March 13, 2024 • 58 mins
Music legend Tony Orlando pays a visit to the 'Our Way' studios to reminisce with Paul about their early meetings in Rat Pack-era Las Vegas. The "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" singer reflects on his early days making music with a young Carole King, his years working as an A&R exec under industry icon Clive Davis, and the unlikely circumstance that resulted in him becoming a multimillion-selling singer — completely by accident! In addition to harrowing behind-the-scenes stories with comedy legends Jerry Lewis and Jackie Gleason, Orlando also opens up about his upcoming retirement and even gets a touching musical send-off from his old friend Paul.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Our Way with yours truly Paul Anka and my buddy
Skip Bronson, is a production of iHeartRadio. Hi, folks, this
is Paul.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Anka and my name is Skip Bronson. We've been friends
for decades and we've decided to let you in on
our late night phone calls by starting a new podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
And welcome to Our Way. We'd like you to meet
some real good friends of us.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Your leaders in entertainment and.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Sports, innovators in business and technology, and even a sitting
president or two.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Join us as we ask the questions they've not been
asked before, tell it like it is, and even sing
a song or two.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
This is our podcast and we'll be doing it our way.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Hey, Skip, Hey, what's happening?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Not much, really don't have much to say, but I
just wanted to keep us continuity. You know, I talk
to you all the time. I thought I'm not calling you, frankly,
but I don't know what I would have done going
to bed without hearing your voice.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
It's superstition.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Absolutely. I'm very strange that way, man, very strange. Hey, tomorrow,
guess who we've got, buddy.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
It's not Tony Orlando.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
You got it on the first try.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I'm proud you have to hear one note. I didn't
have one note.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I'm glad I called you early tonight. You gonna love
this guy. He is he's always retiring and we'll hit
on that form. That song yellow Ribbon. You and I
talked about it yesterday. I mean, it's not just a song, man,
it has so much meaning to this country and did.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
It's an anthem. But you know, you think about it.
You can go up to people young and old and
you say tie a yellow ribbon, and they're going to say,
around the old oak. Grade doesn't matter. I mean, I
could say it to one of the caddies on the
golf course. Everybody knows that line. And he's the guy.
And back in the day when it was, you know,
the Vietnam War, and there was all this hatred, you know,
(02:35):
neighbor versus neighbor, but you could drive down a residential
street and see yellow ribbons around the tied around the
tree and you knew what that meant.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
And he's got a great story, right, I mean, his
background is amazing, how he got in the business, how
he's had such a long, great career, and he's a
he's a good human being. And every time I see
somebody retiring from this business and I've seen them, it's
kind of a warm empathetic vibe that I have for
(03:05):
them because I say, really, will they might be back?
Because you know Sinatra came and went. A few of them.
You and I know they came and went. Just can't
get it out of your system. But we're going to
wish him well tomorrow. He's a great storyteller. I'm just saying,
cut a drink, put it next to you, lean back,
throw it at him, and then you can rest for
(03:25):
ten to fifteen minutes because he's got stories with a
lot of content, a lot of comment.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I'm looking forward to it, and we should ask him
about his time working with Clive Davis.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I mean, there's so many pieces to this guy that
we can hit on. So yeah, I'm looking forward to
so much.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So I guess we're going to hit the sheets.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, it's time I go.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Do you sleep warm, sill, little Mama. We'll do the
same on your end you Hey, love you too.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
By bye, Tony.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
There you are, Tony, say hello to Skip my friend,
my partner in crime.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Here.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Hi, I'm good, my friend in the small World Department.
My son Scott is a friend of your son John.
What you have a son John, Yes, who's in the
podcast business. But I know and he and my son
Scott brons and are friends. Because he knew that we
were going to do this today. And he goes, Dad,
(04:21):
Tony Orlando, you got to be kidding me. His son,
He said, I've known his son John for the longest time.
We've been texting today. So I said, no way, Oh.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
How nice. Well we got something very in common. Then
I would say, I would say, how many years?
Speaker 1 (04:36):
How many years married? Tony thirty three? Thirty three? He's
from your.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
First marriage, John's first marriage.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
How many kids do you have? Tony two?
Speaker 3 (04:44):
My daughter Jenny U thirty three and my son John's
fifty four. And I'm blessed with two incredible, really incredible
people as children.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
That's good.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
They're growing up to be great human beings and that's
the most most proud you can be as a parent.
For sure.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Absolutely, that's where it's at today, isn't it. They have grandchildren,
You have grandchildren.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
No, I'm hoping you're hoping. I want grandchildren so bad.
Oh I want to be able to go here. Here's
an extra technology. Don't tell your mother and father here
it is listens something. Can I share something with everybody? Sure?
I see the guy who's hosting this whole thing, that
Paul Anchor guy right there, and.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
My buddy Skip. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I met Paul Anchor. I'm seventy nine. When I was
sixteen years old. We did a show in London together
called juke Box Jury, which was probably the first American idol.
And there really is a picture of Paul and I
together as teenagers. Okay, here's the thing about Paul Anchor.
(05:50):
Here is a forever legend. My brother David, who's in
his fifties, says, you know something, I have known Paul
Ankor my entire life as being that Frank Sinatra, that superstar,
that megastar all my life. I said to him, David,
I've known Paul Anka since I dreamed about being in
(06:12):
show business and had the absolute privilege of calling him
my friend for over sixty four years. When I tell
you that I love that boss man right there more
than you could ever even imagine. I'm so proud to
know him. He's never changed. He's been the same Paul
(06:34):
since I know him, since I'm sixteen and here I
am on your podcast all these years later, and Skip
is my son. His son is my son's friend in
this world.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Not great, Hey, Tony, thank you, that's well embraced. I
can say the same about you. You know, your loved
and speaking of let's get down to you, man, because
it's an incredible, incredible story. When you talk about when
we were sixteen, you know, it always fascinated me about
you because we all came from that small little tribe
(07:06):
in the beginning. How the hell did you go from
being a general manager with Clive Davis at a record
company and roll it into a hit record and know
what you are doing at a record company. I know
the story, but I want you to tell everybody listening
out there. It's fascinating.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
It is crazy, but it's unbelievable because I don't know
anyone that's morphed out of being with a record company
winding up on a record.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I know that you wrote part of Candida.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
The first hit, right, well, no, but what is crazy?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Tell us the story? Tell me the story, Paul is.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Referring to it, and it really is a back end
too everything story And the only one I can give
credit to is my manager him upstairs. He guided me
through all of this because when I met Paul, I
had just had a hit record called Halfway to Paradise, which,
by the way, Paul was Carol King's first hit with
Jerry Goffin. That was her first she was eighteen years old.
(08:03):
I was signed by Donnie Kirshner. I was brought to
Donnie Kirshner by Bobby Darren, who, of course Paul knew
and was like a brother's relationship with I was with Donnie.
The second record was called Bless You. That's what brought
me to England to meet Paul. That was Barryman and
Cynthia Wiles great verse. So those four writers ended up
(08:27):
in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ended up
with Academy Award nominations and wins, by the way, for
Barrys were out there and Cynthia while and then the
British came. The British coming to this country affected everybody
but Paul Anka. Everybody else was out of work. The
(08:48):
only one still working was Paul Anka. The rest of
us had to go what are we going to do?
So I get a call from a lawyer named Clive Davis,
who's now president of Columbia Records. Out did I meet live?
He was the lawyer when I was sixteen signing with
(09:08):
Columbia Records, fifth on the totem pole of lawyers. Signed
me because my mother had a sign for me because
I was underaged. These years later, he becomes president of
the company. He says, hey, yeah, out of work? Huh?
I said yeah, He said, come work for me. I said, well,
I don't. Whatever you want me to do, he said,
(09:30):
I want you to become general manager of CBS Music.
I said, Fife, I don't even know how to open
a file cabinet. Are you crazy? You want me to
come work for me? What are your nuts? He goes, no,
you don't have to worry about opening file cabinets when
you have a great year. So I want you to
work with writers. I want you to sign young artists,
(09:50):
and I did so. The first act that I'm responsible
for is Blood, Sweat and Tears from Canada Wow. The
second I'm representing as a guy we signed named James Taylor.
And the third act that I am now signed and
produced as First Records was a kid named Barry Manilow.
(10:13):
So now in that four year period, I go from
general manager to vice president of CBS Music. Thinking my
record career where I met Paul back in the early
sixties was over. I'm going to be behind the desk.
So a guy walks into my office, Paul, you know
Heck Christ from the Tokens. Sure absolutely, Lion sleeps Tonight?
