This article's introduction section may not adequately summarize its contents. To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, please consider modifying the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points in such a way that it can stand on its own as a concise version of the article. (discuss). (March 2012)

"Departure of the Israelites", by David Roberts, 1829

The Exodus (Greek ἔξοδος, exodos "way out", Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, Modern Yetsi'at Mitzrayim Tiberian [jəsʕijaθ misʕɾajim] Y'ṣiʾath Miṣrayim ; "[the] exit [from] Egypt") is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.

Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan described in the books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Summary[link]

See Exodus 13 and following chapters

The Book of Exodus tells how Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where God reveals himself and offers them a Covenant: they are to keep his torah (i.e. law, instruction), and in return he will be their god and give them the land of Canaan. The Book of Leviticus records the laws of God. The Book of Numbers tells how the Israelites, led now by their God, journey onwards from Sinai towards Canaan, but when their spies report that the land is filled with giants they refuse to go on. God then condemns them to remain in the desert until the generation that left Egypt passes away. After thirty-eight years at the oasis of Kadesh Barnea the next generation travel on to the borders of Canaan. The Book of Deuteronomy tells how, within sight of the Promised Land, Moses recalls their journeys and gives them new laws. His death (the last reported event of the Torah) concludes the 40 years of the exodus from Egypt.

Cultural significance[link]

The exodus from Egypt is the theme of the Jewish festival of Passover.^[1] The Hebrew name for this, "Pesaḥ", refers to God's instruction to the Israelites to prepare unleavened bread as they would be leaving in haste, and to mark their doors with the blood of slaughtered sheep so that the "Angel" or "the destroyer" tasked with killing the first-born of Egypt would "pass over" them. (Despite the Exodus story, scholars believe that the passover festival originated not in the biblical story but as a magic ritual to turn away demons from the household by painting the doorframe with the blood of a slaughtered sheep.)^[2]

Jewish tradition has preserved national and personal reminders of this pivotal narrative in daily life. Examples include the wearing of tefilin (Jewish phylacteries) on the hand and forehead, the wearing of tzitzit (knotted ritual fringes attached to the four corners of the prayer shawl), the eating of matzot (unleavened bread) during the Pesach, the fasting of the firstborn a day before Pesach, and the redemption of firstborn children and animals.

Origins of the Exodus story[link]

Biblical background[link]

While the story in the books of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy is the best-known account of the Exodus, there are over a hundred and fifty references scattered through the Bible.^[3] The earliest mentions are in the prophets Amos (possibly) and Hosea (certainly), both active in 8th century Israel; in contrast Proto-Isaiah and Micah, both active in Judah at much the same time, never do; it thus seems reasonable to conclude that the Exodus tradition was important in the northern kingdom in the 8th century, but not in Judah.^[4]

Secular academic theories[link]

Theories of Stephen C. Russell[link]

In a recent work, Stephen C. Russell traces the 8th century prophetic tradition to three originally separate variants, in the northern kingdom of Israel, in Trans-Jordan, and in the southern kingdom of Judah. Russell proposes different hypothetical historical backgrounds to each tradition: the tradition from Israel, which involves a journey from Egypt to the region of Bethel, he suggests is a memory of herders who could move to and from Egypt in times of crisis; for the Trans-Jordanian tradition, which focuses on deliverance from Egypt without a journey, he suggests a memory of the withdrawal of Egyptian control at the end of the Late Bronze Age; and for Judah, whose tradition is preserved in the Song of the Sea, he suggests the celebration of a military victory over Egypt, although it is impossible to suggest what this victory may have been.^[3]

Theories of William Dever and others[link]

There is reportedly archaeological evidence that the origins of Israel were in fact largely Canaanite, leaving, in the words of archaeologist William Dever, "no room for an Exodus from Egypt or a 40-year pilgrimage through the Sinai wilderness."^[5] The modern scholarly consensus is that there was never any exodus of the proportions described in the Bible,^[6] and that the story is best seen as theology instead of history, illustrating how the god of Israel acted to save and strengthen his chosen people.^[7] A common hypothesis among biblical scholars today is that the first major comprehensive draft of the exodus story was composed in the late 7th or the 6th century BC and later expanded into a work very like the one we have now.^[8]

Secular theories about how the story was written[link]

There are currently a number of competing theories on the composition of the four books Exodus-Leviticus-Numbers-Deuteronomy, and they can be grouped into three broad "models". The first, the documentary hypothesis, proposes that the four books (actually five - the models include Genesis) were originally four separate documents, treating the same subject (i.e. the Exodus) written at various times between the 9th and 6th centuries BC and combined about 450 BC. This theory dominated biblical scholarship from the late 19th century to the 1970s. The second, the "supplementary" model, had been popular before the documentary hypothesis dominated the field and has re-emerged since the 1970s. It holds that that there was a single original document which was then expanded by "supplements", again with the end product emerging around 450 BC. The third, the "fragmentary" model, proposes that the four books were combined by a single author from a host of "fragments", meaning small texts as well as oral traditions (sagas and folk-tales), again c.450 BC.

The most recent ideas on the origin of the five books place Deuteronomy in the late 7th century with a revised version in the 6th, and the other four books in the Persian period of the 5th century. It is generally agreed that the Exodus tradition behind the five books predates the narrative as told in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (since it also appears in the 8th century prophets), but there is no consensus on just what might lie behind the tradition.

Ongoing debate[link]

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (February 2012)

The consensus among biblical scholars today is that there was never any exodus of the proportions described in the Bible,^[6] and that the story is best seen as theology, a story illustrating how the god of Israel acted to save and strengthen his chosen people, and not as history.^[7] Nevertheless, the discussion of the historical reality of the exodus has a long history, and continues to attract attention.

