1. William Boone Daniels was an American singer active in the United States and Europe from the mid-1930s to 1988, notable for his hit recording of "That Old Black Magic" and his pioneering performances on early 1950s television.
22 Facts About Billy Daniels
1. 2.
Billy Daniels was one of the first African-American entertainers to cross over into the mainstream.
3.
Billy Daniels was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977.
4.
Billy Daniels had a heritage of Portuguese sailor, Native American, African American, and frontiersman Daniel Boone.
5.
In 1935, Billy Daniels moved from Jacksonville to New York to attend Columbia University.
6.
Billy Daniels planned to become a lawyer, but he was sidetracked during the Depression.
7.
Billy Daniels's grandmother was a seamstress in Harlem for the Ziegfeld Follies, and she encouraged her grandson to sing at Dickie Wells, the club where he first worked as a dishwasher, then a singing waiter.
8.
Billy Daniels had several accompanists, including Nat Cole, while in New York.
9.
Billy Daniels's 1950 recording on Mercury became a hit, selling in the millions.
10.
Billy Daniels had performed in musicals on Broadway early in his career with a minor role in a short-lived musical, Memphis Bound.
11.
Billy Daniels was popular in Australia where he first toured with the Andrews Sisters in 1954.
12.
Billy Daniels was a pioneer in television with his own television series that debuted on ABC on October 12,1952.
13.
The Billy Daniels Show was sponsored by Rybutol, a popular vitamin tablet at the time.
14.
Billy Daniels appeared on television in the US and UK and Australia and Canada throughout the 1950s and 1960s with performances on The Milton Berle Show and 'The Ed Sullivan Show.
15.
Billy Daniels's films include When You're Smiling Sunny Side of the Street and Columbia's Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder.
16.
Billy Daniels' recordings cover the period of transition from 78-rpm to the dawn of microgroove recording.
17.
Billy Daniels was married four times: Gladys Gordan ; Florence Clotworthy ; Martha Braun ; and Pierrette.
18.
Billy Daniels had three children with his second wife Florence Clotworthy: Diane, Billy Jr, and Bruce.
19.
Pierrette H Daniels, Daniels' widow, and their daughter Dominique Daniels founded a 501 non-profit organization, the Billy Daniels Foundation, raising money for underserved youths seeking Arts Education support in her late husband's name.
20.
Billy Daniels had heart-bypass surgery twice, first in 1982 and then five years later in 1987.
21.
Billy Daniels died on October 7,1988, from stomach cancer at the age of 73 in Los Angeles, California.
22.
Billy Daniels is buried at the El Camino Memorial Park in Sorrento Valley, San Diego, California.