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| Vito Rocco Farinola | |
| June 12, 1928 Brooklyn, New York , United States | |
| Brooklyn, New York , United States | |
| Traditional pop | |
| Singer Songwriter | |
| Vocals | |
Columbia Records Capitol Records Warner Bros. Records RCA Records Damone entered the talent search on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and won in April 1947. This led to his becoming a regular on Godfrey's show. He met Milton Berle at the studio and Berle got him work at two night clubs. By mid 1947, Damone had signed a contract with Mercury Records . His first release, "I Have But One Heart ", 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 , Damone appeared in two movies : The Strip 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. He served with future Northwest Indiana radio personality Al Evans, and also country music star Johnny Cash . After leaving the service, he married an Italian American actress , Anna Maria Pierangeli , and in 1954 made two more movies: Deep in My Heart and Athena . He also made some guest appearances on Milton Berle 's television CBS 's anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson . and show in 1954. He appeared as Stan Skylar in the 1960 episode "Piano Man" of In 1955, Damone had only one song on the charts, "Por Favor," which did not make it above #73. However, he did have a major role in the movie musical, Kismet . In early 1956, he was dropped by Mercury, but was able to sign with Columbia Records My Fair Lady , his final pop top ten) and "An Affair to Remember" (from the movie of the same name ). and had some success on that label with hits like "On the Street Where You Live" (from 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, 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 Strange Enchantment . albums, Damone moved next to Warner Bros. Records . 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 1969 he released his last US chart record, a cover of the 1966 song "To Make A Big Man Cry", which made the Billboard Easy Listening chart. [edit ] Later careerIn 1971, Damone 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 the RCA label. His final album was issued in 2002, with other albums being re-packaged and re-released. He has recorded over 2,000 songs over his entire career. He has garnered new fans following the launch of The Vic Damone website in 2002 (www.vicdamone.com), managed by William "Bill" Karant. His final performance was on January 19, 2002 at the Raymond Kravis Performing Arts Center in Palm Beach, Florida. In Brett Ratner 's movie Money Talks , Chris Tucker 's character sees a commercial about Vic Damone and then pretends to be Damone's son. On June 12, 2009 Vic Damone released his autobiography titled "Singing was The Easy Part" from St. Martins Press. [edit ] Personal lifeDamone has married five times and divorced four:
In the late 1950s, Damone was introduced to the Bahá'í Faith by a drummer in his band. Damone relates his rendition of "On the Street Where You Live" incorporates gestures meant to summon a sustaining vitality from `Abdu'l-Bahá .[1] He officially joined the religion in the early 1960s. [edit ] AwardsIn 1997, 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 - advising students to "Have spiritual guidance. Don't lose God. There is a God. Trust me."[1] In 1997, Damone received the "Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Songwriters Hall of Fame .[2] Frank Sinatra said that Damone had "the best set of pipes in the business".[2] For his contribution to the recording industry, Vic Damone has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1731 Vine Street in Los Angeles, California. |