Perry Como the most popular male singer, beating Elvis Presley, who was the winner of the previous year's poll. At one point, his television show was broadcast in at least 12 other countries.
Another way to assess the value of a Como event to a network can be found below: during sound proofing in the exercise, it is often difficult to hear Como's soft voice without a large microphone damaging camera shots. NBC has RCA designing a microphone for the show - RCA Type BK-10A - known as "Como mic"; microphone can take Como sound well and small enough not to interfere with camera shooting.
Kraft Music Hall: 1959-1967
In 1959 Como moved into Wednesday night, hosting the Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall every week for the next four years. Over the next four seasons, from 1963 to 1967, the series was presented as a monthly specials alternating with Kraft Suspense Theater, The Andy Williams Show, and finally The West Road. Como became the highest paid player in television history up to that date, mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records. Como himself does not take part in this; its production company, Roncom, named for Ronnie Como's son, handles transactions along with all other Como business dealings. Como also has control over the performances that will replace him during the summer television hiatus. While "Mr. C." on vacation, viewers will see Perry Presents , beginning in 1959.
By the end of 1962, after the Cuban Missile Crisis had been good enough to allow the families of evacuated soldiers to the Guantanamo Bay Navy base in Cuba, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara was eager to do more for the spirit there. He asked Perry Como to bring his TV show to the naval base. Perry and the cast and crew are at Guantanamo when loved ones start back. The first entertainer to visit the base since the crisis, the Como show was filmed there for eight days. Some highlights of the program, seen in the US on December 12, 1962, included Como shave serviceman with beard like Castro and enthusiastic participation when Perry asked volunteers to come on stage to perform Twist with a beautiful woman who was part of a visiting dance troupe.
Filming for Kraft Musical Space The Christmas show that aired on December 17, 1964, began at the Vatican on November 7th. With the special permission of Pope Paul VI, Como and his crew were able to shoot segments at the Vatican gardens and other areas where cameras had never been allowed before. The show featured the first television appearance of the Sistine Chapel Choir, and also the first time a non-choral (Como) member sang with them. The choir performed a Christmas song in Latin written by their director, Domenico Bartolucci, entitled "Christ Is Born", as part of their presentation. Como asked his colleague, Ray Charles, to write the English lyrics for the song, using it many times on both his television show and Christmas album. The Carpenters also recorded the song on their first Christmas album, Christmas Portrait .
Special
Beginning in 1967, Como began to reduce his appearance on TV, gradually becoming confined to seasonal specials and holidays with an emphasis on Christmas. Como has many Christmas television specials, starting on Christmas Eve 1948, and continues until 1994, when his special Christmas is recorded in Ireland. They are listed in many countries, including the Holy Land, Mexico, and Canada, as well as many locations throughout the United States. The Christmas Special of 1987 was canceled at the behest of angry Como; The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is willing to offer it only 10:00 pm time slot for it three weeks before the holidays. Perry filled the annual gap for his fans with live Christmas concerts in various locations.
Como Christmas comics were filmed in January 1994 at Dublin's Point Theater before an audience of 4,500 people, including Irish President Mary Robinson and Como's friend, actress Maureen O'Hara. Perry Como's Irish Christmas is the production of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), created by an independent Irish production company in collaboration with RTÃÆ'â € °. Como, who looked old and unwell, had a flu during the show that took four hours to record. At the conclusion of the event, Como apologized to his audience in Dublin for an appearance he felt was not up to the usual standards.
During his visit to Dublin, Como visited a barber shop called "The Como" on Thomas Street. The owner, a lifelong fan who named their business in his honor, has sent store photos and letters to Como to invite him to visit. Como photographs with barbers framed in stores. "The Como" closed in 2002 but remains a household name in The Liberties.
Personal life
Marriage and family
In 1929, 17-year-old Como met Roselle Belline in a picnic at Chartiers Creek that attracted many young people from the Canonsburg area. Como, who attended the cooking show with another girl, did not see Roselle until everyone around the camp fire and the meeting was about to end. When it was Como's turn to sing, he chose "More Than You Know", with his eyes on Roselle for the entire song. The teen lovers married July 31, 1933. They raised three children, Ronnie, David, and Terri, with traditional, non-business-show values. Since Perry Como believes his professional life and personal life must remain separate, he refuses repeated interview requests from Edward R. Murrow's Person to Person .
In 1958, Comos celebrated their silver wedding anniversary with a family trip to Italy. On the itinerary is an audience with Pope Pius XII. Como, who sits on the wing side of the Long Island church where he attended Sunday Mass in an effort to avoid attention, was confused and upset when returning home that photographs of the visit made newspapers around the world. A careful examination of both Como and NBC publication offices found that neither of them was responsible for the release of the photos to the media; it was done by the Vatican press department. When Perry and Roselle became Commanders of Knight and Lady Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher in 1952, it was news only after Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who had been honored at the same ceremony, mentioned it some time later.
Como experienced a debilitating fall from the stage stage in 1971 while recording Perry Como's Winter Event in Hollywood. The X-ray shows no serious injury to his knee, but the next morning, it's twice the normal size. The sick Como hired a jet back to his home and the doctors in Florida, where a second test showed that it had been severely damaged. His knee was rearranged and placed in a cast with an eight-month healing time. In 1993, he was successfully treated for bladder cancer. When Roselle died suddenly on August 12, 1998, at the age of 84, the couple had been married for 65 years. Como is reportedly destroyed by his loss.
