He showed more musical talent in his teenage years as a trombone player in the town's brass band, playing guitar, singing at weddings, and as an organist at church. In a rare 1957 interview, Como's mother, Lucia, described how her young son also took on other jobs to pay for more music lessons Como learned to play many different instruments, but never had a voice lesson. Pietro, a mill hand and an amateur baritone, had all his children attend music lessons even if he could barely afford them. The family had a second-hand organ his father had bought for $3 as soon as Como was able to toddle, he would head to the instrument, pump the bellows, and play music he had heard. He did not begin speaking English until he entered school, since the Comos spoke Italian at home. He was the seventh of ten children and the first American-born child of Pietro Como and Lucia Travaglini, who both emigrated to the US in 1910 from the Abruzzese town of Palena, Italy. Ĭomo was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Pittsburgh. He has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 and was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. He also shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956.
An example to all." Ĭomo received five Emmys from 1955 to 1959, and a Christopher Award in 1956. In the official RCA Records Billboard magazine memorial, his life was summed up in these few words: "50 years of music and a life well lived. His weekly television shows and seasonal specials were broadcast throughout the world. C.", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show. He recorded primarily vocal pop and was renowned for recordings in the intimate, easy-listening genre pioneered by multi-media star Bing Crosby. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing with the label in 1943. Pierino Ronald " Perry" Como ( / ˈ k oʊ m oʊ/ – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor and television personality.