Tony Orlando
(born April 3, 1944) is an American singer best known for his work with the group Dawn in the early 1970s.
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TONY ORLANDO TICKETS
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Biography
Born
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis
to a
Greek father and a
Puerto Rican mother, he was raised in
Manhattan's then-notorious
Hell's Kitchen.
Tony Orlando's musical career started with The Five Gents, a
doo-wop group he formed. His first success came when he recorded the hits
Bless You
and
Halfway To Paradise
in 1961. After becoming general manager at
Columbia Records, he was tempted back to a recording career when he was asked to record a demo record of
Candida
. The label liked the demo so much that Tony's performance was released, under the band name
Dawn (named after a record executive's daughter). After Orlando discovered that there were six touring groups using that name, Dawn became
Dawn featuring Tony Orlando
(which changed to
Tony Orlando and Dawn
in 1974).
Joining Tony were
Telma Hopkins and
Joyce Vincent Wilson, and the trio scored a string of #1 hits with
Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree
,
Knock Three Times
, and
He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)
. With a successful recording career, Orlando then set his sights on television which resulted in his highly rated weekly variety series
Tony Orlando and Dawn Rainbow Hour
on
CBS. The show, which ran for four seasons from 1974 to 1976, welcomed the biggest names in show business each week as Tony's guests, including his boyhood idols,
Jackie Gleason and
Jerry Lewis.
During the 1984-85 season of the
Cosby Show (its first season), he played the part of a man who runs a community center. More recently, Orlando has appeared on the
Trinity Broadcasting Network.
Discography
Albums
- Bless You
(1961)
- To Be With You
(1976)
- Tony Orlando
(1978)
- Ghetto Dope
(1995)
Solo hit singles
- "Halfway To Paradise" (1961) US #39
- "Bless You" (1961) US #15
- "Happy Times (Are Here To Stay)" (1961) US #82
- "Don't Let Go" (1978) AC #48
- "Sweets For My Sweet" (1979) US #54; AC #20
Orlando also recorded with the studio group
Wind
in 1969 and had a #28 hit that year with
Mak Believe.
Tony Orlando in popular culture
During the
"Marge on the Lam" episode of the animated series
The Simpsons
,
recurring character Troy McClure, while
emceeing a public television marathon, opens with a version of his familiar
catchphrase by stating: "Hi, I'm
Troy McClure. You might remember me from such
telethons as
Out with Gout '88
and
Let's Save Tony Orlando's House.
", the latter inspiring the title of a song by the
Hoboken, New Jersey indie rock band Yo La Tengo, which was released on the band's 2000 album
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
.
In the
Sports Night
episode "The Head Coach, Dinner and the Morning Mail," anchor Dan Rydell of
Sports Night
(the fictional show-within-a-show) is supposed to give the audience a piece of trivia about
Troy Aikman for the show's "You Should Know" segment but, when nothing shows up on his teleprompter, he
improvs a piece of trivia about Tony Orlando. He claims that Tony Orlando is neither Italian nor Latin, as one might assume, but that he actually hails from Greece. After the show is over, he admits that he was making it up off the top of his head and had no idea if it was true or not. His "improv" is partially correct, as Tony Orlando is of Greek descent.
In the Christmas episode of
Stroker and Hoop
, when
Santa Claus was about to die, he asked C.A.R.R. to tell Mrs. Claus that Santa forgives her for an affair that she apparently had with Tony Orlando.
Tony Orlando appeared in an episode of
MADtv doing a skit involving a court case, where the defense sings to persuade the jury about their side. Tony Orlando sings for the prosecution, thereby persuading the judge to give the defense jail for life.
He also had a cameo appearance as himself in the
1992 film
Waking Up In Reno, in which he sings a version of "Knock Three Times" during a concert while a glammed-up Darlene (
Natasha Richardson) is in attendance.
Tony Orlando has appeared in
NutriSytem commercials with
Dan Marino to show how much weight they lost.
[1]
Tony Orlando is featured in "
Larry the Cable Guy's Star Studded Christmas Extravaganza".
[2]
In an episode of
The King of Queens
, Doug goes to a Tony Orlando concert.
Tony Orlando and Dawn are referenced in the song "Bitchin' Camaro" by
The Dead Milkmen
Tony Orlando voiced the role of Christopher the lion in "The Kingdom Chums: Original Top Ten"
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
References
- Singer Orlando changes tune with help of Horsham firm
- Larry the Cable Guy's Star-Studded Christmas Extravaganza