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Perry Como was born Pierino Ronald Como

in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on May 18, 1912, the
son of Pietro Como, a mill hand, and Lucia
Travaglini Como, immigrants from Palena, Italy.
The seventh of thirteen children, Perry Como
earned a few cents a day working after school in a
local barbershop in Canonsburg. Later, while
attending high school, he operated his own
barbershop. Como, performing at wedding
receptions and other functions, gained local
recognition for his singing ability. One of the few
vocalists of his generation to read music, he played
both organ and baritone horn.
 Vacationing in Cleveland in 1933,
Como auditioned for Freddie
Carlone's band and was hired at
twenty-five dollars a week. That
same year Como married his high
school sweetheart, Roselle Belline,
the daughter of French immigrants;
they had three children, whom they
sheltered from the celebrity world
of show business. "Roselle always
stood by me," Como remarked.
She died in August 1998, two
weeks after celebrating their sixty-
fifth wedding anniversary.
Como's popularity skyrocketed in the late 1930s after he
became the featured vocalist with the Ted Weems
orchestra. When the Weems band broke up in the early
1940s, NBC offered him a contract to share star billing
with singer Jo Stafford on the Chesterfield Supper Club,
a radio show broadcast Mondays through Fridays.
 Como usually sang romantic ballads
during each broadcast. When that show
came to Friday night television in the
late 1940s Como continued to be a
featured vocalist, supported by the
Mitchell Ayres Orchestra and the
Fontane Sisters. A smorgasbord of
comedy routines, dancing, and singing,
the show gave him the opportunity to
reveal a captivating personality. His
neckties and business suits, however,
did not complement his casual style and
in later shows he wore cardigan
sweaters, dubbed Perry Como sweaters
by his fans.
The program was soon moved
to a half-hour slot on Sundays,
competing with Ed Sullivan's
Toast of the Town. Meanwhile,
Como was also performing
before enthusiastic and often
frenetic audiences at the
Paramount Theater in New York
City and the Steel Pier in
Atlantic City. "Perry Como was
the heartthrob of the ladies at
that time," remarked David
Hamid, Jr., part owner of the
Steel Pier.
Hollywood filmmakers lured Como to the
silver screen, but his career in the motion
picture industry was brief and
unrewarding. Three of his movies,
Something for the Boys (1944), Doll Face
(1945) and If I'm Lucky (1946), remain
memorable because they featured
Carmen Miranda . "I was wasting their
time and they were wasting mine," Como
admitted. Television, however, seemed
made for his singing style and personality.
 His baritone voice, intimate
and personal, complemented
his affability and sincerity.
Television viewers liked his
friendliness. On 14 May 2001
the Washington Post noted in
retrospect: "What Perry Como
did week after week on his TV
shows was not so much sing to
his fans as have a continuing
conversation with them, a
conversation in song."
 In 1950 Como signed with CBS,
hosting his own program for five
seasons. In 1955 he went back to
NBC, starring in the weekly Perry
Como Show, later titled The Kraft
Music Hall. He remained with NBC
until 1963. From the late 1940s
through the early 1960s Como
was a pioneer in the television
variety show genre. His singing
style evolved into the popular
musical form called easy listening,
influencing a generation of lounge
singers.
Beginning with his first, on Christmas Eve 1948,
Como's Christmas specials on ABC-TV became
an integral part of the holiday season. These
annual events were accompanied by his three
Christmas albums (1946-1948) for the RCA
Victor label. A fourth Christmas album, recorded
for Como's 1993-1994 Irish Christmas television
special, was his only non-RCA recording in half
a century. When ABC decided to cancel Como's
annual Christmas special in 1987, the Dallas
Morning News mounted a "Save Perry" letter-
writing campaign. A fan wrote: "If Perry Como is
removed from Christmas, can Santa Claus be
far behind?“
 Wearing a cardigan sweater and showing a winning smile
on television, he appeared so relaxed that his critics
believed he lacked ambition. However, his career spanned
more than six decades and made him wealthy. "People
have always thought that I wasn't ambitious," he said.
"They judged by appearances and were fooled. I was
competitive. I wanted success and was willing to work for
it." In New Statesman, 14 May 2001, a music critic wrote,
"nobody else was so intensely relaxed."
During the final years of his long
life Como spent most of his time
at his home in Jupiter Inlet Beach
Colony near Palm Beach,
Florida, golfing, fishing, and
taking long walks with his wife.
Near the time of his death he had
become a great-grandfather. He
devoted himself to various
charities, including his annual
golf benefits at Duke University
in North Carolina, and even
found time to visit radio stations
that carried Weekend with Perry,
a weekly program syndicated
throughout the United States.
Combining a gentle voice with a pleasant personality, Como
celebrated in life and in song romantic love and lifelong fidelity.
He parlayed these values and his ability to express them in song
into one of the most successful careers in twentieth-century
popular entertainment.

Perry Como died in his sleep on May 18, 2001.

You’ve been listening to
Till the end of time
 Now
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sit back,
relax,
and
listen to
some other of his songs…

- or you can skip he slides until you find your favorite one
When I fall in love
If I loved you
Some enchanted evening
Days of wine and roses
Fly me to the moon
Papa loves mambo
Wanted
Magic moment
I wonder who’s kissing her now
I believe
No other love
Don’t let the stars get in your eyes
hope you’ve enjoyed…