(10:37):
Was it in my office? And he goes told me,
I'm broke, do be a staby. I need three thousand
dollars to pay my rent? Could you buy this master?
The song is called Candida? Could you buy this master
for me? I broke really helped me out. I said, Hey,
I'm not a record company, I'm a music publisher. I said,
(10:59):
but I'll put you with Bell Records. That's our singles
oriented company. They have the Patrick's family that if dimension
you know, you'd be perfect for it. So I go
over and I filled the record with three thousand dollars
from my buddy as a favor. The record company says,
we'll give you the three thousand dollars as long as
(11:19):
you take off that terrible singer on this record. So
I go, okay. I go back to hang bless me.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Here's the good news in a good.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Singer on here, and he goes, you do it. I said,
I can't. I can't do this. I worked for five Davis.
I can't do this. He said, Tony, please, you know
understand I'm broke. And you used to do the Carol
King demos for the drifts like up on the Roof.
That was your right. I said, yeah, And is this
song not that same style? I said, yes it is.
(11:49):
He said, I said, okay, under one condition. We got
one hour to do it. Paul, listen to this. This
is how we cut Candida. I swear to God, what's
the first line? Stars will come out if they know
the jore about Okay, I got an act play the tape.
Stars won't come out and they know the jar about star.
(12:10):
What's the next line? That's the glow of one line
at a time. Finish the record in an hour. I
go back to my office. Three months later, it comes
on the billboard charge and the cash box charge with
a big bat red bullet. It's a smash.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Whose name, whose name's on it?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
It was under the name Dawn, not under my name,
because I said the hank, don't shoot there put my
name on this record. I don't want helps my job.
Forget it. Call it Joe Sloane the knife leevirus, but
don't on Orlando. So he comes up with this name.
You know where Dawn came from, Paul Larry. You told
the president of Bell Records his daughter's name was Dawn,
(12:55):
and he figured he'd gets special fatement if he named
his studio group after the president. Now the record goes
to number one, sells two million records. It's back to
me and says, cut this next song for me. Please
don't he please? Just to follow up, I said, please,
I'm gonna lose my job. Nobody knows that's me. He said, please,
(13:17):
It's called not three times. This was the worst song
I ever heard in my life. Record, I said, I said,
the pipes. They only have pipes in New York. There'll
be a hit in Brooklyn. I get it. So I
go in and do it for him. Four million records,
six million records in two tries. So I think to myself, hmm,
(13:38):
I better go tell Clive. I'm going to Clive. Listen,
I said, Clive. I said, listen, I said, you know
this group Dawn. He said, yeah, I know that's you.
I said, wait a minute, you've known all this time
that I'm done. He said, it's the worst kept secret
in shell business. Well you crazy, He said, go after
(13:59):
your dream. If it doesn't happen, you could always come home.
I swear to god that's cool. And after that, it
was one thing after the next. We cut Yellow Ribbon
TV show and then they got back into Vegas. And
who do I see Paul Anka? Where is he backstage?
I don't think he remembers this backstage sitting in Sammy's
(14:19):
dressing room and Frank before they went on, right, you
remember that. I remember that Valley's Hotel and we reacquainted
ourselves together. And that man right there to me is
the current chairman of the board.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Tony. What was your first time in Vegas? And was who?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
First time in Vegas? Was nineteen seventy three? I opened
for Don.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Rickles in seventy three, yep, I remember that three.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
And then we stayed and stayed with Checky Green, who just.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Bet the way, yeah, may rest.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
It's such a big business. We ended up going to
the Hilton where Elvis was working. We were there for
twelve years, but we did the Hilton and the Riviera
Engelbert would do ten weeks at the riv I would
do ten weeks at the Hilton. He would then switch over.
I would switch over. But you know you were already
in Vegas since Lincoln was president. Man, I mean very close.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
At least Wilson, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
I mean here where you going?
Speaker 1 (15:25):
In the early sixes, I started fifty eight with Sophie Tucker,
scared to death because Elvis didn't like it. There were
none of us in Vegas, of our elk. And they
talked me into opening for Sophie Tucker because you know, Bobby,
all of us, you know what it was like. We
wanted to evolve into what those guys were doing because
there was nothing else that was happening. So they talked
(15:47):
me in to working with Sophie. After opening night for
the first time, they'd had all kinds of kids that
showed up, which they'd never had, and they were screaming
and yelling and carrying on. And she was very, very
smart woman, and she was a gracious woman. She said,
my boy, you know I can't follow that. So you're
(16:08):
going to close the show and you can be with
those kids at the end. You'll close, and I close
for two weeks. And that started it from fifty eight on,
and then I wound up at the sands.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Well, fifty eight, you were still a kid.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
I was still a kid at sixty. I was always
a kid til my voice change? Remember the thing then, Tony,
it was all about squeaky high voices. My dilemma was,
when's my voice gonna change? You know, all the guys,
you know, everybody was making hits, they had the falsetto
you're right, and mine didn't change till the sixties. And
you know, I said, well, I still am being business.
(16:42):
When's it gonna change? I was squeaking away. I think
your guy Kirshner found a kid called Nil Sadaka and said,
how Hi can you sing do ancha? And he his
was Carol. I had Diana and we kind of mirrored
each other. It was all those high voices that really
were selling the hits.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
It was very much, very much influenced by you, very
much influenced by you.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Well, I won't argue that we all did well. He's
very talented. You know, we had some talented, good people.
We were that pack that nobody believed in us. Tony,
You remember that it was just us, you know, until
the Beatles, it nobody embraced this the way they did.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
I just got inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame,
sipinatras in there in Houston and Frankie Valley and Bruce Springsteen.
Bruce starts walking towards me because his wife got inducted
the same day I did. And guess who inducted me.
Clive Davis all right in his nineties. He was inducting
me Eon Warwick. You talk about full circle, right, But
(17:44):
he comes walking towards me based on what you're just saying,
and he starts singing the Tarrell King song, Yeah for
the Paradise, and I go, Bruce, you you know this song? Man?
He goes, Tony come on. Before there was the Beatles,
before there was the Rolling Stones, before there was a Temptations,
before there was a Motown, there was you and Paul Anka.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
You know, listen, Clive is the best. There's nobody like him.
He's done an amazing job with his lifeless career. But
you mentioned Carol King a few times. I remember when
she came over to ABC Paramount, but I remember how
close you were to her because she was a talented
woman and through the years I've just admired how she's
(18:29):
just given of herself. Did you ever see the play
on Broadway? Hers, Carol King, did you ever see her
play on Broadway.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Called Beautiful Beautiful?
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Sure?
Speaker 1 (18:37):
How did that move you? Tell me how you felt
emotionally about that, Tony.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Well, I be honest with you, Paul. When I saw
that play on Broadway, and I saw it four times,
it was my childhood, I went. It took me to tears.
I'll tell you why. When I signed with Donnie, I
played La Bamba for him. That was my auditioning song.
And he said, I'm going to make the next Trinny Lopez.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
On God Forbid. Okay, I love, I love, but no
no no.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Oh, I go well, I said, and Richie Valance, Richie
val Yah. I said, well, thank you, Tony, he said.
He said, hang on, I'm going to get my new
writers in here. And he says, Carol, would you come
in the office. I want you to play something for
this young kid. She comes in. He was a writer.
You're gonna love this. Ball comes in, hadn't not a
(19:28):
hit yet with her husband Jerry and skips. She comes
in and she plays me a song that Donnie says,
it's going to be my first hit, and the song
was will you still love Me Tomorrow. And in the
play when I'm About to Tell You, they excluded me
as being part of that scene. But that was the
(19:51):
scene that was the first day of my dream, right.
So I cried when I seen that saw that in
the play, and the reason I it was because his
art went. She plays the song and I say to Donnie,
it's gonna be my first record. That's so long because
I loved it, and he goes absolutely and Jack Keller,
(20:15):
who you know is a writer, he says, Tony, you
can't fuck that song. I said why. He said, it's
a girl's song. I said, how is it a girl's song?
He says to night with words unspoken, You say that
I'm the only one. But will my heart be broken
when the night meets the morning sun? Is this the
(20:37):
lasting treasure or just a moment's pleasure? Can I believe
the magic of your size? Really used to Love Me Tomorrow?
No sixteen year old boy says that to a girl.
Only a sixteen year old girl says that to a boy.
