PRINTER'S NO. 1799
No. 189 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY PETRONE, SOLOBAY, NAILOR, PIPPY, CALTAGIRONE,
THOMAS, ARMSTRONG, HARHAI, CORRIGAN, ROSS, ORIE, FARGO,
FLICK, KAISER, DEMPSEY, DONATUCCI, DALEY, PESCI, LAUGHLIN,
MELIO, SEYFERT, FICHTER, SATHER, SANTONI, READSHAW, TRUE,
LESCOVITZ, CLARK, HERMAN, WOGAN, LEDERER, COY, ROBERTS,
SHANER, McCALL, JOSEPHS, BAKER, HALUSKA, O'BRIEN, BEBKO-
JONES, STABACK, GRUCELA, RUBLEY, SCHULER, HESS, FORCIER,
SCHRODER, DAILEY, HARHART, HERSHEY, FRANKEL, DALLY,
E. Z. TAYLOR, TIGUE, MICOZZIE, BELFANTI AND JAMES,
MAY 11, 1999
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MAY 11, 1999
A RESOLUTION
1 Honoring the career and humanitarian accomplishments of Perry
2 Como on the occasion of his 87th birthday on May 18, 1999.
3 WHEREAS, Pierino (Perry) Ronald Como was born on May 18,
4 1912, to Italian immigrants, Pietro and Lucia Como, in the
5 Borough of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; and
6 WHEREAS, At 14 years of age Perry Como obtained an
7 apprenticeship with a local barber who taught him the trade,
8 which enabled him to open his own shop as an after-school
9 moneymaker; and
10 WHEREAS, With two assistants and a guitar he turned the shop
11 into a profitable enterprise which he took over on a full-time
12 basis after high school graduation; and
13 WHEREAS, Perry Como sang while cutting hair, and in 1933 a
1 friend persuaded him to audition as a vocalist with the Freddie
2 Carlone Dance Band; and
3 WHEREAS, Perry Como went on to tour with both the Freddie
4 Carlone Dance Band and the Ted Weems Band for a total of nine
5 years; and
6 WHEREAS, On July 31, 1933, Perry Como married his childhood
7 sweetheart, the late Roselle Belline, to whom he was married for
8 over 65 years and with whom he had three children; and
9 WHEREAS, In 1941 Perry Como was offered his own nightly, 15-
10 minute radio show on CBS which led to a recording contract with
11 RCA Victor; and
12 WHEREAS, Perry Como's first single, "Goodbye Sue," was
13 released in 1943, followed two years later by his first million-
14 seller, "Till the End of Time"; and
15 WHEREAS, Perry Como's subsequent hits included "Hubba-Hubba-
16 Hubba," "Because," "Temptation," "Prisoner of Love," "Wanted,"
17 "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes," "Catch a Falling Star,"
18 "It's Impossible," and his theme song "Dream Along With Me"; and
19 WHEREAS, In 1948 Perry Como made the transition from radio
20 star to television host when his radio show was transferred to
21 NBC television as "The Chesterfield Supper Club," with an
22 expanded version becoming "The Perry Como Show" in 1950; and
23 WHEREAS, "The Perry Como Show" was consistently among the top
24 five shows in the ratings during the period in which it was
25 broadcast from 1950 to 1959; and
26 WHEREAS, Perry Como won the Academy of Television Arts and
27 Sciences Emmy Award in 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1958-1959; and
28 WHEREAS, In 1958 Perry Como was awarded the first Grammy as
29 Best Male Singer by the National Academy of Recording Arts and
30 Sciences; and
19990H0189R1799 - 2 -
1 WHEREAS, From 1959 to 1963, Perry Como was the host of "The
2 Kraft Music Hall" on NBC television; and
3 WHEREAS, From 1963 into the 1980s, Perry Como hosted
4 occasional television specials taped from various parts of the
5 world, including his annual Christmas shows; and
6 WHEREAS, Perry Como became an internationally famous singing
7 star, with sales of over $100 million, while his songs topped
8 the charts for weeks at a time; and
9 WHEREAS, Perry Como headlined in concerts in Las Vegas and
10 Atlantic City as well as in arenas ranging from Westbury, New
11 York, to Australia; and
12 WHEREAS, Perry Como was named a Knight Commander of the
13 Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, the Roman
14 Catholic Church's highest honor, by the late Pope Pius XII in
15 1958; and
16 WHEREAS, In 1987 Perry Como was accorded the nation's fullest
17 possible recognition given to preeminent performing artists when
18 he received the Kennedy Center Honor from the John F. Kennedy
19 Center for the Performing Arts in recognition of his significant
20 contributions to American culture through the performing arts;
21 and
22 WHEREAS, Perry Como is the recipient of numerous professional
23 and humanitarian awards, including induction into the Academy of
24 Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, and was named
25 "Personality of the Year" by the Variety Club and "Man of the
26 Year" by the Friars Club and honored with a Peabody Award and a
27 Golden Mike Award; and
28 WHEREAS, Perry Como is planning to return to Pennsylvania to
29 participate in the dedication of a statue in his honor in his
30 native Canonsburg on May 15, 1999; and
19990H0189R1799 - 3 -
1 WHEREAS, Perry Como has brought great distinction to the
2 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through his prominent recording and
3 television career, charitable endeavors and personal integrity;
4 therefore be it
5 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the career
6 and humanitarian accomplishments of Perry Como on the occasion
7 of his 87th birthday on May 18, 1999.
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