Numbers and logistics[link]

According to Exodus 12:37-38, the Israelites numbered "about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children," plus many non-Israelites and livestock.^[9] Numbers 1:46 gives a more precise total of 603,550.^[10] The 600,000, plus wives, children, the elderly, and the "mixed multitude" of non-Israelites would have numbered some 2 million people,^[11] compared with an entire Egyptian population in 1250 BCE of around 3 to 3.5 million.^[12] Marching ten abreast, and without accounting for livestock, they would have formed a line 150 miles long.^[13]

Secular point of view[link]

No evidence has been found that indicates Egypt ever suffered such a demographic and economic catastrophe or that the Sinai desert ever hosted (or could have hosted) these millions of people and their herds.^[14] Some scholars have rationalised these numbers into smaller figures, for example reading the Hebrew as "600 families" rather than 600,000 men, but all such solutions raise more problems than they solve.^[15] The view of mainstream modern biblical scholarship is that the improbability of the Exodus story originates because it was written not as history, but to demonstrate God's purpose and deeds with his Chosen People, Israel.^[16] Thus it seems probable that the 603,550 people delivered from Egypt (according to Numbers 1:46) is not simply a number, but a gematria (a code in which numbers represent letters or words) for bnei yisra'el kol rosh, "the children of Israel, every individual;"^[17] while the number 600,000 symbolises the total destruction of the generation of Israel which left Egypt, none of whom lived to see the Promised Land.^[18]

Archaeology[link]

A century of research by archaeologists and Egyptologists has found no evidence which can be directly related to the Exodus captivity and the escape and travels through the wilderness,^[16] and most archaeologists have abandoned the archaeological investigation of Moses and the Exodus as "a fruitless pursuit".^[19] A number of theories have been put forward to account for the origins of the Israelites, and despite differing details they agree on Israel's Canaanite origins.^[20] The culture of the earliest Israelite settlements is Canaanite, their cult-objects are those of the Canaanite god El, the pottery remains in the local Canaanite tradition, and the alphabet used is early Canaanite, and almost the sole marker distinguishing the "Israelite" villages from Canaanite sites is an absence of pig bones, although whether even this is an ethnic marker or is due to other factors remains a matter of dispute.^[21]

Anachronisms[link]

Several details point to a 1st millennium date for the Book of Exodus: Ezion-Geber, (one of the Stations of the Exodus), for example, dates to a period between the 8th and 6th centuries BC with possible further occupation into the 4th century BC,^[22] and those place-names on the Exodus route which have been identified - Goshen, Pithom, Succoth, Ramesses and Kadesh Barnea - point to the geography of the 1st millennium rather than the 2nd.^[23] Similarly, Pharaoh's fear that the Israelites might ally themselves with foreign invaders seems unlikely in the context of the late 2nd millennium, when Canaan was part of an Egyptian empire and Egypt faced no enemies in that direction, but does make sense in a 1st millennium context, when Egypt was considerably weaker and faced invasion first from the Persians and later from Seleucid Syria.^[24]

Chronology[link]

The chronology of the Exodus story likewise underlines its essentially religious rather than historical nature. The number seven, for example, was sacred to God in Judaism, and so the Israelites arrive at Sinai, where they will meet God, at the beginning of the seventh week after their departure from Egypt,^[25] while the erection of the Tabernacle, God's dwelling-place among his people, occurs in the year 2666 after God creates the world, two-thirds of the way through a four thousand year era which culminates in or around the re-dedication of the Second Temple in 164 BCE.^[26][27]

Route and date[link]

Possible Exodus Routes. In black is the traditional Exodus route; other possible routes are in blue and green.

Route[link]

The Torah lists the places where the Israelites rested. A few of the names at the start of the itinerary, including Ra'amses, Pithom and Succoth, are reasonably well identified with archaeological sites on the eastern edge of the Nile delta,^[23] as is Kadesh-Barnea,^[28] where the Israelites spend 38 years after turning back from Canaan, but other than that very little is certain. The crossing of the Red Sea has been variously placed at the Pelusic branch of the Nile, anywhere along the network of Bitter Lakes and smaller canals that formed a barrier toward eastward escape, the Gulf of Suez (SSE of Succoth) and the Gulf of Aqaba (S of Ezion-Geber), or even on a lagoon on the Mediterranean coast. The biblical Mt. Sinai is identified in Christian tradition with Jebel Musa in the south of the Sinai Peninsula, but this association dates only from the 3rd century AD and no evidence of the Exodus has been found there.^[29]

The most obvious routes for travelers through the region were the royal roads, the "king's highways" that had been in use for centuries and would continue in use for centuries to come. The Bible specifically denies that the Israelites went by the Way of the Philistines a northerly yet coastal route along the Mediterranean (the purple line on the map to the right indicates the Way of Shur which goes inland towards Shur, Asshur or Syria). The Arabian Trade Route (green) and the Way of Seir (black) are improbable routes, the former having the advantage of heading initially toward Kadesh-Barnea but swinging east towards Petra north of Aqaba/Eilat.

Date[link]

The Seder Olam Rabbah (ca. 2nd century AD) determines the commencement of the Exodus to 2448 AM (1313 BC). This date has become traditional in Rabbinic Judaism.^[30]

In the first half of the 20th century the Exodus was dated on the basis of 1 Kings 6:1, which states that the Exodus occurred 480 years before the construction of Solomon's Temple, the fourth year of Solomon's reign. Equating the biblical chronology with dates in history is notoriously difficult, but Edwin Thiele's widely accepted reconciliation of the reigns of the Israelite and Judahite kings would imply an Exodus around 1450 BC, during the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC).^[31] By the mid-20th century it had become apparent that the archaeological record made this date impossible. The mummy of Thutmoses III had already been discovered in 1881,^[32] and Egyptian records of that period do not mention the expulsion of any group that could be identified with over two million Hebrew slaves, nor any events which could be identified with the Biblical plagues. In addition, digs in the 1930s had failed to find traces of the simultaneous destruction of Canaanite cities c.1400 BC—in fact many of them, including Jericho, the first Canaanite city to fall to the Israelites according to the Book of Joshua, were uninhabited at the time.

The lack of evidence led William F. Albright, the leading biblical archaeologist of the period, to propose an alternative, "late" Exodus around 1200-1250 BC. His argument was based on the many strands of evidence, including the destruction at Beitel (Bethel) and some other cities at around that period, and the occurrence from the same period of distinctive house-types and a distinctive round-collared jar which, in his opinion, was to be identified with in-coming Israelites.

