Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

was an American singer, radio and television performer whose career covered more than fifty years. He is probably best known for his television shows and specials over a period of almost thirty years. Como came to television in 1948 when his radio show was selected by NBC for experimental television broadcasts. His television programs were seen in more than a dozen countries, making Como a familiar presence outside of the United States and Canada. He received five

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

from 1955 to 1959, a

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organization ...

(1956) and shared a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

with good friend Jackie Gleason in the same year. Como was inducted into the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a

Kennedy Center Honor The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five honor ...

in 1987. Como has the distinction of having three stars on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

for his work in radio, television, and music.

Radio

began performing on radio in 1936 when he became a member of the

Ted Weems Wilfred Theodore Wemyes, known professionally as Ted Weems (September 26, 1901 – May 6, 1963), was an American bandleader and musician. Weems's work in music was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Biography Born in Pitcair ...

Orchestra. The band had its own weekly radio show on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

from 1936 to 1937. They were also part of the regularly featured cast of ''

Fibber McGee and Molly ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' (1935–1959) was a longtime highly popular husband-and-wife team radio comedy program. The situation comedy was a staple of the NBC Red Network from 1936 on, after originating on NBC Blue in 1935. One of the most p ...

''. Ted Weems and his Orchestra were cast members for the first season of the radio show ''

Beat the Band ''Beat the Band'' is a musical quiz show heard on NBC radio from 1940 to 1944 in two distinctly different series. The program popularized the show business catch phrase, "Give me a little traveling music", often uttered on TV a decade later by Ja ...

'', which was a musical quiz show; they were weekly performers from 1940 – 1941. Como left the Ted Weems Orchestra for his home in

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town li ...

with the intention of returning to his trade as a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

in late 1942. Before he could sign a lease for a barber shop, Como was offered an opportunity to host his own sustaining (non-sponsored) radio show on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He began working for CBS March 12, 1943.

Doug Storer Doug Storer (1899–1985) was a radio producer, talent agent, and writer responsible for creating and producing radio programs from the 1930s to the 1960s, including ''Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American fr ...

, then an advertising executive with the Blackman Company, was a listener of Como's CBS radio show. Storer believed Como's ability and style would be ideal for a new radio variety program he was planning. He created an audition recording of the proposed program with Como and the

Mitchell Ayres Mitchell Ayres (December 24, 1909 – September 5, 1969) was an orchestra leader, music arranger, composer and performer. He is best known for his many years of work with Perry Como on radio, records, and television and as the musical condu ...

Orchestra and brought it to the advertising agency that handled the Chesterfield cigarettes account. The agency liked the concept of the radio show, but had someone else in mind as its host. The singer of their choice was under contract with someone else, so the agency asked Storer to obtain a release from his contract for their new program. Storer believed that Perry Como was the right host for the new radio show and did not do anything about the singer's release from his contract. Weeks later, he received a call from Chesterfield's advertising agency, asking about the status of the singer's contract, since the show was scheduled to begin on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

in about one week. Storer told the agency that the right person for their new program was the man on the audition recording. The agency had no time to spare and agreed to sign Perry Como. At the end of 1944, Como became the host of ''

The Chesterfield Supper Club ''The Chesterfield Supper Club'' is an NBC Radio musical variety program (1944–1950), which was also telecast by NBC Television (1948–1950). Radio ''The Chesterfield Supper Club'' began on December 11, 1944, as a 15-minute radio program, ...

''.

''The Chesterfield Supper Club'' had a main theme song, "Smoke Dreams", composed by

John Klenner John Klenner (24 February 1899 – 13 August 1955) was a German-born American pianist and composer. He composed both classical and popular music and is best known for writing the song "Just Friends" with Sam M. Lewis in 1931. Compositions ;Conce ...