Public persona
One of many factors in its success is the insistence of Command on its principles of good taste; if he considers something bad or questionable, it is not on show or broadcast. When the comment made by Julius La Rosa about Arthur Godfrey's television personality on The Perry Como Show was misunderstood, Como offered an apology in the air at the start of the next show, against the advice of his staff.
While her performance of "Ave Maria" is the tradition of her vacation television program, Como refuses to sing it in live performances, saying, "This is not the time or place to do it," even though it is the number one request of her audience. Others are natural; the man that viewers see on television every week is the same person who can be found behind a supermarket shopping cart, at a bowling alley, or in a kitchen that makes breakfast. From the first Chesterfield Supper Club television show, if the script is written at all, they are based on the everyday way Como speaks. Although Como is widely known for his hospitality, relaxed and relaxed style, he is not free from anger, and sometimes can be seen as a result of frustration in everyday life. Mitchell Ayres, his music director from 1948 to 1963, said: "Perry has temperament like everyone else, and he loses his temper on the normal things that other people do.When we drive, for example, and someone cuts it off, he really lets the offender have it. "
Bing Crosby once described Como as "a man who found casual." His preference for casual wear did not make his name unnamed as one of the Best Dressed Men beginning in 1946, and continued long after Como stopped appearing on the weekly television. Como also has a line of sportswear/casual men made by Bucknell c. early 1950s.
Hobbies
Perry is an avid golfer; there is always time to try to play golf. "Perry Como Putters" is sold by MacGregor, each stamped with Fax fax signatures. His colleagues held the annual Perry Como Golf Tournament in honor of him and his love for the game. Como's guests on October 3, 1962, broadcast were Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player. The four golfers played 18 holes for cameras at Sands Point, New York, where Comos made their homes in the television years. Como also enjoys fishing and he can be found on his ship almost every day after the family moves to Florida. Perry's catch will usually be a Como family dinner. Como also used his boat as a training hall with a previously recorded instrumental tape sent to him by RCA Victor. Perry will work on the material while waiting for the fish to bite. After enjoying golf and fishing in the mountains of North Carolina for several years, Como built a vacation home in Saluda, North Carolina, in 1980. He undoed his home pictures, because it was his personal place to stay away from celebrity life.
Death
Como died in his sleep on May 12, 2001, at his home in Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida, six days before his 89th birthday. He reportedly suffered from symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Como's eldest son, Ronnie, and his daughter, Terri, could not agree with their interpretation of the will of Como 1999 and it became a matter for the court in the year before his death. His funeral Mass took place at St. Catholic Church. Edward in Palm Beach, Florida. Como and his wife Roselle are buried at Riverside Memorial Park, Tequesta (Palm Beach County), Florida.
Awards and awards
Awards
Como received the 1959 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Appearance, Men; five Emmies from 1955 to 1959; a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with Jackie Gleason's best friend in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Science Hall of Fame in 1990 and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002; he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Como has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work on radio, television, and music.
Tributes
In the official archive of RCA Records Billboard magazine, his life is summarized with these words: "50 years of music and life well lived, an example for all." Composer Ervin Drake said of him, "... Ã, [o] sometimes someone like Perry comes in and will not 'go with the flow' and keeps winning regardless of all the bankrupt people who surround it and import it to give up their values ​​only occasionally. "
Hometown honor
Canonsburg is always very proud to be the birthplace of Perry Como; the local newspaper, Canonsburg Daily Notes , seemed to be the first to write an article about him. Their edition of July 19, 1934, featured a photo and the following: "A young Canonsburg boy threatened to seize the crown from the head of Bing Crosby Perry Como, son of Mr. and Mrs. Pietro Como of 530 Franklin Ave. has one of the largest baritone voices in the country this. "Borough respected him three times during his life. The first of these events occurred on September 14, 1946, when Third Street, where Perry worked at the barber shop Steve Fragapane, was renamed "Perry Como Avenue". Perry, Roselle, and Como's mother, Lucy, attend the ceremonies and banquets held at State Armory.
The second ceremony marking Perry Como Day took place August 24, 1977, but the most ambitious project began in 1997 - a singer statue. The planned statue received the blessing of Como's wife Roselle who died years before it was inaugurated on May 15, 1999. As part of the celebration, Como's bench and music stood from The Perry Como Show and the equipment he used at barber shop Steve Fragapane donated to the borough. Como is not present at the opening due to poor health. The writing on the base, "To This Place God Has Bring Me" is a favorite word about Como's; music features were added in 2002.
Como Celebrations crossed the Atlantic in August 2002. Palena, Italy, birthplace of Como's parents, has a long week-long festival in honor of the singer. Smaller versions of the statue were brought to Palena by the mayor of Canonsburg, Anthony Colaizzo. Perry's son, David, and his wife were also present when the city of Palena changed the street name to Como. There is a marble plaque on the wall of the town of Palena stating that Pietro and Lucia Como, Perry Como's parents, emigrated from this village to the United States from these ceremonies.
Perry Como has never forgotten Canonsburg. One of the things he did to provide assistance to his hometown was to convince RCA to open a record factory there. Those who need to raise funds for local projects like Boys 'and Girls' Clubs find it always ready to do whatever it takes.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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