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Andy Williams
Age: 81
Height: 5' 6 1/2"
Birth Place: Wall Lake, Iowa, USA
Born: Dec. 3rd, 1927
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Andy Williams' Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: 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 (XXII), Dick Williams (XVI) and Don Williams (XX)) 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 Cincinatti. 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 (I) 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 was offered regular singing duties on Steve Allen (I)'s "Tonight!" (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 TV, 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 (I) comedy soufflé I'd Rather Be Rich (1964) starring Sandra Dee (I) 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 TV camera and his dueting with such singing legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland (I) and Peggy Lee (I) 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 TV 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 TV show, Andy opened Caesar's Palace in 1966 and went on to headline there for 20 years. Following the demise of his TV 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 (I), 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 continues to perform in Branson, where he and his wife reside, and in Europe.
TRIVIA:
- Williams has recorded eight Christmas albums over the years.
- Uncle of twin singer/songwriters 'David Williams (XVI)' (qv) and 'Andrew Williams (IV)' (qv).
- Strongly supported ex-wife 'Claudine Longet' (qv) during her trial for the shooting death of her lover, skier 'Spider Sabich' (qv), in 1976 in Aspen, CO. She claimed it was accidental and received 30 days in jail. Andy went to Aspen to be by her side after the shooting, but she ran away with her married defense attorney to Mexico.
- As part of Andy's show at Branson, Missouri, he once used a clip of himself and 'Sandra Dee (I)' (qv) from his only acting film role in _I'd Rather Be Rich (1964)_ (qv) in an absolutely hysterical bit.
- Younger brother of 'Bob Williams (XXII)' (qv), 'Dick Williams (XVI)' (qv) and 'Don Williams (XX)' (qv).
- Father of 'Noelle Williams (III)' (qv), 'Christian Williams (III)' (qv) and 'Bobby Williams (VI)' (qv).
- His high baritone voice was used, along with his brothers, whenever 'Kay Thompson (I)' (qv) would do vocal arrangements at MGM. He can easily be heard in numbers featured in _Good News (1947)_ (qv) (most notably in the "Ladies Man" number alongside 'Mel Tormé' (qv)), _The Harvey Girls (1946)_ (qv), and _Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)_ (qv).
- Ex-son-in-law of 'Danielle Longet' (qv).
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