, Lloyd Shaffer and Ted Steele. Another musical theme that was also used on the broadcasts was Roy Ringwald's "A Cigarette, Sweet Music and You". These themes were also used when the ''Chesterfield Supper Club'' television shows began in 1948. Como was joined by

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

in 1946, with Perry hosting the 15 minute program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings. By 1948,

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

and

the Fontane Sisters The Fontane Sisters were a trio (Bea, Geri and Marge Rosse) from New Milford, New Jersey. Early years Born to an Italian family, their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. Bea ...

had joined the cast, with the Fontane Sisters moving to television with Como. The radio show continued and was

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

after the "Supper Club" television broadcasts began; Como was heard on radio until he left NBC in 1950 for CBS with ''The Perry Como Chesterfield Show''. Mutual began simulcasting his CBS television show on radio in 1953; it was the first instance of a simulcast between two different networks. The radio show continued until June 1955, when Como left CBS to return to NBC.

Radio shows

As host or cast member * ''Columbia Presents Como'' (1943) (host) * ''The Perry Como Chesterfield Supper Club'' (1944–1950) (host) * ''The Perry Como Chesterfield Show'' (1950–1955) (host) * ''Ted Weems and his Orchestra'' (1936–1937) as part of the Ted Weems Orchestra * ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' (1937) as part of the Ted Weems Orchestraaudio file of Perry Como with Ted Weems Orchestra singing "Cabin of Dreams" on the "Fibber McGee & Molly" show on NBC October 11, 1937
(

RealPlayer RealPlayer, formerly RealAudio Player, RealOne Player and RealPlayer G2, is a cross-platform media player app, developed by RealNetworks. The media player is compatible with numerous container file formats of the multimedia realm, including MP ...

) * ''Beat the Band'' (1940–1941) as part of the Ted Weems Orchestra As a guest Bing Crosby Perry Como Arthur Godfrey 1950

* ''For The Record''—July 31, 1944 * ''Bill Stern''—June 20, 1946 * ''The Bing Crosby Chesterfield Show'' (1949–1952)--April 5, 1950, May 24, 1950 (with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

) * '' The Big Show'' (1950-1952)--November 19, 1950 * ''Recollect At 30''—February 20, 1957 * '' Ted Lewis''—from San Francisco-date unknown * ''Guard Session''—dates unknown * ''

Pop Chronicles the 40s The ''Pop Chronicles'' are two radio documentary series which together "may constitute the most complete audio history of 1940s–60s popular music." They originally aired starting in 1969 and concluded about 1974. Both were produced by John ...

''—1972

Television

Como's television career began when NBC decided to experiment with televising his ''Chesterfield Supper Club'' radio show on December 24, 1948. The cameras were simply brought into the radio studio to televise the radio broadcast of the show. NBC initially planned to televise three Friday evening "Supper Club" radio shows; the network was pleased enough with the results that the experimental period was extended into August 1949. Como admitted that he felt awkward and unsure at first, but was able to relax enough to perform on the television show in the same manner as he did for normal radio broadcasts. On September 8, 1949, ''Chesterfield Supper Club'' became an officially scheduled television program airing on Sunday nights for a half-hour. Perry and his sponsor moved to CBS in 1950; the show was re-titled ''The Perry Como Chesterfield Show'' and the schedule returned to one similar to the "Supper Club" radio shows: a 15-minute program three times a week.

J. Fred Muggs J. Fred Muggs (born March 14, 1952) is a Common chimpanzee, chimpanzee born in the African colony of French Cameroon that forms part of modern-day Cameroon. Brought to New York City before his first birthday, he was bought by two former NBC pages ...

, who rose to fame on the NBC ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' show, made his debut on Perry Como's CBS program.

