Biography of singer vic damone

In , he got his own weekly radio show, Saturday Night Serenade. In January he made his first of several guest appearances on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town, including a duet, the first of many, with the vocalist and future TV hostess Dinah Shore. Over the next thirty years he became a regular featured guest performer on every major variety series on network television.

From to , he served in the United States Army, but before going into the service, he recorded a number of songs that were released during that time. In , Damone had one song on the charts, "Por Favor", which did not make it above number However, he did have major roles in two movie musicals, Hit the Deck and Kismet. In , he was released by Columbia.

He lasted at Capitol only until ; however, he recorded some of his most highly regarded albums there, including two which made the Billboard chart, Linger Awhile with Vic Damone and The Lively Ones, the latter with arrangements by Billy May, who also arranged another of Damone's Capitol albums, Strange Enchantment.

Biography of singer vic damone

Damone did limited acting on television in the early s. In the summers of and , Damone hosted a television variety series on NBC called The Lively Ones, which showcased current jazz, pop, and folk performers, as well as comedians. Damone's other notable television work during this time included three guest appearances from to on CBS's The Judy Garland Show.

In , Damone next moved to Warner Bros. On Warner Bros. Later career. In , Damone started playing Las Vegas casinos as a performer, and although he had to declare bankruptcy in the early s, he earned enough as a casino performer to clear up his financial difficulties. He extended his geographical range, touring through the United States and the United Kingdom, and as a result of his popularity, decided to record some albums again for RCA.

In , he was offered the role of Johnny Fontane in The Godfather. The role ultimately went to Al Martino, as Damone turned down the role for a variety of reasons, reportedly including his not thinking the role had enough screen time or paid enough, but also due to a fear of provoking the mob and Frank Sinatra, whom Damone profoundly respected.

His final album was issued in , with other albums being repackaged and re-released. In , Vic decided to release some previously unreleased material and formed Vintage Records with his son, Perry Damone. He recorded over 2, songs over his entire career. He garnered new fans following the launch of the Vic Damone website www. One of his final public performances was on January 19, , at the Raymond F.

Damone suffered a stroke the same year and subsequently retired. Damone dedicated this performance to his six grandchildren, who had never seen him perform. But, you know, my six grandkids have never seen me on stage. It will be the first time. I will introduce them. It's going to be exciting for me. Before I die, I want them to have heard me perform at least once".

At the time, Vic's real-life son, Perry, had some laughs about that "15 minutes of fame," and made mention of it on his midday radio show on Phoenix radio station KEZ. Martin's Press. In December 2, , at the age of 83, Damone launched an official Facebook profile dedicated to his fans. In addition to posting recent photos, Damone wrote that besides spending time with his family, he spends his retirement enjoying golf and football.

The oft forgotten recording studio. It's humble presence remains under-acclaimed. He recovered from both, and lived until Damone's first wife, Pier Angeli, was previously in a well-publicized relationship with James Dean , but was forced to leave him to marry Damone, a move that garnered great media attention. He was released three hours later after having pled not guilty to being a fugitive from a kidnapping charge.

At the same time, a California judge awarded him custody of Perry. Damone married actress Diahann Carroll in The union, which Carroll admitted was turbulent, had a legal separation in , reconciliation, and divorce in Damone was raised Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy, claiming to have never found deep meaning in his original faith.

Damone met his Polish-born wife Rena Rowan born Irena Aurelia Jung on January 4, , in Lida , then part of Poland in , after she asked him to perform at an event to raise money for her Rowan House charity in Philadelphia, which provides housing for homeless single women with children. Damone lived in Palm Beach County, Florida in his later years.

The court ultimately sided with Damone, ruling that Rena Rowan was capable of making her own decisions. She was Damone died on February 11, , from complications of respiratory illness at the age of In , Damone received his high school diploma from Lafayette High School in Brooklyn when officials with the school granted credits for life experience and asked him to give the commencement address, in which he advised students to "Have spiritual guidance.

Don't lose God. There is a God. Trust me. Frank Sinatra said that Damone had "the best set of pipes in the business. In , Damone received the Society for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook's first Legend Award in recognition of those who have made a significant contribution to the genre. Contents move to sidebar hide.

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. American singer and actor — This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Traditional pop big band. Mercury Columbia Capitol Warner Bros. RCA Victor Crown. Musical artist. Life and work [ edit ]. Early life [ edit ]. Career [ edit ]. Later career [ edit ]. Personal life [ edit ]. Awards [ edit ]. Discography [ edit ]. Further information: Vic Damone discography. References [ edit ]. February 12, The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, Retrieved November 23, Christmas Favorites , Mercury, Take Me in Your Arms , Mercury, Vocals by Vic , Mercury, April in Paris , Mercury, Athena soundtrack , Mercury, The Stingiest Man in Town soundtrack , Columbia, That Towering Feeling!

Columbia, The Voice of Vic Damone , Mercury, Yours for a Song , Mercury, Affair to Remember , Epic, The Gift of Love soundtrack , Columbia, Angela Mia , Columbia, Closer Than a Kiss , Columbia, This Game of Love , Columbia, On the Swingin' Side , Columbia, Linger Awhile with Vic Damone , Capitol, The Lively Ones , Capitol, Strange Enchantment , Capitol, The Liveliest , Capitol, My Baby Loves to Swing , Capitol, You Were Only Fooling ,Warner, Make Someone Happy , Vianda, Billboard , June 14, , p.

Fox News Transcripts , May 18, Palm Beach Post , February 4, , p. Village Voice , September 12, , p. Cancel or. Found a cd that had a couple old Milton Berle shows recorded on it. The best part was the singing sensation Vic Damone. What lovely sounds and memories. Thank you for years of musical joy. Aloha, Shirlee. Damone: I agree with Sinatra: You do have the best pipes in the business.

Met you when I was in my teens?? You talked about having me perform at bond rallies with you.