Albright's theory enjoyed popularity around the middle of the 20th century, but has now been generally abandoned in scholarship.^[33] The evidence which led to the abandonment of Albright's theory include: the collar-rimmed jars have been recognised as an indigenous form originating in lowland Canaanite cities centuries earlier;^[34] while some "Joshua" cities, including Hazor, Lachish, Megiddo and others, have destruction and transition layers around 1250-1145 BC, others, including Jericho, have no destruction layers or were uninhabited during this period;^[35][36] and the Merneptah Stele indicates that a people called "Israel" were already known in Canaan by the reign of Merneptah (1213-1203 BC).^[37]

Modern theories on the date - all of them popular rather than scholarly - tend to concentrate on an "early" Exodus, prior to c.1440 BC. The major candidates are:

• The 2006 History Channel documentary The Exodus Decoded revived an idea first put forward by the 1st century AD Jewish historian Josephus, identifying the Israelites with the Hyksos, the non-Egyptian rulers of Egypt expelled by the resurgent native Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, c.1550-1530 BC. However, there are numerous difficulties with the theory, and it is dismissed by scholars.^[38][39]
• David Rohl's 1995 A Test of Time attempted to correct Egyptian history by shortening the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt by almost 300 years. As a by-result the synchronisms with the biblical narrative have changed, making the 13th Dynasty pharaoh Djedneferre Dudimose (Dedumesu, Tutimaos, Tutimaios) the pharaoh of the Exodus.^[40] Rohl's theory, however, has failed to find support among most scholars in his field.^[41]
• From time to time there have been attempts to link the Exodus with the eruption of the Aegean volcano of Thera in c.1600 BC on the grounds that it could provide a natural explanation of the Plagues of Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea. This theory was discussed in the History Channel documentary, and also covered in the 2009 book by geologist Barbara J Sivertsen, The Parting of the Sea: How Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Plagues Shaped the Story of the Exodus.^[42]

Extra-Biblical accounts[link]

The earliest non-Biblical account of the Exodus is in the writings of the Greek author Hecataeus of Abdera: the Egyptians blame a plague on foreigners and expel them from the country, whereupon Moses, their leader, takes them to Canaan, where he founds the city of Jerusalem.^[43] Hecataeus wrote in the late 4th century BC, but the passage is quite possibly an insertion made in the mid-1st century BCE.^[44] The most famous is by the Egyptian historian Manetho (3rd century BC), known from two quotations by the 1st century AD Jewish historian Josephus. In the first, Manetho describes the Hyksos, their lowly origins in Asia, their dominion over and expulsion from Egypt, and their subsequent foundation of the city of Jerusalem and its temple. Josephus (not Manetho) identifies the Hyksos with the Jews.^[45] In the second story Manetho tells how 80,000 lepers and other "impure people," led by a priest named Osarseph, join forces with the former Hyksos, now living in Jerusalem, to take over Egypt. They wreak havoc until eventually the pharaoh and his son chase them out to the borders of Syria, where Osarseph gives the lepers a law-code and changes his name to Moses.^[46] Manetho differs from the other writers in describing his renegades as Egyptians rather than Jews, and in using a name other than Moses for their leader,^[43] although the identification of Osarseph with Moses may be a later addition.^[46][47]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Book of Exodus

• Ipuwer papyrus
• Torah portions telling the Exodus story: Va'eira, Bo, and Beshalach

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

Pat Boone
Pat Boone in February 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Charles Eugene Boone
Born	(1934-06-01) June 1, 1934 (age 78) Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee
Genres	Christian, pop, country, rock and roll, patriotic
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actor, motivational speaker, spokesman
Instruments	Vocals, banjo, ukulele
Years active	1954–present
Labels	Dot, Republic, Hip-O, The Gold Label, MCA
Associated acts	Debby Boone (daughter)
Website	http://www.patboone.com

Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, actor and writer. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. Among his hit songs were cover versions of black R&B artists' songs (when parts of the country were segregated). He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and appeared in more than 12 Hollywood movies. Boone's talent as a singer and actor, combined with his old-fashioned values, contributed to his popularity in the early rock and roll era.

According to Billboard, Boone was the second biggest charting artist of the late 1950s, behind only Elvis Presley but ahead of Ricky Nelson and The Platters, and was ranked at No. 9—behind The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney but ahead of artists such as Aretha Franklin and The Beach Boys—in its listing of the Top 100 Top 40 Artists 1955–1995.^[1] Boone still holds the Billboard record for spending 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with one or more songs each week.

At the age of twenty-three, he began hosting a half-hour ABC variety television series, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, which aired for 115 episodes (1957–1960). Many musical performers, including Edie Adams, Andy Williams, Pearl Bailey and Johnny Mathis made appearances on the show. His cover versions of rhythm and blues hits had a noticeable effect on the development of the broad popularity of rock and roll. During his tours in the 1950s, Elvis Presley was one of his opening acts.^[2]

As a prolific author, Boone had a No. 1 bestseller in the 1950s (Twixt Twelve and Twenty, Prentice-Hall). In the 1960s, he focused on gospel music and is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He continues to perform, and speak as a motivational speaker, a television personality, and a conservative political commentator.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Born Charles Eugene Boone^[3] in Jacksonville, Florida, Boone was reared primarily in Nashville, Tennessee, a place he still visits. His family moved to Nashville from Florida when Boone was two years old. He attended and graduated from David Lipscomb High School in Nashville in 1952. His younger brother, Nick, was also a pop singer in the 1950s, and is now a church music leader.

Boone has claimed to be a direct descendant of the American pioneer Daniel Boone.^[4] He is a cousin of two stars of western television series: the late Richard Boone of CBS's Have Gun, Will Travel and Randy Boone, one of the co-stars of NBC's The Virginian and CBS's Cimarron Strip.

In college, he primarily attended David Lipscomb College, later Lipscomb University, in Nashville. He graduated from Columbia University School of General Studies magna cum laude in 1958^[5] and also attended North Texas State University, now known as the University of North Texas. During his college career, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

He began recording in 1954 for Republic Records. His 1955 version of Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" was a hit. (Domino complimented Boone's rendition.)^[6] This set the stage for the early part of Boone's career, which focused on covering R&B songs by black artists for a white American market.^[7] Randy Wood, the owner of Dot, had issued an R & B single by the Griffin Brothers in 1951 called "Tra La La-a"—a different song than the later LaVern Baker one—and he was keen to put out another version after the original had failed. This became the B side of the first Boone single "Two Hearts Two Kisses", originally by the Charms – whose "Hearts Of Stone" had been covered by the label's Fontane Sisters. Once the Boone version was in the shops, it spawned more covers by the Crewcuts, Doris Day and Frank Sinatra. In the UK the song was covered by Lita Roza, a band singer with Ted Heath, and her version was in the shops first.^{[citation needed]}

A No. 1 single in 1956 by Boone was not so much a cover as a revival of a then-seven year old song "I Almost Lost My Mind", which had been covered at the time by another black star, Nat King Cole, from the original by Ivory Joe Hunter, who was to benefit from Boone's hit version not only in royalties but in status as he was back in the news.^{[citation needed]}

