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Famous Like Me > Actor > D > Vic Damone

Profile of Vic Damone on Famous Like Me

 
Name: Vic Damone  
   
Also Know As:
   
Date of Birth: 12th June 1928
   
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York, New York, USA
   
Profession: Actor
 
 
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia

Vic Damone (born June 12, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American singer. He was born Vito Rocco Farinola.

He inherited his musical interests from his parents: His father, an electrician by trade, sang and played the guitar; his mother taught piano. At an early age he decided to imitate his favorite singer, Frank Sinatra, and began taking voice lessons. After his father became injored at work, he had to drop out of school, and he took a job as an usher and elevator operator in a movie theater, the Paramount, in Manhattan.

One day, Perry Como visited the theater and Vic took Como to his dressing room to perform for him. Como liked the performance enough to take him under his wing, and referred him to a local bandleader. At this time, he took the name of Damone, his mother's maiden name. He entered the talent search on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and won the competition in April, 1947.

Winning the contest led to his getting a regular role on Godfrey's show (a step that figured in the careers of many other Talent Scouts winners). One day he ran into Milton Berle at the station and Berle got him a chance to do regular shows at two night clubs. By the middle of 1947, he had a contract with Mercury Records.

His first release, "I Have But One Heart" (August 30) reached #7 on the Billboard chart. "You Do" (released November 1) reached the same peak. These were followed by a number of other hits. In 1948 he got his own weekly radio show, Saturday Night Serenade.

In 1951 he played in two movies: The Strip and Rich, Young, and Pretty. From 1951 to 1953 he served in the United States Army, but before going into the service he recorded a number of songs which were released during that time. After leaving the service, he married an American actress, Pier Angeli, and in 1954 made two more movies: Deep In My Heart and Athena. He also made some guest appearances on Milton Berle's television show in 1954.

1955 was a poor year for Damone. He had only one song on the charts, "Por Favor," which did not make it above #73. In early 1956, he was dropped by Mercury, but was able to sign with Columbia Records and had some success on that label with hits like "On the Street Where You Live" (from My Fair Lady) and "An Affair to Remember" (from the movie of the same name).

His marriage to Pier Angeli ended in 1958. In 1960 he starred in the movie Hell to Eternity, which would prove to be his last movie. In 1961 he was released by Columbia, moving over to Capitol Records, where he filled in the gap left by Frank Sinatra's leaving to help found Reprise Records. He lasted at Capitol only until 1965, however, moving next to Warner Brothers' record label. On Warners he had one chart hit: "You Were Only Fooling (While I Was Falling In Love)." The next year he moved again, to RCA Records, but in 1968 he released what would be his final record for a long time.

in 1971 he started touring Las Vegas casinos as a performer, and although he had to declare bankruptcy in the early 1970s, 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, releasing them on RCA's label.

Damone was married from 1987 to 1996 to an American entertainer, Diahann Carroll. She was his fourth wife. Damone has married five times, divorced four. He has three daughters from his second marriage to Judith Rawlins and one son from his first union to Pier Angeli. In 1998 the singer married Rena Rowan, designer.

His final album was released in 1992.

Songs

The following songs recorded by Damone made the Billboard charts:

  • "An Affair To Remember" (#16) (1957)
  • "Again" (#6) (1949) (bigger hit for Doris Day, but a gold record for Damone)
  • "April In Portugal" (#10) (1953)
  • "Calla Calla" (#13) (1951)
  • "Can Anyone Explain (No! No! No!)" (#25) (1950) (bigger hit for The Ames Brothers)
  • "Cincinnati Dancing Pig" (#11) (1950)
  • "Do I Love You (Because You’re Beautiful)" (#62) (1957)*"Ebb Tide" (#10) (1953)
  • "Eternally (The Song From Limelight)" (#12) (1953)
  • "Four Winds And Seven Seas" (#16) (1949)
  • "Gigi" (#88) (1958)
  • "God’s Country" (#27) (1950)
  • "Here in My Heart" (#8) (1952) (bigger hit for Al Martino)
  • "If" (#28) (1951) (bigger hit for Perry Como)
  • "I Have But One Heart" (#7) (1947)
  • "It’s Magic" (#24) (1948) (bigger hit for Doris Day)
  • "Jump Through The Ring" (#22) (1952)
  • "Just Say I Love Her" (#13) (1950)
  • "Longing For You" (#12) (1951)
  • "Music By The Angels" (#18) (1950)
  • "My Bolero" (#10) (1949)
  • "My Heart Cries for You" (#4) (1950) (bigger hit for Guy Mitchell)
  • "My Truly, Truly Fair" (#4) (1951) (bigger hit for Guy Mitchell)
  • "On The Street Where You Live" (#4) (1956)
  • "Por Favor" (#73) (1955)
  • "Rosanne" (#23) (1952)
  • "Say Something Sweet To Your Sweetheart" (#23) (1948) (duet with Patti Page)
  • "Sugar" (#13) (1953)
  • "Sitting By The Window" (#29) (1950)
  • "Take My Heart" (#30) (1952)
  • "Tell Me You Love Me" (#21) (1951 in music|1951]])
  • "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" (#7) (1950) (bigger hit for The Weavers)
  • "Vagabond Shoes" (#17) (1950)
  • "War And Peace" (#59) (1956)
  • "Why Was I Born?" (#20) (1949)
  • "Wonder Why" (#21) (1951)
  • "You Do" (#7) (1947)
  • "You're Breaking My Heart" (#1) (1949) (Damone's 2nd gold record and his biggest hit)
  • "You Were Only Fooling (While I Was Falling In Love)" (#30) (1965)

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Vic Damone