I still didn't get it. I thought they were taking
the song away from me. So we cut half of
the Paradise, which was her second song she wrote years later,
(21:01):
Barry Gibb records Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? And
it's a fantastic record of it, and he says, he says,
we can't put it out as a single. It's a
girl song. So if you analyze that record, that song,
all sixty four years ago was written, not one male
(21:22):
singer has ever had.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
A Yeah, it makes sense absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You know, while we're talking, we're reminiscing. I have to
tell you I'm a big fan. I said to Paul,
you know, we're talking about people we've been lining up
for this podcast, and your name popped right into my
head and I said, Tony Orlando the second has said it.
Paul said, oh my god, Bingo got to get Bunny.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Tony's got great stories, is a great human being. So
this is a real treat for me to meet you.
But my one of my memories of you is when
you were on the Dean Martin celebrity roasts. So I
was going to ask what Dean Martin actually belonged to
my country club? Who's an avid golfer and I'm just curious,
what memories do you have of Dean Martin.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Well, first of all, he got me on the show
to to roast Muhammad Ali and then he made me stay.
As you know, they did two or three shows that day.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
You know.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
And although I was very close to Jerry, I always
wanted to get to know Dean. I always wanted to
be friends with Dean, and that opened up that friendship
with him was being on the on the roasts. He
was very kind to me. In fact, when we roast
to Dean, I did something that Dean said on the
air that no one had ever complimented him before. On
(22:36):
the roast, I couldn't say anything bad about him. When
I got up on the daists to put him down,
I had lines to do it. I just couldn't do it.
So I just said, fuck it, I'm just gonna I'm
just gonna say what I feel from my heart. They
cut it, they cut it. I just can't put them down.
I couldn't do it. Even though it was in a joke.
(22:58):
After the show, he said, I'm keeping that. I said, Gan,
I'm so sorry. I said I couldn't. I couldn't roast you.
He said, you know what, I'm going to keep that.
And every time I watched a repeat of that particular
show he kept it in And now that he's gone,
and then that I have a memory of him, and
(23:18):
I remember the kind of relationship I had with Dean.
I used to see him at La Familia and have
dinner with him all the time. That was sad, you too, Paul.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
And he'd walk in. He's just sitting there. How you doing, Dean,
And he's saying, I'm waiting to die, Pally, I'm just
waiting to die.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
And by the way, that is exactly the right word, Paul,
You're the only other person I know that ever heard that.
I heard him say that to people when I would
sit with him, just waiting to die, and he looked
like he was going to die.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
He should. He had the teeth out, Yeah, had him
in the glass.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Slurping soup yeap and teeth out and looked just when
he lost his son, he lost everything.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
That was it. It was it and I get it.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
But in his better in his better days, when you
think of him in his better days, was he a drunk?
Was he an alcoholic? Or was that just an act?
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Or saw it? I did you, Paul?
Speaker 1 (24:12):
I never saw drunk, No, no, no. Frank and Sammy
drank more and got drunk more. I've never seen Dean.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
But Dean was the one that always, you know, was
looked a little gipsy and that was but that was
an act. That was a shit real. My other question
one of you know, to segue from there, Tony. Another
guy who you were active with courds Jerry Lewis. You
wound up doing his telethon more than thirty times. How
did you first How did that happen? How did you
first meet Jerry Lewis?
Speaker 3 (24:39):
You know, it's crazy. I met Jerry Lewis when I
was ten years old, and it was in nineteen fifty four,
and it was the first year or second year he
was doing the tele thought on the local channel in
New York. I loved him as a kid, right, he
was my idol? Yeah, what was Gary? I we tal
up around be like Jerry. So I went and got
a bottle and I got fifty nine dollars Paul Skipp,
(25:01):
fifty nine dollars in quarters and nickels and dimes, et cetera.
And I bring him to the Sheriffon Hotel on line. Here,
mister Lewis, this is the fifty nine dollars for your kids.
Little did I know that nineteen eighty three year lls
around I'm adlining at the Riviera Hotel and he comes
(25:22):
in and he says, Tony, I want you to be
the host to my telethon in New York, our hometown
where we started. Would you do that? I said, are
you crazy? If I got an Academy award, I would
have been more honored than to host the telethon with you.
So with Sammy and Jerry and Ed McMahon and myself,
(25:43):
who was part of that team for thirty three years.
There's thirty three years, three streets with Jerry, and then
I ended up that ten year old kid. Not only
ended up doing those ten years, but I ended up
being asked the host is the celebration of life funeral? Jerry,
Goodbye to the world. That ten year old kid with
(26:05):
the little jar was now doing his funeral.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Great story, great memories with guys that you love, that
you idolized as part of an amazing career, Tony, You've had.
(26:30):
You know, I'm just curious because I know we've been
reading about it recently, and you know, I can identify
with it in a certain fashion. What's it like now
knowing that you're going to be off the boards, You've
made the decision, and you're going to go on to
hopefully with something that's going to be as meaningful with
your time. But what's the feeling like, Tony. I know
you just did your last gig in Vegas, and I've
(26:53):
heard that you're going to finish up in Mohican Son
in Connecticut. Share with me, Share with me the feeling
with our buddy Tom Cantone, one of the great people
in our business. Tell me about the emotion you went through.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
I know you'll never retire, and I know, well not
if I can help it, not if I know. I
know you long enough to know you will never retire.
But here's what happened with me. I just felt it
was time. It's hard to describe. It's bittersweet, man, It's bittersweet.
I walked on stage last night at the casino at
the Niaga Falls that you've worked many times, you know,
(27:28):
Falls View Casino, and people were just the and they
knew I was retiring. I talked about it. I just
it's like I told my wife, I can still hit
the ball, I just can't run the bases. And what
I mean by that is I don't have a private shit.
I can't I can't handle the traveling anymore. I'm seventy
(27:50):
nine years old. I go through an airport, they cancelations,
delays for five hours. It's just ridiculous. The work. The
audiences are changing. The older they get, the less they get.
The people who are buying the shows are twenty five
years old. They don't know from a yellow ribbon and
(28:10):
not three times. And Tonio Lando, they don't know. Antonio.
I got to the point to fly my band anywhere
is an automatic nine ten thousand dollars. So if I
was a candy store and I look at my overhead
and I say, my overhead is such in order for
me to survive this candy store, I'm going to have
(28:32):
to make some cuts. To make some cuts means I'm
cutting my show. I can't cut my show, Paul. I
can't go and stand up and tell stories with a
video behind me, and I can't do it. I feel
like it's the Raging Bull scene at the end, you
know where I couldn't contend And he goes out to
(28:53):
fourteen people. I go there, So I said, what do
I do? So I noticed Elton John retired, Henny Loggin's
retired barigner retired I'm seeing all these guys. Bill Medley's retired,
Frankie Valley's retiring, and I thought to myself, you know,
it sounds like it's the right time for me. Also,
(29:15):
then I asked myself this question, what passion do I
have now? And you know, my passion is Paul. Whether
I succeed at it or not. I've always had a
writer's muscle to flet meaning I've always wanted to write
a Broadway show. I've written one. I've always wanted the
right screenplays. I've written two. I've always wanted to write
(29:37):
a novel. I'm in the middle of one. So my
writing juices, that creative part of me is more alive
and more exciting now than ever. The only thing I'm
going to miss, Paul, I swear to you, is those
people out there that look up at you with that
joy on their faces. You know, every place I work,
(29:59):
and this is no bullshit, every casino I work, this
is what I hear. Hey, man, when was the last
time you saw a fall angle. That's the greatest act,
that's the greatest performer. You should hear this. Have you
seen what he does up there? Do you see when
he comes out of the orange. What happens? Did you
ever see his clothes? Do you hear those horns? Oh?
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
That is what I hear everywhere though. So I just
want you to know that I know you and you
love your audiences. I know you sixty four years. I
know how cool you are. I know how strong you are.
I know how intelligent you are. I know how articulate
you are. But I also know your heart. I have
(30:45):
known your heart because I look for your heart as
a friend for a long time. And I want to
share with Skip what I mean by that. I went
through a period of time Skip, where I went through
a breakdown. Freddy Prince, twenty two year old kid dies
in mind my arms, Okay, it broke me. I couldn't work.
(31:07):
I mean in my thirties, I had to leave the business.
I had to the last pair of lips that kissed
his lips with these right here. And we had this
one thing in common. He was a hung Arican, I
was a Greek Aurecan. So we had that thing in
New York City, thing happening together. So he was like
a young brother to me. So I go through a breakdown,
(31:27):
a literal terrible breakdown, and I kind of leave the
business for a year, but unlike now, I yearned to
be back on that stage. So I made the decision
to come back. I come back to the Riviera Hotel.