According to an opinion poll of high school students in 1957, the singer was nearly the "two-to-one favorite over Elvis Presley among boys and preferred almost three-to-one by girls..."^[8]

Boone's well-groomed, clean-cut, boyish image won him a long-term product endorsement contract from General Motors during the late 1950s, lasting through the 1960s. He succeeded Dinah Shore singing the praises of the GM product: "See the USA in your Chevrolet...drive your Chevrolet through the USA, America's the greatest land of all!" GM had also sponsored The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom. In the 1989 documentary Roger & Me, Boone stated that he first was given a Corvette from the Chevrolet product line, but after he and wife started having children, at one child a year, GM supplied him with a station wagon as well. Boone, who has endorsed an indeterminate number of products and services over the course of his career, said that more people identified him with Chevrolet than any other product.^{[citation needed]}

Starting in the late 1950s, Boone and his family were residents of Leonia, New Jersey.^[9]

Many of Boone's hit singles were R&B covers by Black artists. These included: "Ain't That a Shame" by Fats Domino; "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard;^[6] "At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)" by the El Dorados; and the blues ballads "I Almost Lost My Mind" by Ivory Joe Hunter, "I'll be Home" by The Flamingos and "Don't Forbid Me" by Charles Singleton. Boone also wrote the lyrics for the instrumental theme song for the movie Exodus, which lyrics he titled "This Land Is Mine." (Ernest Gold had composed the music.)^[10]

As a devout Christian, Boone refused songs and movie roles that he felt might compromise his standards—including a role with sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. In his first film, April Love, he refused to give co-star and love interest Shirley Jones an onscreen kiss, because the actress was married in real life.^[11]

He appeared as a regular performer on Arthur Godfrey and his Friends from 1955 through 1957, later hosted his own The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, on Thursday evenings. In the early 1960s, he began writing a series of self-help books for adolescents, including Twixt Twelve and Twenty. The British Invasion ended Boone's career as a hitmaker, though he continued recording throughout the 1960s. In the 1970s, he switched to gospel and country, and he continued performing in other media as well. He is currently working as the disc jockey of a popular oldies radio show and runs his own record company which provides an outlet for new recordings by 1950s greats who can no longer find a place with the major labels.^{[citation needed]}

In 1953, shortly before he turned 19, Boone married Shirley Lee Foley (b. April 24, 1934), daughter of country music great Red Foley and his wife, singer Judy Martin. They had four daughters: Cheryl Lynn, Linda Lee, Deborah Ann (better known as Debby), and Laura Gene. During the late 1950s, he made regular appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee, hosted by his father-in-law. In the 1960s and 1970s the Boone family toured as gospel singers and made gospel albums, such as The Pat Boone Family and The Family Who Prays.^{[citation needed]}

In 1959, Boone's likeness was licensed to DC Comics, first appearing in Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #9 (May 1959) before starring in his own series from the publisher which lasted for five issues from September 1959 to May 1960.

In the early 1970s, Boone founded the record label Lion & Lamb Records. It featured artists such as Pat, The Pat Boone Family, Debby Boone, Dan Peek, DeGarmo & Key, and Dogwood.^[12]

In 1978, Boone became the first target in the Federal Trade Commission's crackdown on false claim product endorsements by celebrities. He had appeared with his daughter Debby in a commercial to claim that all four of his daughters had found a preparation named Acne-Statin a "real help" in keeping their skin clear. The FTC filed a complaint against the manufacturer, contending that the product did not really keep skin free of blemishes. Boone eventually signed a consent order in which he promised not only to stop appearing in the ads but to pay about 2.5% of any money that the FTC or the courts might eventually order the manufacturer to refund to consumers. Boone said, through a lawyer, that his daughters actually did use Acne-Statin, and that he was "dismayed to learn that the product's efficacy had not been scientifically established as he believed."^[13]

Later career[link]

In 1997, Boone released In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, a collection of heavy metal covers. To promote the album, he appeared at the American Music Awards in black leather. He was then dismissed from Gospel America, a TV show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. After making a special appearance on TBN with the president of the network, Paul Crouch, and his pastor, Jack Hayford, many fans accepted his explanation of the leather outfit being a "parody of himself". Trinity Broadcasting then reinstated him, and Gospel America was brought back.^[14]

In 2003, the Nashville Gospel Music Association recognized his gospel recording work by inducting him into its Gospel Music Hall of Fame. In September 2006, Boone released Pat Boone R&B Classics – We Are Family, featuring cover versions of 11 R&B hits, including the title track, plus "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "Soul Man", "Get Down Tonight", "A Woman Needs Love", and six other classics. In 2007, Boone was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame as well as the Christian Music Hall of Fame.^{[citation needed]}

Boone and his wife, Shirley, live in Beverly Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles. His one-time neighbor was Ozzy Osbourne and his family. A sound-alike of Boone's cover of Osbourne's song "Crazy Train" became the theme song for The Osbournes (Though the original Boone version appears on The Osbournes soundtrack). Osbourne once said that Boone "was the nicest bloke you could ever have as a neighbour and never complained once" about living next door to their less-than-traditional family.^{[citation needed]}

On December 30, 2010, Glenn W. Milligan of Liquid Metal Holdings said the Pat Boone Family Theater would open in May 2011 in the former NASCAR Cafe at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. With 600 seats, the Boone Theater will be smaller than many of the resort's attractions, but Milligan says this may be an advantage. Other performers were to include illusionist Morgan Strebler, the 2011 Merlin Award winner,^[15] though in September 2011 it was announced he would be replaced.^[16] The economic crisis has been one of the reasons for delays, but on May 25, 2011, the theater received the first of several needed permits from the city. The $1 million project was set to be complete in August 2011,^[17] but the opening date was delayed twice.^[18][19] At a news conference on June 2, which included a performance by Strebler, theater officials said Boone would attend the opening and perform 14 times each year. Other entertainment will include gospel music concerts and Christmas shows. The theater will have a Boone museum with the singer's memorabilia.^[20]

Religious background[link]

Pat Boone grew up in the Church of Christ.^[21]

In the 1960s, Boone's marriage nearly came to an end due to his use of alcohol and his preference for attending parties. After having a charismatic encounter, Shirley began to focus more on her religion and would eventually influence Pat and their daughters toward a similar religious focus. At this time, they attended the Inglewood Church of Christ in Inglewood, California.

