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26 Sep 2012

‘Moon River’ singer Williams dies

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Tributes pour in to Andy Williams, the 1960s singer behind hits such as Moon River, who has died after a year long battle with bladder cancer.

Andy Williams (Getty)

Williams’ died at his home last night, aged 84, his publicist Paul Shefrin said.

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys said “Andy Williams was one of my musical heroes. I will truly miss him and his beautiful voice.” Buddy Greco, the last surviving member of the Rat Pack, said “he was a huge and underrated talent, he sang with such ease.”

British singer and actress Denise Van Outen who had chart success in 2002 with a re-released version of Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, said:

“I was fortunate enough to not only sing and work with someone I had loved and admired over the years, but I also got to know him as a person. He was one of the kindest, sweetest and most generous people I have ever met, he had such amazing presence, incredible energy and was never affected by fame or success. A true gentleman.”

In November last year the singer announced at the Moon River Theatre, which he built in his home town of Branson, that he was suffering from the disease.

He has also been regularly communicating with fans and well-wishers on Twitter. His tweets stopped in May this year, but he sent one tweet on Sunday which simply read “sigh”.

Glittering career

The crooner began singing professionally when he was eight years old with his three brothers – Dick, Bob and Don. He went solo in 1951.

Williams had 18 gold and three platinum records in a career that took off in 1956 with the single Canadian Sunset. He was nominated for five Grammy awards and hosted the Grammy ceremonies for a number of years.

His ease in front of the camera also gave rise to The Andy Williams Show, which ran through the 1960s until 1971. The show, which won three Emmys, featured Williams singing his hits and chatting with a variety of guests.

His most famous hit was Moon River, a song originally sung by Audrey Hepburn in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961, but then released by Williams that year. The wholesome singer also released a number of Christmas albums, including the sing It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

He remained in the charts through the 1970s and continued to perform up until his death. In 2001 he told Associated Press: “I’ll keep going until I get to the point where I can’t get out on stage.”

In 1992 he moved to the town of Branson in Missouri, the ‘live entertainment capital of the country’. There he set up the Moon River Theatre, and later the Moon River Grill.