I'm on stage, Skip, and the middle of the show,
(31:48):
I'm by myself, no Dawn. I don't know what to expect,
what life is going to give me. I'm back in
Las Vegas. And who walks on the stage. Paul Anchor.
And what does he do? He greets me with a
special lyric that he writes to my way, both with
(32:10):
a heart and both with a comedic point of view,
and he uplifted me in one song. He took my fear,
my worries, my pain, everything in one four minute moment,
gave me a hug and a kiss and walked off
(32:31):
that stage. That's what Paul incle is about. I am
telling you I've met them all. So it's Paul, but
I've met them all. There's no more Paul Anchors. They're
not there. And here's why I say.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
That, I lose the lyric. Skip, I lose the lyric.
Look he's laughing. I lose the lyric, and I'm embarrassed
to tell him. He comes on my radio show and
embarrassed to tell him, Paul.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
It's the lyric this gift, right, So finally I say,
I got to tell the truth, and I tell him
so Paul very quietly, you know Paul as he slips
his wine he's drinking it, or he's coffee.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
You know, it's very cool. You know how Paul is.
He just keeps it to himself. He has a plan.
He knows it's taking the next thing. I know, it's
Christmas and I get a Christmas gift from Paul anchor
what is it? Maybe someday you played on the podcast.
It's a tape of Paul finding listen to me finding
(33:37):
the lyrics somewhere in his fault because you know, one
of those people that keeps everything he's ever done, and
he's meticulous, you know how he is. And he goes
and he finds the very lyric that he sings for me,
and he does it on a video as a Christmas
gift to me. Now, let me ask you a question. Seriously.
(33:59):
All right, business always gets wrapped for people having egos
and this and that, and they're not. You know, Kanye
puts down Taylor Swift and what he did was the
business we grew up in. We cared about each other,
and he showed it to me. Now, that's over fifty
years of friendship with a guide who could just simply
(34:21):
say I forget him. He blew it, Let him livers. No,
he shows up once, what comes back with the same
heart felt piece of material Again. I treasure that tape.
I show that tape to my family. I showed that
tape to other performers. I am so proud of my
(34:42):
friendship with you, young man, who you had, not your
age that you say.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
You respect your elders two years older, but.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
Get you have been an unbelievable talent artist friend and
I mean it, Paul, Thank you to You're really an
iconic legend, but still remained a heartfelt guy. I knew
when I met you when I was sixteen years old,
and that's the truth.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
Well, I'll tell you I'm sitting here glowing because I
have two best friends, and Paul is both of them.
Speaker 3 (35:16):
OPU.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
He's a special guy. He really is. He is well,
his head comes down to almost normal size after those accolades.
Let me just ask you, the very first guest that
you had on your on your variety show was the
great One, Jackie Gleason, and the two of you became friends.
But I was told that that wasn't the case right away.
So what was that meeting? Like? What was that?
Speaker 3 (35:40):
I don't know. Is that a pretty long story? You
want to hear that story?
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Yeah, we want to hear the most Tony.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Yeah, definitely, Okay.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
As long as there's more, As long as there's more
about me after?
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Would you say, Jackie skip? Jackie was the great one
in his.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Day, without a doubt, without a doubt.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Right, everybody referred to him as the great One. Yes, right.
So Freddy Silverman, who was then president of CBS Television,
so the Tonio Land and Dawn Show, he named it
Tonio Land and Dawn. That was his baby. He took
responsibility for whatever happened. So the first guest that he
books on the show is Jack Deek Gleeson. Agin, I'm
(36:19):
about to work me little Toniolando with the great sketches,
singing with him, et cetera. So I come into rehearsals,
dress rehearsal day. You know, Jackie wouldn't rehearse, he just
I'm coming in, pal get ready, So Tellima and Joyce up,
Dawn are singing their duet on stage, and I'm sitting
(36:42):
right behind Jackie and he doesn't know it's me, And
he says, who the two and the amateur Knight and
Dixie I'm working with today? WHOA No, we have to
tell you. I wouldn't handle it today like I did then.
But remember I was twenty nine years old, full of
pisson vinegar right, and already in the business since I'm sixteen.
(37:04):
So I finally walk up to him and I say,
mister Gleeson, I'm a Paul. You just said. If you
think those girls don't know what means it's the N
word in Yiddish. They know what it means, you owe
them an apology. It shocks me that you would say
something like that. By the way, I haven't met me.
(37:25):
I'm your amateur knight in Dickie. My name's Tony Orlando.
So he goes just like this ball skip, I'm out
of here, pal, and he gets somebody walks out. Freddy
Simliman comes down. He goes, Tony, what are you doing?
Tragic cleon? I said, okay, what is I said? We
asked you something? Ready? If he said, who's the amateur
(37:46):
Knight and Dixie and the two on stage. Would that
be acceptable to you? Would you not ask him for
an apology? Are you? Are you going to kiss his
ass right to the end, Tony, You're right, but this
is your first show. And all I concerned it about
is that it say, hey, you're right, but let's placate him.
(38:08):
I'm going to get him back. I'm paying him twenty
five thousand dollars in those No one got twenty five
thousand dollars for a variety show appearance like Jackie. So
he comes back. Now, Jackie had an associate with him
that had the ascot and the plaid jacket, right, you know.
And all he would do. I swear to God this
is truth is open up a pack of parliaments, push
(38:30):
the bottom up. The cigarettes would come up, and he'd
take the cigarette and put it in Jackie's mouth and
light Jackie's cigarette. I swear to God that was his job.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
I was there.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
I sat it on my dressing room door. It's time
for me to do my sketch with mister Gleeson. And
the knock on the door is his gopher guy. Mister
Gleeson would like to go over the cue cards with you?
I said yes, Sir, I walk in and there's Jackie
and I got the que card guy there, and Jackie says,
now listen to me, no live in pal you got
(39:01):
that only the great one ad lips. I go, yes,
sirvice to Gleason. We go over the two cards and
we go on the stage. The song is called I'll
teach you everything I know. So it's all the gleasonisms.
So he'll go, I'll teach everything I know, and I go,
even how sweet it is, I'll teach you everything I
(39:23):
know right one of these days to the moon, Alice.
Take one, stop tape. He says, camera two, I want
to close up. The rector says camera two. Listen to
that's to Gleason. Please, I'll teach you everything I know,
even else sweet it is the teacher. Camera three, I said,
(39:45):
camera two has to close up. Back off, Yes, sir,
mister Gleason. It's the third time. I'll everything I know.
Heven own sweet it is. I'll tell you that. He
goes stop tape. I said, Ted is rolling. I say that.
I could see his eyes. He looked at me and
I said, come on, great one, you're the great ad liver.
(40:08):
Come on an ad lib now we have three hundred
people in the audience, and the audience goes, oh, go down.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
I can't believe this hour.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
I go and I knew him.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Go ahead, go ahead, finish in the street.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
Go back to my dressing room. Ready. So I'm saying,
I said, I can't take this guy. I said, I
love him, I idolize him. He's brilliant, but I can't
take stop tape, stop tape stuff. It's ridiculous. We got
a director in here. He's pony shut. But it's the
(40:44):
first chocolt. You're right. I'm sorry, so sorry, sorry, mister Souliman.
Nancy Walker do you remember that name, Nancy Walker? Yes,
absolutely big on sitcoms and comedian. She walks into my
dress room and she goes, now you listen to me, Tony. Oh,
this son of a bitch he fired me in nineteen
(41:05):
forty nine in my first play. And I'm gonna get
him in this next sketch. And what is the next sketch?
Do you remember Oh Great Grasshopper? Remember that show, Oh
Great Gresshopper? It was any thing. So we did a
comedy sketch about ohs Gresshopper, And what's to happen is
that Nancy pulls her hands over like the hits him
(41:28):
over the head. He hits me over the head. So
playing a karate scene, but a funny karate scene. So
I see Nancy wind up. She's winding up, blly, oh great,
debrew leg and she comes up over her head and
she comes on Gleeson's head and I could see him,
(41:51):
but I know that I'm next, and I'm thinking I'm
gonna get it and showing up everybody both hands over
his head like this, and it comes down on my
head and waw, And I mean, where hit me? And
struck right? So I go back to my dressing room.