In the early 1970s, the Boones hosted Bible studies for celebrities such as Doris Day, Glenn Ford, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Priscilla Presley at their Beverly Hills home. The family then began attending The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California—a Foursquare Gospel congregation led by pastor Jack Hayford.^[14]

Philanthropy[link]

Since 1977, Boone has hosted the annual Pat Boone Golf Tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a celebrity event in May that benefits Bethel Bible Village, a faith-based home for children of families in crisis.^{[citation needed]} He is known to play golf frequently in Branson, Missouri.

According to the Nashville Gospel Music & Entertainment Examiner, Boone partnered with GOD TV in 2010 to provide foundational funding for a community development center in East Africa. The Pat Boone Family Life Center in Loiborsoit, Tanzania provides much needed health services and clean water through a deep water well. GOD TV CEO, Rory Alec said "We are privileged to partner with Pat and Shirley Boone to impact the everyday lives of several thousand Masai people. Pat Boone is just as well known for his artistic talents as his Christian faith and the generosity of the Boone family has inspired us to reach further to help bring about transformation in Africa."^[22]

"Clean water, and with it small medical clinics and even basic primary and secondary schools, are literally life-changing developments, offering healthy lives and unthought-of futures to countless thousands who otherwise would live and die with no chance even to participate in the 21st century," Boone wrote in an article about his trip to Africa, in WorldNetDaily.^[23]

Politics[link]

Boone campaigned for Ronald Reagan to become Governor of California in 1966 and 1970, and actively supported Reagan's bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1976. He was a vocal supporter of the Vietnam War. In 2006, Boone wrote an article for WorldNetDaily, in which he argued that Democrats and others who were against the president during the Iraq War could be questioned for their patriotism.^[24] He was interviewed by Neil Cavuto on Fox News, where he expressed his outrage toward opponents of George W. Bush (in particular the Dixie Chicks). He said that their criticisms of the president showed they did not "respect their elders".^[25]

In the 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election, Boone campaigned for incumbent Republican Ernie Fletcher with a prerecorded automated telephone message stating that the Democratic Party candidate Steve Beshear would support "every homosexual cause." As part of the campaign, Boone asked, "Now do you want a governor who'd like Kentucky to be another San Francisco?"^[26] More recently, he assisted the McCain 2008 presidential campaign by lending his voice to automated campaign phonecalls.

On December 6, 2008 Boone wrote an article for WorldNetDaily wherein he drew analogies between recent gay rights protests and recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. He reminded readers of hostage taking, exploding bombs, systematic murder and chaotic conditions of carnage. In it, he asserted that marriage is a biblically ordained institution, which the government has no part in defining. He then stated that equal rights for women and blacks were not "obtained by threats and violent demonstrations and civil disruption" but rather through due process. He concluded by warning that unless they're checked, the "hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of homegrown sexual jihadists will escalate into acts vile, violent and destructive".^[27]

On August 29, 2009, Boone wrote an article comparing liberals to cancer, describing them as "black filthy cells".^[28]

In December 2009, Boone agreed to endorse the conservative U.S. congressional candidate John Wayne Tucker (R) for his campaign in Missouri's 3rd Congressional District against incumbent Russ Carnahan (D) for the 2010 mid term elections.^[29]

In 2009, Boone stated his belief that Barack Obama is not eligible to serve as the President of the United States.^[30][31] Boone also has stated that Barack Obama is fluent in Arabic and read the Koran in Arabic as a boy.^[30] He has also stated that President Obama "hasn’t celebrated any Christian holidays in the White House."^[30]

Boone received a lifetime achievement award at the 38th annual Conservative Political Action Conference held in February 2011.^[32]

Basketball interests[link]

Boone was a basketball fan and had ownership interests in two teams. He owned a team in the Hollywood Studio League called the "Cooga Moogas." The Cooga Moogas included Bill Cosby, Rafer Johnson, Gardner McKay, Don Murray, and Denny "Tarzan" Miller.^[33]

With the founding of the American Basketball Association, Boone became the majority owner of the league's team in Oakland, California on February 2, 1967.^[33] The team was first named the Oakland Americans but was later renamed as the Oakland Oaks, the name under which it played from 1967 to 1969.^[33] The Oaks won the 1969 ABA championship.^[34]

Despite the Oaks' success on the court, the team had severe financial problems. By August 1969 the Bank of America was threatening to foreclose on a $1.2 million loan to the Oaks,^[35] and the team was sold to a group of businessmen in Washington, DC, and became the Washington Caps.^[36]

In Terry Pluto's book about the ABA, Loose Balls, Boone recounted his days as an owner and claimed that he had had a chance to buy into the then-expansion Dallas Mavericks of the NBA in 1981, but declined.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

• 1955 The Pied Piper of Cleveland (documentary)
• 1957 Bernardine
• 1957 April Love
• 1958 Mardi Gras
• 1959 Journey to the Center of the Earth
• 1961 All Hands on Deck
• 1962 State Fair
• 1962 The Main Attraction
• 1963 The Horror of It All
• 1963 The Yellow Canary
• 1964 Never Put It in Writing
• 1964 Goodbye Charlie
• 1965 The Greatest Story Ever Told
• 1967 The Perils of Pauline
• 1970 The Cross and the Switchblade
• 1989 Roger & Me (documentary)
• 2000 The Eyes of Tammy Faye (documentary)
• 2008 Hollywood on Fire (documentary)^[37]

Box-office ranking[link]

In his heyday exhibitors listed Boone among the most popular stars in the country:

• 1957 – 3rd^[38]
• 1958 – 11th^[39]
• 1959 – 22nd^[40]

Bibliography[link]

