00:00Perry Como had a seemingly effortless charm.
00:15It wasn't an act, but a persona that he had to maintain, just like his memorable singing
00:19voice.
00:20He gained a reputation as the nice guy in the crooner world.
00:23He felt approachable whether you were listening to his music or watching his TV shows.
00:27He is one of the few celebrities who never lost a friend due to unnecessary arguments.
00:33That doesn't mean that he never had loss, though.
00:34Time ran out one day for the person who meant more to him than anyone in the world.
00:39Keep watching for more on the death that devastated Perry Como.
00:43Perry's Early Life
00:44Pierino Ronald Como was born in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania on May 18, 1912.
00:50He was the seventh of 13 children.
00:52He was also the first one in the family to be born in America to his Italian immigrant
00:56parents.
00:57He didn't learn English until he began school because the family spoke Italian at home.
01:02Perry played the family's organ as soon as he could walk.
01:05His father often took on extra jobs to give the family music lessons.
01:09Perry learned to play several instruments, including the organ, trombone, and guitar,
01:13but he never had voice lessons.
01:15He joined the family barber shop when he was 10 and got a chair in the Fran Japan Barber
01:19Shop at 13.
01:21He wanted to become the best barber in Cannonsburg and put any musical ambitions to the side.
01:27His talent was still evident as he became a quote-unquote wedding barber, singing to
01:30customers who'd just been married.
01:33Perry's Music
01:35Perry moved to Meadville, PA in 1932.
01:38He'd often go to the Silver Slipper Ballroom in Cleveland.
01:41Freddie Carlone and his orchestra played there.
01:44They once invited anyone with talent to sing with them.
01:46Perry was nervous to volunteer, but his friends encouraged him to try.
01:50Freddie was so impressed that he immediately offered him a job.
01:53Perry talked it over with his father, who said that it could be the turning point as
01:56to whether or not he'd be a professional singer.
01:59They could also use the money.
02:01Perry said,
02:02We had an awful lot of fun.
02:03To me, it was just like a vacation.
02:04I didn't think of it as being a professional venture of any kind.
02:11Perry joined the band four days later.
02:13He then moved to Ted Weems' orchestra for his first recordings.
02:17The gig came with a raise, paying $50 a week.
02:20It also gave him nationwide exposure through the band's weekly radio program.
02:24His first recording with the band was You Can't Pull the Wool Over My Eyes.
02:28There wasn't confidence in him at first because he allegedly sounded too much like Bing Crosby.
02:33Ted gave an ultimatum.
02:35Keep Perry or the band walks.
02:37That single decision kept him going.
02:39Perry got his own ultimatum in 1940 when his first child was born.
02:43He left to go back home even though he was threatened with being kicked out if he did.
02:47He didn't want to raise a child on the road, so he went home to Canningsburg.
02:51He also quit the Weems Band in 1942, even if that meant that he had to quit singing
02:55forever.
02:56Perry was trying to get back into the family business when he got a call from the General
02:59Artist Corporation.
03:01He was offered a radio show and a recording contract with No More Road Tours.
03:05He pondered the job offer, but his wife told him that he could always get another barbershop
03:10if it didn't work out, so he accepted.
03:12He made his radio debut for CBS on March 12, 1943.
03:16He was then booked at the Copacabana Nightclub for two weeks.
03:20The RCA was looking for a new crooner to replace Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
03:25They signed him, and he recorded for them for 44 years, from 1943 to 1987.
03:30He was voted Crooner of the Year in 1943.
03:33Lines for his paramount performance wound around the city.
03:36He thoroughly enjoyed touring, even getting to visit Buckingham Palace.
03:40He also reportedly sold over 100 million recordings in his career.
03:45Hollywood Came Calling
03:47Perry also got a film contract with 20th Century Fox in 1943.
03:52He made four films for them, Something for the Boys, March of Time, Dollface, and If
03:56I'm Lucky.
03:57He also appeared in 1948's Words and Music for MGM.
04:01He never enjoyed film work and didn't feel the roles fit his personality.
04:05He said in a 1949 interview that television would be better for him because he could be
04:10himself.
04:11That's what ended up happening.
04:13He first broadcast the Chesterfield Supper Club radio program as a Christmas special
04:17on December 24, 1948.
04:19It went so well that it was extended for three more shows through to August 1949.
04:24It became a weekly half-hour show in September.
04:27The show was changed to The Perry Como Chesterfield Show in 1950.
