![]() ![]() Andy had the honor of singing the song during the Oscar ceremony. In 1962, Andy made a lucrative label change to Columbia Records, which produced the “Top 10” pop hit “Can’t Get Use to Losing You” and a collaboration with Henry Mancini, which inspired Andy’s signature song, “Moon River,” the Oscar-winning tune from the popular Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). In the meantime, he developed into a top nightclub favorite. An ingratiating presence on television, he was handed a musical show co-hosting with June Valli and a summer replacement series of his own. This, in turn, was followed by “Butterfly” (#1), “Lonely Street”, “I Like Your Kind of Love”, “Are You Sincere” and “The Hawaiian Wedding Song”, the last tune earning him five Grammy Award nominations. A “Top 10” hit came with the lovely ballad “Canadian Sunset”. After College Bowl was cancelled Andy Williams was offered regular singing duties on Steve Allen’s The Tonight Show (1953) show, which led to Andy’s first recording contract with Cadence Records in 1956 and his first album. On the show he acted, sang, and danced along with others. His career received a major boost when he co-starred with Chico Marx on the short lived television show called The College Bowl (1950 – 1951). Andy was the only Williams brother who ventured out to the East Coast to seek a solo singing career. They then joined singer/personality Kay Thompson in 1947 with her eclectic nightclub act and stayed with the popular show until they disbanded in 1951. Specialty film appearances in musicals were popular and the boys appeared in such film fare as Janie (1944), Kansas City Kitty (1944), Something in the Wind (1947) and Ladies’ Man (1947). They eventually caught the attention of crooning king Bing Crosby, who included the four boys on his mammoth 1944 hit single “Swinging on a Star”. Andy graduated from high school in Cincinnati. From there, the harmonizing brothers found widespread popularity on wartime radio, including Chicago and Cincinnati. A bona fide hit, they went on to become a staple on radio in the nearby city of Des Moines. ![]() The quartet became instant local news and made its professional singing debut when Andy was in the third grade. Born in Wall Lake, Iowa, Andy started singing with his three older brothers (Bob Williams, Dick Williams and Don Williams) in his hometown’s Presbyterian church choir. The extraordinary, easy-listening crooning talents of Andy Williams were first unveiled when he was just 8 years old and inducted into the Williams Brothers Quartet as its youngest member. his children, Noelle, Christian & Bobby, his family, his music, and not surprisingly, his Moon River Theater. There were many things in his life of which he was proud. Andy loved his many fans and wanted them to enjoy his music and his celebrity friends in a beautiful, family friendly environment. All that and more before even entering the amazing theater lobbies where you can view hundreds of photographs of Andy and his many celebrity guests both at the theater and on his three time EMMY Award winning, prime time network television variety show, the famous Andy Williams Show. The theater that pop superstar Andy Williams conceived and had built in the beautiful Ozark Mountains of southwest Missouri sits on 12 acres of lovely manicured grounds featuring the spectacular stone cliff encrusted theater, Andy’s beloved Moon River water feature of waterfalls, streams, and ponds… loaded with his beautiful coy fish, all surrounded by a magical menagerie of sculptured animals that Andy had commissioned for his fans, their families and young children to enjoy while walking the grounds listening to Andy’s beautiful music. The Andy Williams Moon River Theatre is the only Theater ever to be featured in Architectural Digest for its exquisite design, purpose and natural setting. Without question, the most beautiful, unusual and spectacular theater in Branson, Missouri. ![]()
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