Pat Weaver Sylvester Laflin "Pat" Weaver Jr. (December 21, 1908 – March 15, 2002) was an American broadcasting executive who was president of NBC between 1953 and 1955. He has been credited with reshaping commercial broadcasting's format and philosophy ...

of ''Today'' saw the baby chimp on the show and thought he would be able to help his still-floundering morning program. NBC offered Como a long-term contract to host a weekly hour-long television show that would beginning in the fall of 1955. Como signed a 12-year contract with the network in April 1955. ''The Perry Como Show'' made its debut September 17, 1955, with the following announcement from announcer

Frank Gallop Frank Gallop (June 30, 1900 in Boston, Massachusetts – May 17, 1988 in Palm Beach, Florida) was an American radio and television personality. Radio Early days Frank Gallop went into broadcasting by chance. Born and raised in Boston's Back ...

: "We assume everyone can read, so we will not shout at you." Initially, only Gallop's voice was heard because there was not enough room for him to appear onstage.Retrieved 10 June 2010 Clad in his well-known cardigan sweaters, Como welcomed guest stars to his musical-comedy variety program. The "Sing to me, Mr. C." segment of the show was where Como responded to letters of viewer song requests. Como was seated on a stool as he sang some of the music of the weekly requests. The setting for this segment had its beginnings in the first television broadcasts of the ''Chesterfield Supper Club''. Como and his guests did the radio show sitting on stools behind music stands; this is what was seen by the cameras when they initially came into the radio studio. The opening theme song for Como's shows from 1955 to 1963 was "Dream Along with Me (I'm On My Way to a Star)". The closing theme was "You Are Never Far Away From Me". "We Get Letters", composed by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, was the musical beginning of the "Sing to me, Mr. C." segment of Como's weekly shows. It was revived by the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

''. ''The Perry Como Show'' was rated as number seven in the Nielsen top ten after it had been on the air for two months.(subscription required) The program became one of the first

color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...

programs with its 1956 season premiere; it was also the only NBC television show in the Nielsen top ten for the 1956–1957 season. During this time, a ratings war developed between the Como show and that of entertainer

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

. Off-screen, Gleason and Como were long-time friends; Como had been one of those who filled in for Gleason in 1954, when he suffered a broken leg and ankle in an on-air fall. While both men were eager to win, neither wanted to do so at all costs. They kept their friendship intact with phone calls the day after the show; the winner of the weekly ratings battle phoned the loser for some good-natured joking. Baseball stars on Perry Como Show 1960

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

had been the sponsor of a long-running radio program called ''

Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety progra ...

''. The company decided to develop the show for television in 1958, hosted by

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

. Kraft approached Perry Como regarding becoming the program's new host in early 1959. Como signed what was then a record-breaking deal with Kraft, receiving $25 million to host the show for the next two years with another contract to serve as the company's spokesman for the next seven years. The agreement also put Como in charge of his television show's production, as well as for the shows replacing it during the summer hiatus. Como's production company, Roncom, named for his son, Ronnie Como, handled the transactions. Como also had control of the show which would replace his during the summer television hiatus. Como then moved from Saturday evenings to Wednesday evenings with ''Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall''. Como, who had done a regularly scheduled television show since 1948, began taking a slower pace by the fall of 1963. From 1963 to 1967, he only appeared on television in seven specials per season. The Como show was rotated with three other Kraft-sponsored programs: ''

Kraft Suspense Theatre The ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced and broadcast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's ''Kraft Mu ...

'', ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

'', and ''

The Road West The Road West is an American television Western series that aired on NBC from September 12, 1966, to May 1, 1967. Overview Ben Pride moves with his children Timothy, Midge, and Kip, his new wife Elizabeth, his father Tom, and his brother-in-law C ...

''. After 1967, his television appearances mainly came in the form of specials at holidays, especially Christmas. Como actually began doing specials in 1960 while he was still hosting ''Kraft Music Hall''. ''Perry Como Comes To London'' was the first of these programs which would eventually span over twenty-five years. He continued with the television specials, which were filmed in countries like

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the United States until 1987, when an angry Como canceled the Christmas special after being offered a 10 pm late-

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

slot, outside the family hour, by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Como's final Christmas special, ''Perry Como's Irish Christmas'', was seen on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

in 1994.