(42:12):
Show is over. Nancy comes in smiling, how spig out
of again? Said Nancy, I'm in trouble. CBS is going
to be so piston. Well, I just this is my
first show. She goes, hey, had it come in that
side of a X? Anyway, you get to knock on
the door. Who is it? The guy with Department cigarettes
dignation would like to see you in the dressing room.
(42:35):
Immediately I said, yes, sir. I go in and there's
Jackie with his back to the door, back to here
to this day, him stirring his drink. I hear the
ice clink clink, clink, clink clink, and I walk in.
He goes sit down. Pal said yes, sir, mister listen.
He says, uh, that script book on the table is
(42:57):
that for me? I said, yes, sir, you can have
that if you want it. He said, yeah, I want
to tell you what to do with that script book
of yours. Put it up and read to me what
I wrote on the first page. Yes, sir, mister Gleason,
and I opened it up. I look, this is dear Tony.
I apologize. Wow, I was wrong. Wow.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
Jackie had the ending huh.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
And then he says, where are the girls? They're the
ones I apology to, and he apologizes to them. So
this is the truth. I'm on that show for four
straight seasons, every single tape night, every night, every Friday,
I'm in makeup. The phone would ring. It's me Jackie.
(43:39):
I watched the show last week. I want to tell
you something. What the hell are you wearing? A silver
sent before and a black tuxedo. He would watch the
show and till every little thing that he saw that
help me. He would call four.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
Straight years, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
Great stuff. And in Tony. He was a plate you
know that. Yes, he used to go to He used
to go to Bill Fearravante in New York, who absolutely
from head to toe clothed that man right down to
the flower. Bill Fairvante, impeccable.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
You know where my love for him was. My dad
looked like Jackie Gleason and he sounded like Jackie. So
to me, he was very much my dad's figure. So
it was a tough one. I'm so happy it ended
up happy. You know.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
Paul told me, he said, skip, Tony's got great stories
and he's a great storyteller. But what he didn't tell
me is you got balls to do that. What you did,
you got balls.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
But you heard what I said. I started it out
by saying I wouldn't have handled it that way today.
I really wouldn't have.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
He wouldn't have said it either. He would have been
absolutely aware of what's politically correct.
Speaker 3 (44:52):
I don't know what made him say that. I never
saw it happened with him again, you know, Paul, I
don't think you even know this. My uncle Carmine, My
uncle Carmen's name is Carmine Faba, the ma to d
of the Kopa Cabana.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Carmine, that love Carmine, that's my uncle loved them. Do
you know the great thing about he had balls. I'll
never forget Tony because you know, I was a kid
working there. I wrote all the music for the shows.
But I'm still a kid, and I'm saying, oh, where's
there going? Where am I going from here? I was
sitting ringside watching the man. You and I loved Sammy
(45:31):
Davis Junior. That was the talent and Frank knew it.
We all know it. I am sitting ringside watching Sammy
and he was in a song. He was saying, sometimes
I feel like a motherless child. Now, two tables over.
A couple of the boys were there, right noses sitting ringside.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
Also.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
One of them said, and you look like one. The
lights went out like this, Carmina said, get them three
guys go down, picked them up and the table took
them out. Put in another table and lightsman back up again.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
Carry him out, table and all.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Gone, see table everything boom, beg your heart look back
to Sammy. I mean all within a minute. That's the
kind of story.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
Everybody who's on this podcast right now, imagine this. Paul
and I know each other sixty four years, I knew
that Paul, at a young age, was already a megastar
at the famous Copa Cabana. This is going to blow
his mind, now what I you With three straight shows.
(46:42):
They snuck me in.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
Wow Wow, me and Jackie Mason and every other comic
I brought in. It wasn't that some kind of place.
It was a basement. It was with pillars everywhere. I mean,
they made so much money.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
It was sick.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
Just to bring this up to real time, Tony. So
Paul performs, you know, constantly, and one of the places
he likes to perform is the mohegan Son and I
know that you're about to go there. It's interesting. I'm
originally from Connecticut and very close to them. Chuck Bonell,
the chief of staff's been there over twenty five years.
Great friend. James Gestner, the Chairman of the Tribe, Chairman
(47:29):
of the Tribal Council, as a friend. He's been a
chairman of the Tribal Council three years, but he's been
twenty seven years on the Tribal Council. The mohegan Son
is one of the places that clearly knows how to
do it. So I'm glad that that's going to be
one of your stops on this I don't call it
a farewell tour, but a farewell tour.
Speaker 1 (47:49):
It's this stuff.
Speaker 3 (47:50):
Well, the reason I'm posing it out there is because
of Tom Canton great. Of course, Tom loves Paul and
he's loved me the days in Atlantic City, I work
mohican Son when there was no arena, no hotel. I
worked mohegan Son when it was a tent, I remember,
and then it became ook Den and then Tony Bennett
(48:11):
h and myself we opened up the cabaret. Hit him
on a Friday night, me on a Saturday night, and
then they built the arena. So really it's it's almost
like it's home to me, mohican Son. It's a home.
If there's any one casino that I call home and
think of it as as a home base, its mohegan Son.
(48:33):
So when it came down to the last show I
was going to do after sixty four years performing, I
wanted it to be at mohegan Son.
Speaker 1 (48:41):
Well, Tom cantel and they love you there, and you're
in good hands with Tom. He's a great guy. Yeah great,
and he'll do it. He'll do it right. He'll do
it right.
Speaker 3 (48:49):
You know what. I remember we put Tom Cantone and Paul.
You did for him, which did for me. You actually
wrote a birthday song for his daughter and sent them
the video.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
Good family. He's a good man.
Speaker 3 (49:01):
I know more about you than you.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
I'm hearing all of that. You're telling me more than
I wanted to hear. I gotta get down to earthier
with all that. Listen, I gotta recheck Christen.
Speaker 3 (49:11):
Listen. I know you here. We've all heard show business
bullshit in our lives before. But I'm retiring now. There's
no bullshit left in Tony. Okay, that's one of the
great suporters. Nobody but him can do it his way. Nobody.
Speaker 1 (49:25):
Thank you, Tony. In keeping with that my friend you
mentioned earlier the night I showed up at the Riviera, So,
knowing me as you say you do, I went back
in the files and I dug this out. And if
there's anything there isn't anything more apropos as this. I'm
(49:46):
gonna start the piano with a seacord and this is
for you, buddy, This is for you. In fact, you
know what I'm gonna put my glasses on. So I
don't fuck it up tonight. It's my delight to say,
(50:07):
how right I think all this is now? This is
what I did at the River Folks years ago. Again
for him to state, I think it's great to celebrate
with love and kisses. It's with real joy. I greet
(50:31):
our boy, and I would shout it on the highway.
You know I'm straight, but I still state I did
Tony my way. It's joy to greet our boy. I
(50:55):
won't be coy. I've stated clearly. This hall is wall
to wall and he's as tall, well almost nearly, but
tall or small, I'm sure you all no. He comes
(51:15):
on and in a whiz way. By any tests, he's
just the best. He does it his way. For what
is a man? What has he got If not real guts,
(51:36):
then not a lot and chums. Tonight here on the.
Speaker 6 (51:41):
Stage Orlando, he sure came of age. He came on
strong with every song, but he didn't sing.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
My way, And so I have to go and do
my show. I can't win awards here. I'd stay, but
there's no pay. And by the way, I miss those
(52:18):
two broads here. Tony's a joy, he's my boy. He
entertained and in a rare way, but even he he
sure must agree. Don did it? And I wiggle my
(52:40):
ass on stage and say their way. I'm sure you
all can more than tell.
Speaker 7 (52:50):
I wish him love, I wish him well, wish him
success beyond compare, I wish him everything, but hair.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
I look at him and go, son of a bitch.
The Vegas Pact are glad he's back. They love Tony,
they love him. My way relived, My boy relived. That's
(53:29):
for you, my honey, Bunny.
Speaker 2 (53:31):
Quite a tribute to you, Tony. Quite a tribute and
deservedly said everything right, Paul. He played his hand the
right way. He only made one mistake from what I've
learned today, and that is he didn't use the name
Joe Schmoe and the nail Biters. Such a great name,
Joe Schmoe and the nail Biters.
Speaker 1 (53:52):
Listen, I'm being tempted here because I know Tony and
I've seen it with Frank and everybody else. Once you
get that needle up your arm and you know, you
say you're retiring, and everything, big percentage come back, a
big percentage. No, No, I'm going to finish this thought,
but I find the right moment you won't have to
(54:14):
worry about your overhead, your commercial. I'm going to put
your ass on stage with me, maybe once, maybe twice,
maybe three, and I'll give you a taste of it
for about fifteen twenty. You can do your hits and
go home to your family because I know you. Listen,
if your health God willing, we all have that important dynamic.
