Andy Williams

Vocation

Family

American musician, singer in the crooner style so popular in the 1950s and '60s. He maintained his appeal for longer than four decades and recorded more than 20 gold record albums. Williams and his brothers began singing early in their parents' church choir. They took their act to radio where Bing Crosby heard them sing. Impressed, Crosby invited them to record "Swinging on a Star" with him in 1944. After the brothers split up in 1951, Williams went out on his own, making the rounds of the nightclub circuit and landed a gig on The Steve Allen Show. He signed a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1962. His nine-year television variety show, featuring his voice and calm demeanor, lasted from xx to xx and won three Emmy Awards.In 1966 he opened in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace and was the star attraction of the strip for the next twenty years. In 1992 he opened his own theater, The Moon River Theater after one of his biggest hit recordings of the theme from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." He continues to perform even after the beginning of the 21st century. Williams married Claudine Longet on December 15, 1961 and together they had three children. In 1970 they split up and divorced in 1975. Despite their divorce, he remained her supporter when she was accused of murder in the shooting death of her lover Spider Sabich on March 21, 1976 and the ensuing media frenzy at her trial and afterward. Williams married Debbie Haas on May 3, 1991. He died of bladder cancer in Branson, Missouri on 25 September 2012. Link to Wikipedia biography