Television shows

Regularly scheduled television shows * ''The Perry Como Chesterfield Supper Club'' (1948–1950). * ''The Perry Como Chesterfield Show'' (1950–1955) * ''The Perry Como Show'' (1955–1959) * ''Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall'' (1959–1967)

Television specials

* ''Perry Como Comes To London'' (1960) * ''The Perry Como Holiday Special'' (1967) * ''Perry Como Special - In Hollywood'' (1968) * ''Academy of Professional Sports Awards'' (February 21, 1969) * ''Christmas At The Hollywood Palace'' (1969) * ''The Many Moods Of Perry Como'' (1970) * ''Perry Como - In Person'' (1971) * ''Perry Como's Winter Show (1971) * ''The Perry Como Winter Show'' (1972) * ''Cole Porter in Paris'' (1973) * ''The Perry Como Winter Show'' (1973) * ''The Perry Como Sunshine Show'' (1974) * ''Perry Como's Summer of '74'' (1974) * ''Perry Como's Christmas Show'' (1974) * ''Como Country: Perry And His Nashville Friends'' (1975) * ''Perry Como's Springtime Special'' (1975) * ''Perry Como's Lake Tahoe Holiday'' (1975) * ''Perry Como's Christmas in Mexico'' (1975) * ''Perry Como's Hawaiian Holiday'' (1976) * ''Perry Como's Spring in New Orleans'' (1976) * ''Perry Como: Las Vegas Style'' (1976) * ''Perry Como's Christmas in Austria'' (1976) * ''Perry Como's Music From Hollywood'' (1977) * ''Perry Como's Olde Englishe Christmas (1977) * ''Perry Como's Easter by the Sea'' (1978) * ''Perry Como's Early American Christmas'' (1978) * ''Perry Como's Springtime Special'' (1979) * ''Perry Como's Christmas in New Mexico'' (1979) * ''Perry Como's Bahamas Holiday'' (1980) * ''Perry Como's Christmas in the Holy Land'' (1980) * ''Perry Como's Spring in San Francisco'' (1981) * ''Perry Como's French-Canadian Christmas'' (1981) * ''Perry Como's Easter in Guadalajara'' (1982) * ''Perry Como's Christmas in Paris (1982) * ''Perry Como's Christmas in New York'' (1983) * ''Perry Como's Christmas in England'' (1984) * ''Perry Como's Christmas in Hawaii'' (1985) * ''The Perry Como Christmas Special'' (1986) * ''Perry Como in Japan'' (March 1993-Japanese TV) * ''Perry Como's Irish Christmas'' (1994)

Guest appearances

* '' The Frank Sinatra Show'' (March 10, 1951) * ''

Texaco Star Theater ''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Mi ...

'' (December 27, 1949), (January 9, 1951),
(January 16, 1951) * '' Arthur Godfrey and His Friends'' (March 29, 1950), (April 5, 1950) * ''Treasury Open House'' (June 2, 1950) * ''The Frank Sinatra Show'' (October 19, 1951) * ''The U. S. Royal Showcase'' (February 23, 1952) * ''New York Hospital Cardiac Telethon'' (March 14/15, 1952) * '' Strike It Rich'' (December 17, 1952) * '' The Stork Club'' (January 10, 1953) * ''Stars on Parade'' (military-1953-1954-date unk.) * ''The All-Star Revue'' (February 14, 1953) * ''

Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'' (December 13, 1953) * ''Rosalia Home Fund Telethon'' (April 24, 1954 WDTV, Pittsburgh) * ''Dateline'' (December 13, 1954) * ''Max Leibman's Variety'' (January 30, 1955) * ''Some Of Manie's Friends: Tribute To RCA/NBC Executive Manie Saks'' (March 3, 1959) * ''

The Bob Hope Show ''The Pepsodent Show'' is an American radio comedy program broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio. The program starred comedian Bob Hope and his sidekick Jerry Colonna along with Blanche Stewart and Elvia Allman as high-society crazies Brenda a ...

