- The singer and TV star died at home in Branson, Missouri
- Williams had a long and illustrious career where he received 18 gold and three platinum albums along with 5 Grammy nominations
- Began singing aged 8 with brothers in his native Iowa
- Established the Moon River Theater in Branson where he performed two shows a night, six days a week, for nine months of the year until recently
By Louise Boyle
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Andy Williams, the silky-voiced singer whose recording of Moon River brought him fans all over the world, has died at the age of 84.
Williams passed away on Tuesday night at his home in Branson, Missouri following a year-long battle with bladder cancer, his publicist said.
Williams revealed in November 2011 that he had been diagnosed with the disease but planned to keep performing. Until recently, he continued to appear at the Moon River Theater he built in Branson for two shows a day, six days a week, across nine months of the year.
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The show must go on: Andy Williams continued to perform while he fought cancer. He died on Tuesday at his home in Branson, Missouri at the age of 84
Timeless style: Andy Williams, legendary singer of Moon River, has died aged 84 at his U.S. home
Tributes poured in for Williams after news of his death. Singers Tony Orlando and Jimmy Osmond said that Williams convinced them and other performers to come to perform at the Moon River theater he built in Branson. Orlando said the nation had lost a 'great treasure'.
Singer and chat show host Kathie Lee Gifford said: 'He had perhaps the most beautiful male voice ever. Perfect pitch.'
Pop star Robbie Williams tweeted: 'God bless Andy Williams. RW x.'
Williams began singing with his brothers as a child, and his easy style and mellow voice led President Ronald Reagan to call him 'a national treasure'.
The singer proved ideal for television. The Andy Williams Show, which lasted in various formats from 1957 to 1971, featured Williams alternately performing his stable of easy-listening ballads and bantering casually with his guest stars.
He received 18 gold and three platinum albums over his long career and was nominated for five Grammy awards. He released an autobiography in 2009, Moon River and Me: A Memoir.
Though his version of Moon River made him world famous, it was among his many hits, including Butterfly and Can't Get Used to Losing You.
From the beginning: Andy Williams gets a hug from Wayne Osmond as he appears on stage alongside the group including Donny (right) in 2007. The Osmonds launched their career on Williams' variety show
It was on his show that Williams introduced the world to the original four singing Osmond Brothers of Utah. Their younger sibling Donny also made his debut on Williams' show, in 1963 when he was six years old.
Life in showbusiness: Williams, pictured in 2008, received 18 gold and three platinum albums over his long career and was nominated for five Grammys
The singer's unflappable manner on television and in concert mirrored his offstage demeanor.
He once said: 'I guess I've never really been aggressive, although almost everybody else in show business fights and gouges and knees to get where they want to be.
'My trouble is, I'm not constructed temperamentally along those lines.'
Williams' clean-cut persona, which made him a popular act in conservative Branson, also carried over into his personal life.
He was connected with scandal only once - indirectly - when his ex-wife, former Las Vegas showgirl Claudine Longet, shot her lover, skiing champion Spider Sabich, to death in 1976. The Rolling Stones mocked the tragedy in the song Claudine.
Longet, who said it was an accident, spent only a week in jail, and Williams provided support for her and their children, Noelle, Christian and Robert.
Born in Wall Lake, Iowa, on December 3, 1927, Howard Andrew Williams began performing with his older brothers Dick, Bob and Don in the local Presbyterian church choir when he was eight years old. Their father, a postal worker, was the choirmaster.
Soon after, the Williams Brothers Quartet landed a regular spot on Des Moines radio station WHO's Iowa Barn Dance. The show quickly brought attention from Chicago, Cincinnati and Hollywood.
Famous friends: (left to right) Frank Sinatra, Charles Young and Andy Williams
Resolute performer: Williams (pictured in 1972, left) began his singing career at eight years old alongside his brothers and rose to global fame. He continued to perform until his death
Movie classic: Moon River was originally written for Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast At Tiffany's although it later became synonymous with Williams
They joined Bing Crosby in recording the hit Swinging on a Star in 1944 for Crosby's film Going My Way, and Andy, barely a teenager, was picked to dub Lauren Bacall's voice on a song for the film To Have and Have Not.
I'll keep going until I get to the point where I can't get out on stage.
Andy Williams
His voice stayed in the film until the preview, when it was cut because it didn't sound like Bacall's.
Later the brothers worked with Kay Thompson, a singer who had taken a position as vocal coach at MGM studios, working with Judy Garland, June Allyson and others.
