Moon River and Me: A Memoir
The New York Times bestselling memoir by "a national treasure" (Ronald Reagan) and one of the twentieth century's most popular and beloved entertainers.\ The King of Hearts, The Emperor of Easy, Mr. Moon River-Andy Williams was known by many names, but his was the One Voice that defined the 1960's for most of America, as his plush tenor sold millions of records and his television variety show and Christmas specials made him a superstar.\ In his long-awaited autobiography, Williams shares the...
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The New York Times bestselling memoir by "a national treasure" (Ronald Reagan) and one of the twentieth century's most popular and beloved entertainers. The King of Hearts, The Emperor of Easy, Mr. Moon River-Andy Williams was known by many names, but his was the One Voice that defined the 1960's for most of America, as his plush tenor sold millions of records and his television variety show and Christmas specials made him a superstar. In his long-awaited autobiography, Williams shares the remarkable story of his rise from humble beginnings through his seven-plus decades in show business, including his friendships with everyone from Bobby Kennedy to John Lennon and Marilyn Monroe to Oprah. Moon River and Me is a delightful self-portrait of a remarkable artist and a fascinating history of American entertainment's golden age. Library Journal Pop icon Williams's memoir is an entertaining look at a show-business life that began in Iowa and progressed steadily to a worldwide career. After the Williams Brothers Quartet (Andy Williams and his three brothers) broke up in the early 1950s, Williams went out on his own, at first with little success. Eventually, he was given his own television variety show in 1962 and became one of the best-known pop crooners in the post-World War II era. His book is a treasure trove of anecdotes from the celebrity world. He was acquainted with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Chico Marx, Michael Jackson, Elton John, and Fred MacMurray; Williams was a fast friend of Robert and Ethel Kennedy. The singer's fans will be absorbed by his accounts of his early years in the Midwest and Hollywood, his marriage to Claudine Longet and his role in her trial for manslaughter, and his therapeutic use of LSD. VERDICT An entertaining read for those who love celebrity biographies or autobiographies, especially those who remember the pop scene in the 1950s and 1960s.—Bruce R. Schueneman, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Kingsville
\ From Barnes & NobleSinger Andy Williams has 18 gold records, 3 platinum records, and his own Branson theater, but by the evidence of this book, the man who Ronald Reagan called "a national treasure" also has several bucketfuls of stories too good not to share. A mellow, enjoyable read for the season; now in paperback.\ \ \ \ \ \ Library JournalPop icon Williams's memoir is an entertaining look at a show-business life that began in Iowa and progressed steadily to a worldwide career. After the Williams Brothers Quartet (Andy Williams and his three brothers) broke up in the early 1950s, Williams went out on his own, at first with little success. Eventually, he was given his own television variety show in 1962 and became one of the best-known pop crooners in the post-World War II era. His book is a treasure trove of anecdotes from the celebrity world. He was acquainted with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Chico Marx, Michael Jackson, Elton John, and Fred MacMurray; Williams was a fast friend of Robert and Ethel Kennedy. The singer's fans will be absorbed by his accounts of his early years in the Midwest and Hollywood, his marriage to Claudine Longet and his role in her trial for manslaughter, and his therapeutic use of LSD. VERDICT An entertaining read for those who love celebrity biographies or autobiographies, especially those who remember the pop scene in the 1950s and 1960s.—Bruce R. Schueneman, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Kingsville\ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsOctogenarian crooner submits his Horatio Alger tale. In the 1960s, easy-listening icon Andy Williams's velvety voice and handsome mug became associated with a culturally conservative side of America that never embraced rock 'n' roll. But as we learn in this surprisingly candid memoir, Williams endured a pre-success hard-knock life that rivaled the squalid upbringings of many country singers or rock stars. Raised during the Great Depression in tiny Wall Lake, Iowa, a pre-adolescent Williams and his brothers were pushed hard by their hyperambitious manager father, singing at local church socials and anywhere else they could find work. Soon the family was living a peripatetic working-class existence, moving to Des Moines, then Chicago, then Los Angeles, doing radio shows and picking up the odd decent-paying gig. In L.A., however, his father's dogged persistence paid off when he got the brothers bit parts in a few Hollywood films. However, making it as a solo act in the post-World War II entertainment landscape nearly undid the workaholic singer. At his lowest point he was playing dingy nightclubs to little acclaim and sleeping in vermin-ridden flophouses-he once even resorted to eating dog food. Even as he began to have success on television, hosting the Andy Williams Show, while becoming a million-selling recording artist, life was still tough. Two marriages ended in divorce, and one ex-wife, singer Claudine Longet, was later involved in a controversial shooting. The author's peak years in the late '60s are the least compelling, as Williams rambles on about the fruits of success: art collecting, investing in Arabian horses, celebrity golf tournaments and run-ins with the Rat Pack,Elvis, John Lennon and seemingly every major or minor showbiz luminary of the day. Equal parts oddly compelling and eye-crossingly dull.\ \