'' (November 18, 1956) * ''

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show ''The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'' is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to May 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore ...

'' (January 31, 1957) * ''Il Musichiere'' (September 14, 1958) * ''Pontiac Star Special'' (March 24, 1959) * ''The Bing Crosby Show'' (February 28, 1960) * ''Bob Hope Special ~ "Potomac Madness"'' (October 21, 1960) * ''Celebrity Golf'' (October 9, 1960) * ''The Bob Hope Show'' (November 8, 1967) * ''Ethel Kennedy's Telethon'' (February 11, 1968) * ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...

'' (November 25, 1968) * ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Harvey ...

'' (January 20, 1969) * ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (January 13, 1969) * ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (March 24, 1969) * ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (February 16, 1970) * ''

Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters ''Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters Hour'' was an American variety show that aired on ABC during the 1969–70 television season. The series was hosted by Jimmy Durante, and stars The Lennon Sisters. Overview Shortly after breaking wit ...

'' (March 28, 1970) * ''

The Tom Jones Show ''Tom Jones'' was a syndicated television variety show, hosted by Tom Jones (singer), Tom Jones, that aired during the 1980-1981 television season. Twenty-four episodes of the show were produced. The show was produced in Vancouver, British Colum ...

'' (November 6, 1970) * '' Evening at Pops'' (August 14, 1970) * ''The Doris Mary Anne Kapplehoff Special ~ The Doris Day Special'' (March 14, 1971) * ''

The Pearl Bailey Show ''The Pearl Bailey Show'' is an American variety show that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC Saturdays 8:30–9:30 P.M. from January 1971 to May 1971. A Cooper-Finkel Company production in association with the Pearl Bailey Production Cor ...

'' (December 26, 1971) * ''

The Flip Wilson Show ''The Flip Wilson Show'' is an hour-long variety show that originally aired in the US on NBC from September 17, 1970, to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of the first American television programs ...

'' (October 6, 1971) * ''

Julie on Sesame Street ''Julie on Sesame Street'' was a variety special broadcast in the United States on ABC on November 23, 1973 at 9 PM ET / PT. Sponsored on ABC by technology/telecommunications conglomerate GTE, the special starred Julie Andrews and Perry Co ...

'' (November 23, 1973) * ''

The Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

'' (November 24, 1974) * ''The Barber Comes To Town'' (December 14, 1975-BBC) * ''Ann-Margret: Rhinestone Cowgirl'' (April 26, 1977) * '' Parkinson'' (November 26, 1977) (UK) * ''Christmas With Nationwide: Journey to Bethlehem'' (December 21, 1977-BBC) * ''Bob Hope's Christmas Show'' (December 19, 1977) * ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

~ On Perry Como's 40th Anniversary With RCA Records'' (1983) * ''

'' (July 5, 6, 7, 1983) * ''Bob Hope's Salute to NASA: 25 Years of Reaching for the Stars'' (July 5, 1983) * ''

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

'' (September 25, 1983) * ''The

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

'' (December 27, 1983) * ''The Arlene Herson Show'' (June 6, 1984) * ''Good Company'' (Minneapolis TV Interview) (June 19, 1984) * ''AM Cleveland'' (July 31, 1984)) * ''Regis Philbin's Life Styles'' (August, 1984) * ''Duke Children's Classic'' (May 1986-ESPN) * ''The Kennedy Center Honors'' (December 6, 1987) * ''Val Doonican's Very Special Christmas'' (December 24, 1987-BBC) * '' Evening at Pops''—"A Tribute to Bing Crosby" (August 20, 1988) * ''

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'' (December 12, 1988) * ''Duke Children's Classic'' (May 15, 1989-ESPN) * ''Live with Regis & Kathie Lee'' (July 7, 1989) * ''Gala Concert For President Ronald Reagan'' (October 22, 1989) * ''The 6th Annual Television Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame''
(January 24, 1990) * ''Sinatra 75: The Best is Yet to Come'' (Frank Sinatra 75th Birthday Celebration) (1990) * ''Night of 100 Stars III'' (1990) * ''Broadcast Hall of Fame'' (January 7, 1990) * ''Sammy Davis Jr. Variety Club Telethon'' (

KMOV KMOV (channel 4) is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Circle owned-and-operated station KDTL-LD (channel 16). The two stations s ...