(54:38):
You're going to be on stage with me and you
can have some fun and go do what you want
to do, write your scripts and on and on.
Speaker 3 (54:44):
Well, if I ever did that, I have a name
for the tour.
Speaker 1 (54:47):
What's it called?
Speaker 3 (54:48):
I changed my mind tour?
Speaker 1 (54:51):
No, it's going to be called he changed his mind tour,
not me?
Speaker 3 (54:58):
You know what? As you see what I'm talking about.
You see he wrote that to me. You ready, nineteen
seventy seven. We're in twenty twenty four. He wrote that
that many years ago. It still has it on a
piece of paper. Who the fuck does that in this business?
Speaker 1 (55:18):
Listen, somebody who can't open a computer and doesn't want one.
Speaker 2 (55:22):
He's a He's a hoarder. He's a hoarder the order.
Speaker 1 (55:27):
Of the best.
Speaker 3 (55:28):
This has been not only moving to me, but it's
one of the reasons why it's so hard to quit
this game because of people like you.
Speaker 2 (55:37):
Paul.
Speaker 3 (55:38):
You inspired me when I saw you at the Brooklyn
Paramount Theater. You inspired me when you heard those performances
like put your head on my shoulder, A young kid
being able to sing like that and right like that.
It was I wanted to sing like you and have
Frankie Avalanche. Well, that's what I wanted more than anything
(55:59):
in the world, was to have Frankie Avalanche's hair, which,
by the way, that sort of a big still has
the same hairy had when he was sixteen years old.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
And then I go to dinner.
Speaker 3 (56:08):
I never had his hand and I never had you. Yes,
you did.
Speaker 1 (56:11):
You had a lot of hair, Tony.
Speaker 3 (56:12):
What I have had is your friend.
Speaker 2 (56:15):
And always will and we appreciate you, and we appreciate
your doing this my professors.
Speaker 3 (56:21):
Old man, you're two years older than me, and you
always will.
Speaker 1 (56:25):
I'll keep giving you the best advice I can.
Speaker 2 (56:27):
Buddy, thanks for doing this serious say Tony, thank thank you,
very very very much.
Speaker 3 (56:32):
This was just.
Speaker 2 (56:35):
What a great what a great treat for me and
everyone who's going to listen.
Speaker 3 (56:40):
It's just taking the time to do this and thank
you for taking the time to look in to my
background and come up with all the right moments, and
you did all that homework for me. I'm humbled by that.
Thank the two of you also for watching and listening
to these long stories and Paul there, Thanks for you.
(57:00):
They just aren't enough. Thanks for you.
Speaker 1 (57:02):
Thank you, buddy, Thank you, Tony. Don't throw away the tuxedo, Tony,
don't throw away the tuxedo, and don't put don't put
on any weight or lose it. We can fix it.
Speaker 3 (57:13):
I'm on those look on. I might just a little bit.
Speaker 1 (57:17):
Hey, I might scare you with the phone call. Believe me,
be prepared, baby. This is worse than the Marines. When
I call you up, your show up. There's no training involved.
Love you, Tony. Thank you so much. God. Let's stay healthy, man,
stay healthy.
Speaker 3 (57:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (57:42):
Our Way with Paul Anka skip Ronson is a production
of iHeart Reading.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
The show's the executive producer is Jordan run Todd, with
supervising producer and editor Marcy Depino.
Speaker 1 (57:55):
It was engineered by Todd, Carlum and Graham Gibson, and
mixed and mastered by Doug Boum.
Speaker 2 (58:01):
If you like what you heard, please subscribe, and leave
us a review.
Speaker 1 (58:05):
For more podcasts on iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite Chip
Our Way with yours truly Paul Anka and my buddy
Skip Bronson, is a production of iHeartRadio. Hi, folks, this
is Paul.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Anka and my name is Skip Bronson. We've been friends
for decades and we've decided to let you in on
our late night phone calls by starting a new podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
And welcome to Our Way. We'd like you to meet
some real good friends of us.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Your leaders in entertainment and.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Sports, innovators in business and technology, and even a sitting
president or two.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Join us as we ask the questions they've not been
asked before, tell it like it is, and even sing
a song or two.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
This is our podcast and we'll be doing it our way.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Hey, Skip, Hey, what's happening?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Not much, really don't have much to say, but I
just wanted to keep us continuity. You know, I talk
to you all the time. I thought I'm not calling you, frankly,
but I don't know what I would have done going
to bed without hearing your voice.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
It's superstition.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Absolutely. I'm very strange that way, man, very strange. Hey, tomorrow,
guess who we've got, buddy.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
It's not Tony Orlando.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
You got it on the first try.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I'm proud you have to hear one note. I didn't
have one note.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
I'm glad I called you early tonight. You gonna love
this guy. He is he's always retiring and we'll hit
on that form. That song yellow Ribbon. You and I
talked about it yesterday. I mean, it's not just a song, man,
it has so much meaning to this country and did.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
It's an anthem. But you know, you think about it.
You can go up to people young and old and
you say tie a yellow ribbon, and they're going to say,
around the old oak. Grade doesn't matter. I mean, I
could say it to one of the caddies on the
golf course. Everybody knows that line. And he's the guy.
And back in the day when it was, you know,
the Vietnam War, and there was all this hatred, you know,
(02:35):
neighbor versus neighbor, but you could drive down a residential
street and see yellow ribbons around the tied around the
tree and you knew what that meant.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
And he's got a great story, right, I mean, his
background is amazing, how he got in the business, how
he's had such a long, great career, and he's a
he's a good human being. And every time I see
somebody retiring from this business and I've seen them, it's
kind of a warm empathetic vibe that I have for
(03:05):
them because I say, really, will they might be back?
Because you know Sinatra came and went. A few of them.
You and I know they came and went. Just can't
get it out of your system. But we're going to
wish him well tomorrow. He's a great storyteller. I'm just saying,
cut a drink, put it next to you, lean back,
throw it at him, and then you can rest for
(03:25):
ten to fifteen minutes because he's got stories with a
lot of content, a lot of comment.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I'm looking forward to it, and we should ask him
about his time working with Clive Davis.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I mean, there's so many pieces to this guy that
we can hit on. So yeah, I'm looking forward to
so much.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
So I guess we're going to hit the sheets.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, it's time I go.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Do you sleep warm, sill, little Mama. We'll do the
same on your end you Hey, love you too.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
By bye, Tony.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
There you are, Tony, say hello to Skip my friend,
my partner in crime.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Here.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Hi, I'm good, my friend in the small World Department.
My son Scott is a friend of your son John.
What you have a son John, Yes, who's in the
podcast business. But I know and he and my son
Scott brons and are friends. Because he knew that we
were going to do this today. And he goes, Dad,
(04:21):
Tony Orlando, you got to be kidding me. His son,
He said, I've known his son John for the longest time.
We've been texting today. So I said, no way, Oh.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
How nice. Well we got something very in common. Then
I would say, I would say, how many years?
Speaker 1 (04:36):
How many years married? Tony thirty three? Thirty three? He's
from your.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
First marriage, John's first marriage.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
How many kids do you have? Tony two?
Speaker 3 (04:44):
My daughter Jenny U thirty three and my son John's
fifty four. And I'm blessed with two incredible, really incredible
people as children.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
That's good.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
They're growing up to be great human beings and that's
the most most proud you can be as a parent.
For sure.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Absolutely, that's where it's at today, isn't it. They have grandchildren,
You have grandchildren.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
No, I'm hoping you're hoping. I want grandchildren so bad.
Oh I want to be able to go here. Here's
an extra technology. Don't tell your mother and father here
it is listens something. Can I share something with everybody? Sure?
I see the guy who's hosting this whole thing, that
Paul Anchor guy right there, and.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
My buddy Skip. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I met Paul Anchor. I'm seventy nine. When I was
sixteen years old. We did a show in London together
called juke Box Jury, which was probably the first American idol.
And there really is a picture of Paul and I
together as teenagers. Okay, here's the thing about Paul Anchor.