• Twixt Twelve and Twenty: Pat talks to Teenagers (1958) Prentice Hall
• The Solution to Crisis-America (1970) F. H. Revell Co, ISBN 0-8007-8081-7
• A Miracle Saved My Family (1971) Oliphants, ISBN 0-551-00640-4
• The Real Christmas (1972) F. H. Revell Co, ISBN 0-8007-0546-7
• Joy! (1973) Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-060-9
• My Brother's Keeper? (1975) Victory Press, ISBN 0-85476-237-X
• My Faith (1976) C. R. Gibson Co, ISBN 0-8378-1764-1
• To Be or Not to Be an SOB: A Reaffirmation of Business Ethics (1979) Wordware Publishing, Incorporated, ISBN 0-89015-737-5
• The Honeymoon Is Over (1980) Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-130-3
• Marrying for Life: A Handbook of Marriage Skills (1982) HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 0-86683-674-8
• Pray to Win (1982) Putnam Pub Group, ISBN 0-399-12494-2
• Pat Boone's Favorite Bible Stories (1984) Creation House, ISBN 0-88419-245-8
• Pat Boone's Favorite Bible Stories for the Very Young (1984) Random House of Canada, Limited, ISBN 0-394-85891-3
• A Miracle a Day Keeps the Devil Away (1986) Revell, ISBN 0-8007-0693-5
• New Song (1988) Impact Books, ISBN 0-86608-003-1
• Miracle of Prayer (1989) Zondervan, ISBN 0-310-22131-5
• The Human Touch: The Story of the National Easter Seal (1990) Certification Review, ISBN 0-914373-22-6
• Jesus Is Alive (1990) Thomas Nelson Inc, ISBN 1-55894-219-X
• Double Agent (2002) Publish America, Incorporated, ISBN 1-59129-469-X
• Goodnight, Whatever You Are!: My Journey with Zacherley, the Cool Ghoul (2006) Tradeselect Limited, ISBN 1-933384-03-4
• Pat Boone's America: A Pop Culture Treasury of the Past Fifty Years (2006) B&H Publishing Group, ISBN 0-8054-4376-2
• Culture-Wise Family: Upholding Christian Values in A Mass-Media World (2007) Gospel Light Publications, ISBN 0-8307-4355-3
• The Marriage Game (2007) New Leaf Press, Inc., ISBN 0-89221-114-8
• Questions About God: And the Answers That Could Change Your Life (2008) Lighthouse Publishing, ISBN 1-935079-13-1
• Pat Boone Devotional Book (2009) G. K. Hall, ISBN 0-8161-6630-7

Boone wrote Questions About God with reporter Cord Cooper. He told The 700 Club in 2009, "The big question is there a God? Is God real? How do we know? Is there proof? So this fella, Cord Cooper, and I decided we needed to answer three basic questions in a very simple form, but I think substantively and really bares no rational refutation... We quote Einstein and Stephen Hawking, who is still living, the most brilliant man on the planet. As they say, it’s inconceivable that all this has happened without a plan, without a blueprint, without some designer who created the design. So this book is so simple, yet I think profound truth."^[41] Boone's assertion that Stephen Hawking believes in God, however, is untrue.^[42]

Quotation[link]

NME – December 1956^[43]

NME – June 1960^[44]

References[link]

General references

• University of North Texas Alumni Directory, Pat (Charles E.) Boone, (1994)</ref> OCLC 768191551
• ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, fourth edition, compiled for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, by Jaques Cattell Press, R.R. Bowker (1980) OCLC 7065938 ISBN 0-8352-1283-1 ISBN 9780835212830
• Biographical Dictionary of American Music, edited by Charles Eugene Claghorn (1911–2005), Parker Publishing Co., West Nyack, NY (1973) OCLC 609781 ISBN 0-13-076331-4 ISBN 9780130763310
• Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, by Randall Herbert Balmer, Baylor University Press (2004) OCLC 191038717 ISBN 1-60258-038-3 ISBN 9781602580381
• The Encyclopedia of Folk, Country & Western Music, second edition, by Irwin Stambler (born 1924) and Grelun S. Landon (1923–2004), St. Martin's Press (1983) OCLC 8430828 ISBN 0-312-24818-0 ISBN 9780312248185
• Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, eighth edition, revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, Macmillan Publishing Co. (1992) OCLC 24246972 ISBN 0-02-872415-1 ISBN 9780028724157
• Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, ninth edition, edited by Laura Kuhn, Schirmer Books (2001) OCLC 44972043 ISBN 0-02-865525-7 ISBN 9780028655253

Inline citations

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pat Boone

• Pat Boone at the Internet Movie Database
• Pat Boone Interview at Archive of American Television
• Pat Boone at AllRovi
• Pat's Gold (Link to Pat Boone's Web Site/Label)
• Brief biography, by Tom Simon, December 25, 2002

Andy Williams
Andy Williams performing at the Moon River Theater in Branson, MO late 2006
Background information
Birth name	Howard Andrew Williams
Also known as	A Voice of National Treasure The King of Hearts The Golden Voice The Emperor of Easy The Emperor of Class The Crooning King The King of Easy Listening Mr. Moon River The American Idol Mr. Christmas[citation needed]
Born	(1927-12-03) December 3, 1927 (age 84)
Origin	Wall Lake, Iowa, United States
Genres	Traditional pop Jazz Country Pop Easy Listening
Occupations	Singer Songwriter Actor Record producer
Years active	1938–present
Labels	Sony BMG/Columbia/Cadence
Website	AndyWilliams.com

Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams (born December 3, 1927) is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold-^[1] and three Platinum-certified^[2] albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns the Moon River Theatre^[3] in Branson, Missouri named after the song "Moon River", with which he is closely identified.

Early life and career[link]

Williams was born in Wall Lake, Iowa,^[4] the son of Jay Emerson and Florence (née Finley) Williams. He first performed in a children's choir at the local Presbyterian church.^[4] Williams and his three older brothers Bob, Don, and Dick formed the Williams Brothers quartet^[4] in late 1938, and they performed on radio in the Midwest, first at WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, and later at WLS in Chicago and WLW in Cincinnati. Williams graduated from Western Hills High School in Cincinnati and his brother was engaged to Gene Ingram's car-pool partner, Peggy. The Williams Brothers appeared with Bing Crosby on the hit record "Swinging on a Star" (1944). They appeared in 4 musical films: Janie (1944), Kansas City Kitty (1944), Something in the Wind (1947) and Ladies' Man (1947). This led to a nightclub act with entertainer Kay Thompson from 1947 to 1951.^[4]

Solo career[link]

Williams' solo career began in 1953.^[4] He recorded six sides (individual songs) for RCA Victor's label "X", but none of them were popular hits.^[5]

After finally landing a spot as a regular on Steve Allen's Tonight Show in 1954,^[6] he was signed to a recording contract with Cadence Records, a small label in New York run by conductor Archie Bleyer. His third single, "Canadian Sunset" reached #7 in the Top Ten in August 1956, and was soon followed by his only Billboard #1 hit, "Butterfly" (a cover of a Charlie Gracie record on which Williams imitated Elvis Presley) in February 1957. More hits followed, including "The Hawaiian Wedding Song" (U.S. #11), "Are You Sincere" (U.S. #3 in February 1958), "The Village of St. Bernadette" (U.S. #7 in December 1959), "Lonely Street" (U.S. #5 in September 1959), and "I Like Your Kind Of Love" with Peggy Powers (U.S. #8 in May 1957) before Williams moved to Columbia Records in 1961, having moved from New York to Los Angeles and gaining another hit with "Can't Get Used to Losing You" (U.S. #2). In terms of chart popularity, the Cadence era was Williams' peak although songs he introduced on Columbia became much bigger standards. Two top ten hits from the Cadence era, "Butterfly" and "I Like Your Kind of Love" were apparently believed to not suit Williams' later style; they were not included on a Columbia reissue of his Cadence greatest hits of/from the 1960s.