04:31He hosted the informal 15-minute musical variety show three times a week.
04:35His CBS contract expired on July 1, 1955.
04:40He signed a new one that was meant to last for 12 years.
04:43He was riding high on the final broadcast on June 24, 1955.
04:47The Perry Como Show, an hour-long variety show, began on September 17, 1955.
04:54It was popular enough to reach ninth in the ratings, the only show on NBC to land in the
04:59top ten.
05:00The final season ran in 1958.
05:02After that, he did Perry Como's Craft Music Hall from 1963 to 1967.
05:07Over his television career, he was particularly known for his many Christmas specials.
05:12Perry became the highest-paid TV performer to date at that time, and he was enjoying
05:16every bit of it.
05:17He said, quote, I got a kick out of live television.
05:20The spontaneity was the fun of it.
05:23Finding Love Life magazine ran a poll of young women in
05:271956, asking which celebrity was their concept of an ideal husband.
05:32Perry won the top spot.
05:33Another poll of US teenagers in 1958 had him win the spot for the top male singer.
05:39He even beat out the previous winner, Elvis Presley.
05:42So what kind of woman would win the heart of such a popular man?
05:45She certainly had to be a special one.
05:47He met Roselle Boleyn in 1929.
05:49They were both at a picnic in Charter Creek that served as a popular community event in
05:54the Canningsburg area.
05:55Perry was there with another girl and didn't notice her until the end of the night.
05:59The bonfire ended with everyone choosing a song to sing.
06:02He picked More Than You Know.
06:04His eyes suddenly met Roselle's, and he couldn't look away from her for the entire song.
06:09After that fateful encounter, he asked her to a school dance.
06:12They were high school sweethearts with the right stuff to make it.
06:14They bonded over having immigrant parents, his from Italy and hers from France.
06:19Staying In Love Perry and Roselle Boleyn were married on July
06:2331, 1933.
06:25They had three children, Ronnie, David, and Terry.
06:28They had 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
06:31It didn't matter to them that not all of them were natural children.
06:34Roselle couldn't have any more after Ronnie, so they adopted David and Terry.
06:38After the couple took an active role in raising their children, Roselle said that they respected
06:42Perry as their father and that she watched them closely, very closely.
06:46They also closely watched their grandchildren meeting with their teachers.
06:49This may be partially because they almost lost one of them.
06:52Terry's first baby, Terrence, was born premature.
06:55Doctors didn't think he'd survive, but Roselle relied on the power of prayer, and Terrence
06:59turned out big and healthy.
07:01She didn't always join him on tours and was too nervous to attend opening nights.
07:05Despite that, she found other ways to help him.
07:07She'd put in a pot of hot water and a bouillon cube in his dressing room to make sure he
07:11ate a healthy diet.
07:12Perry called her his anchor.
07:14He said, quote,
07:15In the early days there were some rough times when I thought I'd quit the business.
07:18Roselle always stood by me, never pressuring me either way.
07:21They were eventually married for 65 years.
07:24He said there was
07:25There were never any rumors about infidelity in all those years.
07:42He explained, quote,
07:43I've had a lot of opportunities to have affairs.
07:45I never took advantage of the position I'm in, where a lot of women throw themselves
07:49at you.
07:50Not because I'm a saint.
07:51Because I'm not.
07:52It was because I always knew what I had with Roselle was special.
07:54She's special.
07:55No one could match the importance of what I felt for her.
07:58There was another reason why I never had affairs.
08:00I would never have risked doing anything that might hurt Roselle.
08:03I would sooner have died.
08:04She is a wonderful woman.
08:06Her children and her husband come first.
08:07I never want for anything at home.
08:09She's my girl.
08:10She's my best friend.
08:12The Devastating Death
08:14Perry suffered some major injuries and health issues throughout his life.
08:17He fell off a platform while taping Perry Como's Winter Show in 1971.
08:22After exams from two different doctors, his knee was found to be seriously broken.
08:26It took eight months to recuperate.
08:28He was also treated for bladder cancer in 1993.
08:31But none of that physical pain prepared him for the biggest mental agony of his life.
08:36Roselle died of a sudden heart attack two weeks after their 65th anniversary on August
08:4012, 1998.
08:42Losing her truly meant losing his best friend.
08:44Perry did live on for a few more years without him.
08:47He was held up by different types of love, such as love for family, his craft, and his
08:51fans.
08:52We'd love to hear from you.
08:53What's your favorite memory of Perry Como?
08:55Let us know in the comments section below.
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