(05:50):
Here is a forever legend. My brother David, who's in
his fifties, says, you know something, I have known Paul
Ankor my entire life as being that Frank Sinatra, that superstar,
that megastar all my life. I said to him, David,
I've known Paul Anka since I dreamed about being in
(06:12):
show business and had the absolute privilege of calling him
my friend for over sixty four years. When I tell
you that I love that boss man right there more
than you could ever even imagine. I'm so proud to
know him. He's never changed. He's been the same Paul
(06:34):
since I know him, since I'm sixteen and here I
am on your podcast all these years later, and Skip
is my son. His son is my son's friend in
this world.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Not great, Hey, Tony, thank you, that's well embraced. I
can say the same about you. You know, your loved
and speaking of let's get down to you, man, because
it's an incredible, incredible story. When you talk about when
we were sixteen, you know, it always fascinated me about
you because we all came from that small little tribe
(07:06):
in the beginning. How the hell did you go from
being a general manager with Clive Davis at a record
company and roll it into a hit record and know
what you are doing at a record company. I know
the story, but I want you to tell everybody listening
out there. It's fascinating.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
It is crazy, but it's unbelievable because I don't know
anyone that's morphed out of being with a record company
winding up on a record.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I know that you wrote part of Candida.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
The first hit, right, well, no, but what is crazy?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Tell us the story? Tell me the story, Paul is.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Referring to it, and it really is a back end
too everything story And the only one I can give
credit to is my manager him upstairs. He guided me
through all of this because when I met Paul, I
had just had a hit record called Halfway to Paradise, which,
by the way, Paul was Carol King's first hit with
Jerry Goffin. That was her first she was eighteen years old.
(08:03):
I was signed by Donnie Kirshner. I was brought to
Donnie Kirshner by Bobby Darren, who, of course Paul knew
and was like a brother's relationship with I was with Donnie.
The second record was called Bless You. That's what brought
me to England to meet Paul. That was Barryman and
Cynthia Wiles great verse. So those four writers ended up
(08:27):
in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ended up
with Academy Award nominations and wins, by the way, for
Barrys were out there and Cynthia while and then the
British came. The British coming to this country affected everybody
but Paul Anka. Everybody else was out of work. The
(08:48):
only one still working was Paul Anka. The rest of
us had to go what are we going to do?
So I get a call from a lawyer named Clive Davis,
who's now president of Columbia Records. Out did I meet live?
He was the lawyer when I was sixteen signing with
(09:08):
Columbia Records, fifth on the totem pole of lawyers. Signed
me because my mother had a sign for me because
I was underaged. These years later, he becomes president of
the company. He says, hey, yeah, out of work? Huh?
I said yeah, He said, come work for me. I said, well,
I don't. Whatever you want me to do, he said,
(09:30):
I want you to become general manager of CBS Music.
I said, Fife, I don't even know how to open
a file cabinet. Are you crazy? You want me to
come work for me? What are your nuts? He goes, no,
you don't have to worry about opening file cabinets when
you have a great year. So I want you to
work with writers. I want you to sign young artists,
(09:50):
and I did so. The first act that I'm responsible
for is Blood, Sweat and Tears from Canada Wow. The
second I'm representing as a guy we signed named James Taylor.
And the third act that I am now signed and
produced as First Records was a kid named Barry Manilow.
(10:13):
So now in that four year period, I go from
general manager to vice president of CBS Music. Thinking my
record career where I met Paul back in the early
sixties was over. I'm going to be behind the desk.
So a guy walks into my office, Paul, you know
Heck Christ from the Tokens. Sure absolutely, Lion sleeps Tonight?
(10:37):
Was it in my office? And he goes told me,
I'm broke, do be a staby. I need three thousand
dollars to pay my rent? Could you buy this master?
The song is called Candida? Could you buy this master
for me? I broke really helped me out. I said, Hey,
I'm not a record company, I'm a music publisher. I said,
(10:59):
but I'll put you with Bell Records. That's our singles
oriented company. They have the Patrick's family that if dimension
you know, you'd be perfect for it. So I go
over and I filled the record with three thousand dollars
from my buddy as a favor. The record company says,
we'll give you the three thousand dollars as long as
(11:19):
you take off that terrible singer on this record. So
I go, okay. I go back to hang bless me.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Here's the good news in a good.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Singer on here, and he goes, you do it. I said,
I can't. I can't do this. I worked for five Davis.
I can't do this. He said, Tony, please, you know
understand I'm broke. And you used to do the Carol
King demos for the drifts like up on the Roof.
That was your right. I said, yeah, And is this
song not that same style? I said, yes it is.
(11:49):
He said, I said, okay, under one condition. We got
one hour to do it. Paul, listen to this. This
is how we cut Candida. I swear to God, what's
the first line? Stars will come out if they know
the jore about Okay, I got an act play the tape.
Stars won't come out and they know the jar about star.
(12:10):
What's the next line? That's the glow of one line
at a time. Finish the record in an hour. I
go back to my office. Three months later, it comes
on the billboard charge and the cash box charge with
a big bat red bullet. It's a smash.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Whose name, whose name's on it?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
It was under the name Dawn, not under my name,
because I said the hank, don't shoot there put my
name on this record. I don't want helps my job.
Forget it. Call it Joe Sloane the knife leevirus, but
don't on Orlando. So he comes up with this name.
You know where Dawn came from, Paul Larry. You told
the president of Bell Records his daughter's name was Dawn,
(12:55):
and he figured he'd gets special fatement if he named
his studio group after the president. Now the record goes
to number one, sells two million records. It's back to
me and says, cut this next song for me. Please
don't he please? Just to follow up, I said, please,
I'm gonna lose my job. Nobody knows that's me. He said, please,
(13:17):
It's called not three times. This was the worst song
I ever heard in my life. Record, I said, I said,
the pipes. They only have pipes in New York. There'll
be a hit in Brooklyn. I get it. So I
go in and do it for him. Four million records,
six million records in two tries. So I think to myself, hmm,
(13:38):
I better go tell Clive. I'm going to Clive. Listen,
I said, Clive. I said, listen, I said, you know
this group Dawn. He said, yeah, I know that's you.
I said, wait a minute, you've known all this time
that I'm done. He said, it's the worst kept secret
in shell business. Well you crazy, He said, go after
(13:59):
your dream. If it doesn't happen, you could always come home.
I swear to god that's cool. And after that, it
was one thing after the next. We cut Yellow Ribbon
TV show and then they got back into Vegas. And
who do I see Paul Anka? Where is he backstage?
I don't think he remembers this backstage sitting in Sammy's
(14:19):
dressing room and Frank before they went on, right, you
remember that. I remember that Valley's Hotel and we reacquainted
ourselves together. And that man right there to me is
the current chairman of the board.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Tony. What was your first time in Vegas? And was who?
Speaker 3 (14:47):
First time in Vegas? Was nineteen seventy three? I opened
for Don.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Rickles in seventy three, yep, I remember that three.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
And then we stayed and stayed with Checky Green, who just.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Bet the way, yeah, may rest.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
It's such a big business. We ended up going to
the Hilton where Elvis was working. We were there for
twelve years, but we did the Hilton and the Riviera
Engelbert would do ten weeks at the riv I would
do ten weeks at the Hilton. He would then switch over.
I would switch over. But you know you were already
in Vegas since Lincoln was president. Man, I mean very close.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
At least Wilson, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
I mean here where you going?
Speaker 1 (15:25):
In the early sixes, I started fifty eight with Sophie Tucker,
scared to death because Elvis didn't like it. There were
none of us in Vegas, of our elk. And they
talked me into opening for Sophie Tucker because you know, Bobby,
all of us, you know what it was like. We
wanted to evolve into what those guys were doing because
there was nothing else that was happening. So they talked
(15:47):
me in to working with Sophie. After opening night for
the first time, they'd had all kinds of kids that
showed up, which they'd never had, and they were screaming
and yelling and carrying on. And she was very, very
smart woman, and she was a gracious woman. She said,
my boy, you know I can't follow that. So you're
(16:08):
going to close the show and you can be with
those kids at the end. You'll close, and I close
for two weeks. And that started it from fifty eight on,
and then I wound up at the sands.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Well, fifty eight, you were still a kid.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
I was still a kid at sixty. I was always
a kid til my voice change? Remember the thing then, Tony,
it was all about squeaky high voices. My dilemma was,
when's my voice gonna change? You know, all the guys,
you know, everybody was making hits, they had the falsetto
you're right, and mine didn't change till the sixties. And
you know, I said, well, I still am being business.
(16:42):
When's it gonna change? I was squeaking away. I think
your guy Kirshner found a kid called Nil Sadaka and said,
how Hi can you sing do ancha? And he his
was Carol. I had Diana and we kind of mirrored
each other. It was all those high voices that really
were selling the hits.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
It was very much, very much influenced by you, very
much influenced by you.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Well, I won't argue that we all did well. He's
very talented. You know, we had some talented, good people.
