49 Facts About Vic Damone

1.

Vic Damone's father was an electrician and his mother taught piano.

2.

Vic Damone's cousin was the actress and singer Doretta Morrow.

3.

Vic Damone sang in the choir at St Finbar's Church in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, for Sunday Mass under organist Anthony Amorello.

4.

When his father was injured at work, Vic Damone had to drop out of Lafayette High School.

5.

Vic Damone worked as an usher and elevator operator at the Paramount Theater in Manhattan.

6.

Vic Damone stopped the elevator between floors and sang for him.

7.

Vic Damone began his career at the New York radio station WHN when he was 17, singing on the Gloom Dodgers show, which provided light entertainment to fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

8.

Vic Damone changed his name at the suggestion of a regular on the show, comedian Morey Amsterdam.

9.

Vic Damone entered the talent search on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and won in April 1947.

10.

Vic Damone met Milton Berle at the studio and Berle got him work at two night clubs.

11.

Vic Damone was booked into the Mocambo nightclub on the Sunset Strip in 1949, residing briefly at the Strip's famed Garden of Allah Hotel.

12.

In 1951, Vic Damone appeared in two movies, The Strip, where he played himself, and Rich, Young and Pretty.

13.

Vic Damone served with future Northwest Indiana radio personality Al Evans and country music star Johnny Cash.

14.

In 1955, Vic Damone had one song on the charts, "Por Favor", which did not make it above number 73.

15.

Vic Damone 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 arranged another of Damone's Capitol albums, Strange Enchantment.

16.

Vic Damone did limited acting on television in the early 1960s.

17.

Vic Damone played Stan Skylar in the 1960 episode "Piano Man" of CBS's The DuPont Show with June Allyson.

18.

Vic Damone was cast as Jess Wilkerson in the 1961 episode "The Proxy" of the ABC Western series The Rebel, starring Nick Adams.

19.

Vic Damone guested on UK television, among other programs on The Tommy Cooper Hour Christmas special in 1974.

20.

In 1967, Vic Damone hosted The Dean Martin Summer Show, which was rerun in 1971.

21.

In 1971, Vic Damone began performing in Las Vegas casinos and although he had to declare bankruptcy in the early 1970s, he was earning enough to ease his financial difficulties.

22.

Vic Damone made concert tours of both the US and the UK, and recorded more albums for RCA Records.

23.

In 1972, Damone was offered the role of Johnny Fontane in The Godfather after singer Al Martino, who had previously been given the role by producer Albert S Ruddy, had the part stripped when Francis Ford Coppola became director and wanted Damone to portray Fontane.

24.

Vic Damone eventually declined the role because of a salary dispute and because he did not want to provoke the mob or anger Frank Sinatra, whom Vic Damone profoundly respected.

25.

In January, 1991, Vic Damone appeared in a television commercial for Diet Pepsi first broadcast during Super Bowl XXV.

26.

In 2003, Vic decided to issue some previously unreleased material and formed Vintage Records with his son, Perry Damone.

27.

Vic Damone originally planned to issue a 7 CD series called The Vic Damone Signature Collection, and in May 2003 released Volume 1, produced by Perry and Frank Sinclair.

28.

In May 2004, Vic Damone released his second CD in the Signature Series, again produced by Perry and Sinclair.

29.

Vic Damone garnered new fans following the launch of the Vic Damone website www.

30.

On January 19,2002, Damone made one of his final public performances at the Raymond F Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in Palm Beach, Florida.

31.

Vic Damone suffered a stroke later the same year and subsequently retired.

32.

Vic Damone did step out of retirement on January 22,2011, when he performed at the Kravis Performing Arts Center in Palm Beach, to a sold-out crowd.

33.

Vic Damone dedicated this performance to his six grandchildren, who had never seen him perform live.

34.

On June 12,2009, Vic Damone released his autobiography titled Singing Was the Easy Part from St Martin's Press.

35.

Vic Damone claimed he had been engaged to the thug's daughter, but ended the relationship when she insulted Vic Damone's mother.

36.

Vic Damone wrote that his life was spared when, during a Mafia meeting to determine the singer's fate, New York mob boss Frank Costello ruled in Damone's favor.

37.

In 2010, Vic Damone called Canadian crooner Michael Buble talented but "cocky" and criticized him for smoking and drinking "straight alcohol" after a show, believing that it would damage his vocal cords.

38.

In 2020, Vic Damone appeared in one of a series of interviews for the documentary Jay Sebring.

39.

Vic Damone suffered a stroke in 2002 and another health scare in 2008.

40.

Vic Damone had six grandchildren from his daughters.

41.

Vic Damone was released three hours later after having pled not guilty to being a fugitive from a kidnapping charge.

42.

Vic Damone was raised Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy, claiming to have never found deep meaning in his original faith.

43.

Vic Damone officially joined the religion in the early 1960s.

44.

Vic Damone lived in Palm Beach County, Florida in his later years.

45.

In 2013, Vic Damone was involved in a tug-of-war in a Palm Beach County court with Rowan's two daughters, Nina and Lisa Rowan, for control over the destiny of Rowan and her fortune, which was reportedly worth more than $50 million.

46.

The court ultimately sided with Vic Damone, ruling that Rena Rowan was capable of making her own decisions.

47.

Vic Damone died on February 11,2018, from complications of respiratory illness at the age of 89.

48.

In 1997, Vic Damone received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

49.

In 2014, Vic Damone received the Society for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook's first Legend Award in recognition of those who have made a significant contribution to the genre.