In 1964, Williams ultimately became the owner of the Cadence master tapes, which he occasionally licensed to Columbia, including not only his own recordings, but those of his fellow Cadence-era labelmates, The Everly Brothers, Lenny Welch, The Chordettes, and Johnny Tillotson. In 1968, although he was still under contract with Columbia for his own recordings, Williams formed a separate company called Barnaby Records not only to handle reissuing of the Cadence material, especially that of The Everly Brothers (one of the first Barnaby LPs was a double LP set of the brothers long out of print Cadence hits) but new artists as well. Barnaby also had several Top 40 hits in the 70s with novelty artist Ray Stevens (who had done a summer replacement show for Williams in 1970), including Top 10s such as "Everything Is Beautiful" in 1970, and "The Streak" in 1974.

Also in 1970, Barnaby signed and released the first album by an unknown singer-songwriter named Jimmy Buffett ("Jimmy Buffett Down to Earth") produced by Travis Turk. Columbia was initially the distributor for Barnaby, but later distribution was handled first by MGM Records and then GRT. Once Barnaby ceased operating as a working record company at the end of the 1970s, Williams licensed the old Cadence material to various other labels (such as Varese & Rhino in the U.S.) after 1980.

During the 1960s, Williams became one of the most popular vocalists in the country and was signed to what was at that time the biggest recording contract in history. He was primarily an album artist, and at one time he had earned more gold albums than any solo performer except Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Elvis Presley. By 1973 he had earned as many as 18 gold album awards. Among his hit albums from this period were Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses (number one for 16 weeks in mid-1963), The Andy Williams Christmas Album, Dear Heart, The Shadow of Your Smile, Love, Andy, Get Together with Andy Williams, and Love Story. These recordings, along with his natural affinity for the music of the 1960s and early 1970s, combined to make him one of the premier easy listening singers of that era. In the UK, Williams continued to reach high chart status until 1978. The albums Can't Help Falling In Love (1970), Andy Williams Show (1970) Home Lovin Man ( #1 1971), Solitaire (1973), The Way We Were (1974) and Reflections (1978) all reached the Top 10.

Williams forged an indirect collaborative relationship with Henry Mancini, although they never recorded together. Williams was asked to sing Mancini and Johnny Mercer's song "Moon River" at the 1962 Oscar Awards (where it won), and it quickly became Williams' theme song; however, because it was never released as a single, "Moon River" was never actually a chart hit for Williams.^[7] The next year Williams sang "Days of Wine and Roses" which was written by Mancini and Mercer (this song also won). Two years later, he sang Mancini's "Dear Heart" at the 1965 awards and "The Sweetheart Tree" (also written with Mercer) at the 1966 awards.

On August 5, 1966, the 14-story, 700-room Caesars Palace casino and nightclub opened in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the stage production of "Rome Swings", in which Williams starred. He performed live to a sold out crowd in the Circus Maximus showroom. He headlined for Caesars for the next twenty years.

In 1968, Columbia released a 45-rpm record of two songs Williams sang at the funeral of Robert F. Kennedy, a close friend: "Ave Maria" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". These were never released on a long-playing record.

Williams also competed in the teenage-oriented singles market as well and had several charting hits including "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Happy Heart", and "Where Do I Begin", the theme song from the 1970 blockbuster film, Love Story. In addition Williams hit the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart with "Almost There" (1965), "Can't Help Falling In Love" (1970), "Home Lovin' Man" (1970) and "Solitaire" (1973).

Both Williams and Petula Clark recorded "Happy Heart" at the same time, just prior to his guest appearance on her second NBC-TV special. Unaware that she, too, was releasing the song as a single, he asked to perform it on the show. The exposure ultimately led to his having the bigger hit with the tune. The song "Happy Heart" is played during the final scene, and throughout the end credits, of the Danny Boyle film Shallow Grave.

Building on his experience with Allen and some short-term variety shows in the 1950s, he became the star of his own weekly television variety show in 1962. This series, The Andy Williams Show, won three Emmy Awards for outstanding variety program. Among his series regulars were the Osmond Brothers. He gave up the variety show in 1971 while it was still popular and retrenched to three specials per year. His Christmas specials, which appeared regularly until 1974 and intermittently from 1982 into the 1990s, were among the most popular of the genre. Williams has recorded eight Christmas albums over the years and has been penned as Mr. Christmas.

Williams hosted the most Grammy telecasts, from the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1971 through the 19th Annual Grammy Awards in 1977, totaling seven consecutive shows. He returned to television to do a syndicated half-hour series in 1976–77.

In the early 1970s, when the Nixon Administration attempted to deport John Lennon, Andy Williams was an outspoken defender of the former Beatle's right to stay in the United States.

A caricature of Andy Williams is included in the montage of caricatures displayed on the cover of Ringo Starr's 1973 album, "Ringo".

Williams also sang the national anthem at Super Bowl VII in 1973 with Little Angels of Holy Angels Church in Chicago, Illinois.

National tour success[link]

His 1967 recording of "Music to Watch Girls By" became a huge surprise UK hit to a new young TV audience in 1999, when it reached #9 after being featured in new TV ads for the Fiat Punto--and later for Diet Pepsi--beating the original peak of #33 in 1967. A new generation was reminded of Williams' recordings and a sell-out UK tour followed the success of the single, and he was given the nickname "The Emperor of Easy" in the UK.

In 2002, he re-recorded "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" as a duet with British actress and singer Denise van Outen which reached number 23 in the UK singles charts.

He completed a sold-out tour of the United Kingdom and Asia in the winter and summer of 2007, in which he performed at several major concert halls including the Royal Albert Hall, singing among other classics, Van Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately".

Williams returned to the UK singles charts with his 1963 recording of "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" in December 2007 thanks to an advert for Marks And Spencer, reaching number 21 in its first appearance in the British charts, also reaching #108 on the EU Top 200. In 2008 he lip-synched the 45-year-old recording to welcome Santa at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

On October 3, 2009, Williams appeared live on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing^[8] in London, singing Moon River to promote the UK edition of The Very Best of Andy Williams, which peaked at number 10 in the main pop chart.