After three months of training, Thompson and the Williams Brothers broke in their show at the El Rancho Room in Las Vegas to a huge ovation.
They drew rave reviews in New York, Los Angeles and across the nation, earning a peak of $25,000 a week.
Great loves: Andy Williams with his first wife Claudine Longet (left) and second wife Debbie (right)
Star attraction: Andy Williams announces the winner of Song Of The Year at the 50th Grammy Awards along with Nelly Furtado (left) and actress Roselyn Sanchez
Williams, analyzing their success, once said: 'Somehow we managed to work up and sustain an almost unbearable pitch of speed and rhythm.'
After five years, the three older brothers, who were starting their own families, had tired of the constant travel and left to pursue other careers.
THE MAGIC OF MOON RIVER
Despite a long catalogue of hits, the song for which Andy Williams will forever be remembered is the timeless Moon River.
Written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer in 1961, it was originally composed for the movie Breakfast At Tiffany's to be sung by Audrey Hepburn's character Holly Golightly.
In the same year, Moon River won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was performed at the Oscars in 1962 by Williams who quickly became identified with the track.
Although he never released it as a single, Williams' album Moon River And Other Great Movie Themes was certified gold in 1963 after grossing $1million in sales.
In 1992, he opened a theater in Branson, Missouri named after his famous song.
Andy Williams' biography, Moon River and Me, was released in October 2009.
Williams initially struggled as a solo act and was so broke at one point that he resorted to eating food intended for his two dogs.
'I had no money for food, so I ate it,' he recalled in 2001, 'and it actually was damned good.'
A two-year TV stint on Steve Allen's Tonight Show and a contract with Cadence Records turned things around.
The Andy Williams Show followed, along with a host of gold albums and records.
Among his hit records were Canadian Sunset; The Hawaiian Wedding Song; Dear Heart; Days of Wine and Roses, the theme from the movie Love Story, and Charade.
Williams was also known for his political involvement and campaigned for his close friend Senator Robert Kennedy.
He was in Los Angeles when the senator was shot dead and sung the Battle Hymn of the Republic at his funeral, later saying it was the 'hardest thing I've ever done'.
However Williams was not a natural Democrat and accused President Obama in 2009 of 'wanting the country to fail'.
After leaving TV, Williams headed back on the road, where his many Christmas shows and albums made him a huge draw during the holidays.
One year in Des Moines, however, a snowstorm kept the customers away, and the band's equipment failed to reach Chicago in time for the next night's show, forcing the musicians to borrow instruments from a high school band.
'No more tours,' Williams decreed. He decided to settle in Branson, the self-proclaimed 'live entertainment capital of the country,' with its dozens of theaters featuring live music, comedy and magic acts.
Friends in high places: Andy Williams and Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show in 1980
Life on film: Andy Williams and Sandra Dee in the film I'd Rather Be Rich in 1964
When he arrived in 1992, the town was dominated by country music performers, but Williams changed that, building the classy, $13 million Andy Williams Moon River Theater in the heart of the city's entertainment district and performing two shows a night, six days a week, nine months of the year. Only in recent years did he begin to cut back to one show a night.
Not surprisingly, his most popular time of the year was Christmas, although he acknowledged that not everyone in Hollywood accepted his move to the Midwest.
'The fact is most of my friends in LA still think I'm nuts for coming here,' he told The Associated Press in 1998.
Celebrated: Andy Williams opened the Moon River Theater in 1992 in Branson, Missouri where he performed six days a week, nine months of the year
Popular venue: Although Branson was originally dominated by country singers, the Andy Williams theater saw a variety of musicians come to visit
He and his second wife, the former Debbie Haas, divided their time between homes in Branson and Palm Springs, where he spent his leisure hours on the golf course when Branson's theaters were dark during the winter months following Christmas.
Retirement was not on his schedule. As he told the AP in 2001: 'I'll keep going until I get to the point where I can't get out on stage.'
He continued to perform even after announcing his bladder cancer diagnosis in 2011.
Williams is survived by his wife, Debbie, and his three children, Robert, Noelle and Christian.
Royal welcome: Williams meets the Queen Mother along with singer Max Bygraves at the Royal Variety Show in London in 1970
Festive spirit: The Christmas special of the Andy Williams show in 1969 which were highly popular with American TV audiences
Sad news. He will be remembered as one of the greats.
- RachH , Northampton, 26/9/2012 18:39
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