Andy Williams Biography

Fast Facts

• Entered show business at age 8 with his siblings Bob, Don and Dick in the Williams Brothers Quartet
• They appeared on regional and national radio shows; and eventually caught the ear of Bing Crosby, who invited them to sing on his 1944 hit "Swinging on a Star
• " Became a regular on Steve Allen's Tonight Show during the mid-1950s
• Although never released as a single, "Moon River" became his signature song after he performed it at the 1962 Academy Awards and released the Moon River & Other Great Movie Themes album the same year
• Earned 18 gold and three platinum albums
• His 1962-71 variety show introduced the world to the Osmond Brothers
• Was a good friend of Bobby Kennedy's; and sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" at his 1968 funeral
• Appeared on Broadway in 1974 in a limited-run show with pianist-composer Michel Legrand Named to Arts & Antiques magazine's list of 100 top American art collectors in 1987
• Opened the Andy Williams Moon River Theater in Branson, Mo
• , in 1992
• It was the first non-country music attraction in the Midwest vacation destination