-St. Louis) (March 2–3, 1990) * ''Live with Regis & Kathie Lee'' (December 4, 1990) * ''Live with Regis & Kathie Lee'' (December 5, 1990) * ''

Hard Copy ''Hard Copy'' is an American tabloid television show that ran in syndication from 1989 to 1999. ''Hard Copy'' was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence. The original hosts of ''Hard Copy'' ...

~ Perry Como - The King of Crooners'' (June 14, 1991) * ''

CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...

'' (December 20, 1991) * ''National Memorial Day Concert, Washington D.C.'' (May 22, 1992) * ''

Kenny Live ''Kenny Live'' is a televised talk show presented by Pat Kenny on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ).''Kenny Live''
IMDB. ...

'' (January 15, 1994-RTÉ) * ''Sammy Davis Jr. Variety Club Telethon'' (KMOV-St. Louis) (March 5–6, 1994) * ''Live with Regis & Kathie Lee'' (November 15, 1994) * ''Duke Children's Classic'' (May 1995)

Filmography

Perry Como - Here Comes Heaven Again in Doll Face

Perry Como was signed to a seven-year

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

contract in 1943, prior to his becoming the host of the ''Chesterfield Supper Club''. Como wound up in a stock company, where actors were called for work only if the studio needed to make a film to complete a schedule. For the filming of ''Something for the Boys'' in 1944, Como was told to report immediately to the Fox Studio

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

lot. It was five weeks from Como's arrival to his being called onto the set. When he came on the movie set, the director did not know who he was. Como made five feature films, but felt that his roles and his personality were a poor match. He expressed his discomfort with the medium, saying in 1949, "Television is going to do me a lot more personal good than the movies ever have...The reason should be obvious. On television, I'm allowed to be myself; in pictures, I was always some other guy. I come over like just another bum in a tuxedo." Though his last movie, '' Words and Music'', was produced by prestigious

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, the change was of little help. Shortly before the film's debut, columnist

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...

reported the following in his column: "Someone at MGM must have been dozing when they wrote the script for ''Words and Music''. In most of the film Perry Como is called Eddie Anders and toward the end (for no reason) they start calling him Perry Como." Como then asked for and received a release from the remainder of his MGM contract, saying, "I was wasting their time and they were wasting mine.".

Films

Including shorts * ''Swing, Sister, Swing'' (1938) with the

Orchestra * ''Swing Frolic'' (1942) with the Ted Weems Orchestra * '' Upbeat in Music'' (1943) * ''Something for the Boys'' (1944) * ''

Doll Face ''Doll Face'' is a 1945 American film released by 20th Century Fox and directed by Lewis Seiler starring Vivian Blaine as "Doll Face" Carroll. It also stars actor Dennis O'Keefe and singers Carmen Miranda and Perry Como. The film is based on th ...

'' (1945) "Perry Como and Martha Stewart sing "Hubba, Hubba, Hubba" in this clip from the movie-YouTube
/ref> * ''March of Time'' (1945) * ''If I'm Lucky'' (1946) * '' Words and Music'' (1948) * ''Tobaccoland on Parade'' (1950) * ''The Fifth Freedom'' (1951).

References

External links

A Perry Como Discography & CD Companion

The Perry Como Home on the Internet
*

created by Perry Como, Mickey Glass, and Nick Perito

Watch

* * * * * *

Listen

Audio Files-Songs from the ''Chesterfield Supper Club'' Radio Show
Internet Archive {{The Chesterfield Supper Club