Moon River Theatre[link]

In June 1991, Williams' brother Don invited him to the small Ozarks town of Branson, Missouri. Don Williams at the time was the manager for entertainer Ray Stevens, who had just opened a theatre in Branson. While attending Stevens' show, Williams was encouraged by numerous Branson guests to open a venue in the town.^[3] This led Williams to build his own theater in Branson in time for the 1992 season,^[9] eventually opening on May 1, 1992 as the Moon River Theatre.^[10] The name came from a song he made famous from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. It went on to become the first theater ever to be featured in Architectural Digest, and also won the 1992 Conservation Award from the State of Missouri.^[11]

The theater was designed to blend into the rough terrain of the Ozark Mountains. Reportedly when Williams was on his way to Big Cedar Lodge one day, he had noticed some rough rock outcroppings and said, "What about these? This could be the entrance." He had originally planned a marble style theater reminiscence of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, but soon had a change of mind. The Larson Company of Tucson, Arizona fabricated a section of rock on Missouri's Highway 76 and the theater was soon engulfed with waterfalls, koi filled ponds, ferns and trees native to the Ozarks. The inside of the theater incorporates the outside. Trees and plants are seen throughout the theater's three lobbies. Oak floors are accompanied by African ribbon striped mahogany walls that are filled with pictures of the Andy Williams Television Show. Williams' passion for art can be seen throughout as well. From the start of his career Williams had accumulated several paintings and sculptures and decided to fill his theater with his collection. Frankenthaler, Diebenkorn, Oldenburg, Pollock, Klee and Moore are a small list of artists the Moon River Theatre represents.^[12]

The theater's auditorium can accommodate 2,054 people. The seating is stadium style seating for the best view. The seats and carpets match Williams' Navajo rug collection and are forest green, magenta, gold and blue. On display inside the auditorium are nineteen Japanese Kimonos. The stage has accommodated numerous shows and guest celebrities. On stage Williams has been joined by Glen Campbell, Ann-Margret, Petula Clark and Charo. The theater has also played host to Phyllis Diller, Pat Boone, The Osmond Family, Robert Goulet, Rich Little, Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop, David Copperfield, Pat Benatar and Broadway on Ice starring Nancy Kerrigan, Tara Lipinski and Rudy Galindo. In November and December of each year he presents his annual Andy Williams Christmas Show at the theater.

When it first opened, Williams' act was unique because it was the first non-country act to open in the then-mostly-country music town. It was said he was discouraged by many back home in California from making such a bold move, but that was what he wanted. Other non-country entertainers like Bobby Vinton, Tony Orlando, Wayne Newton and the Osmond Brothers soon followed.^[13]

Williams and his theater were featured on three episodes of the soap opera As the World Turns in July 2007. Several of the cast (Gwen, Will, Cleo, Jade, Luke, Maddie and Noah) went to Branson for a concert of Gwen Munson held in the Moon River Theatre. The Simpsons featured Williams at his Moon River Theatre in an episode titled "Bart on the Road". Nelson Muntz is an Andy Williams fan, and in the episode he forces the gang to make a detour to Branson so he could see his idol. The bully is reduced to tears as Williams performs "Moon River" during the second encore.

In the spring of 2007 Williams opened the Moon River Grill adjacent to his theater in Branson. The restaurant is decorated in photos from the Andy Williams Television Show with stars including Diana Ross, Elton John and Sammy Davis Jr. Art is center stage in the restaurant, with works by several artists including Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana.^[14]

Personal life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Williams met French-born Claudine Longet when he pulled over to aid her on a Las Vegas road. She was a dancer at the time at the Folies Bergère. They married on December 15, 1961. The union produced three children: Noelle, Christian, and Robert within the next eight years.

After a lengthy separation, Williams and Longet divorced in 1975. In March 1976, however, when Longet was charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, alpine ski racer Spider Sabich in Aspen, Williams played a public role in the subsequent events, escorting her to and from the courtroom, testifying to her character at the trial, and providing legal assistance. Longet claimed the shooting was accidental, and eventually received 30 days in jail, which was served at her convenience. Shortly thereafter, Longet vacationed in Mexico with her defense attorney Ron Austin, whom she married in June 1985. They continue to reside in the Aspen area.

Andy Williams married a second time (May 3, 1991), to the former Debbie Meyer, whom he met through a mutual friend. They make their homes at Branson, Missouri, and La Quinta, California. Williams' homes have been featured in Architectural Digest, and he is a noted collector of modern art.

Williams is an avid golfer, and hosted the PGA Tour golf tournament in San Diego from 1968-88 at Torrey Pines. Then known as the "Andy Williams San Diego Open", the tournament continues as the Farmers Insurance Open, usually played in February.

Williams' birthplace in Iowa is a tourist attraction, and is open most of the year.

On Friday, November 4, 2011, it was reported in the press that Williams has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. The singer confirmed the condition in a surprise appearance that weekend at his theater in Branson, as reported by the Branson Tri-Lakes News.^[15] He is undergoing chemotherapy treatments in Houston and will then move with his wife to a rented home in Malibu, California to be closer to cancer specialists in the Los Angeles area.^[16]

Politics[link]

Williams was close friends with Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, campaigning for Kennedy '68 for President. Williams was among the celebrities who were present at the Ambassador Hotel on the night Sirhan Sirhan killed RFK in June 1968. Williams solemnly sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic" at RFK's funeral, by request of widow Ethel. By August 1969, over a year after Bobby Kennedy's death, Andy and Claudine named their newborn son 'Bobby' Williams. The Williams' friendship with Ethel Kennedy has endured, with Williams even serving as escort to Ethel, during events in the 1970s. He also raised funds for George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, performing at benefit concerts.^[17]

While close friends with the Democratic Kennedys, Williams is a lifelong Republican.^[18] On September 29, 2009, Williams was quoted by the Daily Telegraph as accusing President Barack Obama of "following Marxist theory" and "wanting the country to fail".^[19][20] He gave Rush Limbaugh permission to use his recording of the song "Born Free" for the theme to the "Animal Rights Update" on his Limbaugh's radio show – in which a portion of the song is then followed by gunfire – saying "Hey, it's fine with me. I love what you're doing with it." The record company later blocked Limbaugh's use of the recording.^[21]

Discography[link]

Hit singles[link]