Tony Orlando Wins ‘The Louis Prima Award’ In New Orleans
Tony Orlando and Lena Prima
Longtime Union City and Hasbrouck Heights resident Tony Orlando, 80, was honored in Louisiana with “The Louis Prima Award.” The award was established in 2011 by Prima’s wife Gia Prima with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). “I was so humbled to receive this award at the Louisiana Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame Gala,” gushed Orlando. “It was presented to me by the daughter, Lena Prima, of one of the greatest entertainers of all-time. What an incredible honor! Her dad is one of my heroes!”
Orlando, who was also recently inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, started out singing doo-wop on New York City street corners at the age of 15 where he was discovered by music-biz legend Don Kirshner. At 16, he recorded a doo-wop version of Stephen Foster’s 1862 “Beautiful Dreamer” that The Beatles heard and included on their On-Air Live At The BBC album. He turned producer in the late ‘60s and worked his way up to VP at CBS Music where he worked with Barry Manilow, James Taylor, Blood Sweat & Tears and Laura Nyro.
In 1973, he formed Tony Orlando & Dawn and enjoyed a string of Top 10 hits, but, as so often happens, with fame came cocaine, by 1977, depressed about the death of his good friend, comedian Freddie Prinze, he suffered a mental breakdown, and had to be institutionalized. But his eventual comeback was so remarkable that Hoboken alt-rock darlings Yo La Tengo wrote “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House.”
By the ‘80s, he was a Las Vegas mainstay and had his own theater in Branson, Missouri. Yet he still found time to co-host the MDA Labor Day Telethon, quitting in anger when Jerry Lewis was fired. As an actor, he’s appeared in numerous television shows and movies, as well as on the Broadway stage. A longtime supporter of the U.S. military, his hit, “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree,” is now an anthem for veterans.
Jerry Lee Lewis introduced him to his first wife Elaine in 1965. It lasted 19 years. He remarried, wrote a book, and continues today on stages across the country.
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