Ever hear of Vito Farinola? Probably not. How about Vic Damone? Sounds a bit more familiar, right? But not nearly familiar enough.
Damone is Broo-klyn’s very own contribution to the Rat Pack. A headlining singer and movie star who hit his stride in the 1940s and ’50s, he palled around with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and, of course, Frank Sinatra.
“I wish I had his pipes,” Sinatra once said of Damone. “No one sounds better. He is the essential baritone.”
After a career that spanned five decades with recordings of more than 2,000 songs, Damone retired in 2001. Now 81 years old, he has just published a book about his extraordinary journey through fame and fortune, Singing Was the Easy Part (St. Martin’s Press, $25.95), written with David Chanoff.
He was born as Vito Farinola in Benson-hurst at 288 Bay 14th Street in 1928. His family belonged to St. Finbar’s parish, where he sang in the choir. His musical talent was recognized early, especially by his mother, who was a pianist and gave lessons to earn extra money for the family.
She was adamant about giving her son singing lessons, often dragging him in from his sandlot baseball games, saying, “you gotta vocalize.”
He went to Lafayette High School (fellow Lafayette alum Larry King wrote the book’s foreword) but dropped out at 16 after his father, an electrician, was injured and unable to work. Vic worked full time as an usher at the Paramount Theater in Manhattan, witnessing great performances by Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Sinatra, who was his idol. “Whatever I might have been learning at Lafayette High School, at the Paramount Theater I was getting a graduate education in musical performance,” writes Damone in the book.
One of his first gigs was singing on the Gloom Dodgers, a radio show meant to “chase away the gloom after the Dodgers lost another one.” Then he started singing with a live orchestra on the Dodgers’ broadcasts to fill time when there was a rain delay.
It wasn't long before Vic’s talent got noticed and he had his first hit record by 17 years old, “I Have But One Heart.” By 21, he was performing in all the best clubs in L.A., New York and Vegas, such as the Mocambo, Copacabana and the Riviera.
After a stint in the army in the early ’50s, Damone’s career continued with countless television appearances and films such as Deep in My Heart and Athena. He sang the title song for the film An Affair to Remember and had another hit with “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady.
But his career highlights are only one element of his engaging memoir, which is filled with unbelievable stories of “Golden Age” show biz personalities.
Damone’s life stories include getting punched in the face by bandleader Cab Calloway, making pasta and sauce for Jackie Gleason, an intoxicating date with Ava Gardner and dating Elizabeth Taylor when she was only 18 and still living with her parents. He was also the target of a decades-long vendetta by a powerful mobster who was more than a little miffed after Vic broke off an engagement with his daughter. And this isn’t even the half of it.
Damone brushed shoulders with a whole host of characters, ranging from Sugar Ray Robinson to Robert Kennedy, Mickey Rooney to Fred Astaire, Perry Como to Clark Gable. And all through his story, Frank Sinatra weaves in and out, first as an idol and then friend and mentor. “He had a certain thing about me,” writes Da-mone.” “A little as if I was his younger brother.”
Damone has been married five times. His first wife was the Italian actress Anna Maria Pierangeli. He was also married to the actress and singer Diahann Carroll, who was the first African American to the win a best actress Tony Award and to star in her own television series.
Damone has been married to fashion designer and philanthropist Rena Rowen since 1998. In 1997, he received the lifetime achievement award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
— Phoebe Neidl
Brooklyn Eagle
Questions? Comments?
Sound off to the Editor
————————
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2009
All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law.
Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