We were that pack that nobody believed in us. Tony,
You remember that it was just us, you know, until
the Beatles, it nobody embraced this the way they did.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
I just got inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame,
sipinatras in there in Houston and Frankie Valley and Bruce Springsteen.
Bruce starts walking towards me because his wife got inducted
the same day I did. And guess who inducted me.
Clive Davis all right in his nineties. He was inducting
me Eon Warwick. You talk about full circle, right, But
(17:44):
he comes walking towards me based on what you're just saying,
and he starts singing the Tarrell King song, Yeah for
the Paradise, and I go, Bruce, you you know this song? Man?
He goes, Tony come on. Before there was the Beatles,
before there was the Rolling Stones, before there was a Temptations,
before there was a Motown, there was you and Paul Anka.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
You know, listen, Clive is the best. There's nobody like him.
He's done an amazing job with his lifeless career. But
you mentioned Carol King a few times. I remember when
she came over to ABC Paramount, but I remember how
close you were to her because she was a talented
woman and through the years I've just admired how she's
(18:29):
just given of herself. Did you ever see the play
on Broadway? Hers, Carol King, did you ever see her
play on Broadway.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Called Beautiful Beautiful?
Speaker 3 (18:36):
Sure?
Speaker 1 (18:37):
How did that move you? Tell me how you felt
emotionally about that, Tony.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Well, I be honest with you, Paul. When I saw
that play on Broadway, and I saw it four times,
it was my childhood, I went. It took me to tears.
I'll tell you why. When I signed with Donnie, I
played La Bamba for him. That was my auditioning song.
And he said, I'm going to make the next Trinny Lopez.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
On God Forbid. Okay, I love, I love, but no
no no.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Oh, I go well, I said, and Richie Valance, Richie
val Yah. I said, well, thank you, Tony, he said.
He said, hang on, I'm going to get my new
writers in here. And he says, Carol, would you come
in the office. I want you to play something for
this young kid. She comes in. He was a writer.
You're gonna love this. Ball comes in, hadn't not a
(19:28):
hit yet with her husband Jerry and skips. She comes
in and she plays me a song that Donnie says,
it's going to be my first hit, and the song
was will you still love Me Tomorrow. And in the
play when I'm About to Tell You, they excluded me
as being part of that scene. But that was the
(19:51):
scene that was the first day of my dream, right.
So I cried when I seen that saw that in
the play, and the reason I it was because his
art went. She plays the song and I say to Donnie,
it's gonna be my first record. That's so long because
I loved it, and he goes absolutely and Jack Keller,
(20:15):
who you know is a writer, he says, Tony, you
can't fuck that song. I said why. He said, it's
a girl's song. I said, how is it a girl's song?
He says to night with words unspoken, You say that
I'm the only one. But will my heart be broken
when the night meets the morning sun? Is this the
(20:37):
lasting treasure or just a moment's pleasure? Can I believe
the magic of your size? Really used to Love Me Tomorrow?
No sixteen year old boy says that to a girl.
Only a sixteen year old girl says that to a boy.
I still didn't get it. I thought they were taking
the song away from me. So we cut half of
the Paradise, which was her second song she wrote years later,
(21:01):
Barry Gibb records Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? And
it's a fantastic record of it, and he says, he says,
we can't put it out as a single. It's a
girl song. So if you analyze that record, that song,
all sixty four years ago was written, not one male
(21:22):
singer has ever had.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
A Yeah, it makes sense absolutely.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You know, while we're talking, we're reminiscing. I have to
tell you I'm a big fan. I said to Paul,
you know, we're talking about people we've been lining up
for this podcast, and your name popped right into my
head and I said, Tony Orlando the second has said it.
Paul said, oh my god, Bingo got to get Bunny.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Tony's got great stories, is a great human being. So
this is a real treat for me to meet you.
But my one of my memories of you is when
you were on the Dean Martin celebrity roasts. So I
was going to ask what Dean Martin actually belonged to
my country club? Who's an avid golfer and I'm just curious,
what memories do you have of Dean Martin.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Well, first of all, he got me on the show
to to roast Muhammad Ali and then he made me stay.
As you know, they did two or three shows that day.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
You know.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
And although I was very close to Jerry, I always
wanted to get to know Dean. I always wanted to
be friends with Dean, and that opened up that friendship
with him was being on the on the roasts. He
was very kind to me. In fact, when we roast
to Dean, I did something that Dean said on the
air that no one had ever complimented him before. On
(22:36):
the roast, I couldn't say anything bad about him. When
I got up on the daists to put him down,
I had lines to do it. I just couldn't do it.
So I just said, fuck it, I'm just gonna I'm
just gonna say what I feel from my heart. They
cut it, they cut it. I just can't put them down.
I couldn't do it. Even though it was in a joke.
(22:58):
After the show, he said, I'm keeping that. I said, Gan,
I'm so sorry. I said I couldn't. I couldn't roast you.
He said, you know what, I'm going to keep that.
And every time I watched a repeat of that particular
show he kept it in And now that he's gone,
and then that I have a memory of him, and
(23:18):
I remember the kind of relationship I had with Dean.
I used to see him at La Familia and have
dinner with him all the time. That was sad, you too, Paul.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
And he'd walk in. He's just sitting there. How you doing, Dean,
And he's saying, I'm waiting to die, Pally, I'm just
waiting to die.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
And by the way, that is exactly the right word, Paul,
You're the only other person I know that ever heard that.
I heard him say that to people when I would
sit with him, just waiting to die, and he looked
like he was going to die.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
He should. He had the teeth out, Yeah, had him
in the glass.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Slurping soup yeap and teeth out and looked just when
he lost his son, he lost everything.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
That was it. It was it and I get it.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
But in his better in his better days, when you
think of him in his better days, was he a drunk?
Was he an alcoholic? Or was that just an act?
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Or saw it? I did you, Paul?
Speaker 1 (24:12):
I never saw drunk, No, no, no. Frank and Sammy
drank more and got drunk more. I've never seen Dean.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
But Dean was the one that always, you know, was
looked a little gipsy and that was but that was
an act. That was a shit real. My other question
one of you know, to segue from there, Tony. Another
guy who you were active with courds Jerry Lewis. You
wound up doing his telethon more than thirty times. How
did you first How did that happen? How did you
first meet Jerry Lewis?
Speaker 3 (24:39):
You know, it's crazy. I met Jerry Lewis when I
was ten years old, and it was in nineteen fifty four,
and it was the first year or second year he
was doing the tele thought on the local channel in
New York. I loved him as a kid, right, he
was my idol? Yeah, what was Gary? I we tal
up around be like Jerry. So I went and got
a bottle and I got fifty nine dollars Paul Skipp,
(25:01):
fifty nine dollars in quarters and nickels and dimes, et cetera.
And I bring him to the Sheriffon Hotel on line. Here,
mister Lewis, this is the fifty nine dollars for your kids.
Little did I know that nineteen eighty three year lls
around I'm adlining at the Riviera Hotel and he comes
(25:22):
in and he says, Tony, I want you to be
the host to my telethon in New York, our hometown
where we started. Would you do that? I said, are
you crazy? If I got an Academy award, I would
have been more honored than to host the telethon with you.
So with Sammy and Jerry and Ed McMahon and myself,
(25:43):
who was part of that team for thirty three years.
There's thirty three years, three streets with Jerry, and then
I ended up that ten year old kid. Not only
ended up doing those ten years, but I ended up
being asked the host is the celebration of life funeral? Jerry,
Goodbye to the world. That ten year old kid with
(26:05):
the little jar was now doing his funeral.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Great story, great memories with guys that you love, that
you idolized as part of an amazing career, Tony, You've had.
(26:30):
You know, I'm just curious because I know we've been
reading about it recently, and you know, I can identify
with it in a certain fashion. What's it like now
knowing that you're going to be off the boards, You've
made the decision, and you're going to go on to
hopefully with something that's going to be as meaningful with
your time. But what's the feeling like, Tony. I know
you just did your last gig in Vegas, and I've
(26:53):
heard that you're going to finish up in Mohican Son
in Connecticut. Share with me, Share with me the feeling
with our buddy Tom Cantone, one of the great people
in our business. Tell me about the emotion you went through.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
I know you'll never retire, and I know, well not
if I can help it, not if I know. I
know you long enough to know you will never retire.
But here's what happened with me. I just felt it
was time. It's hard to describe. It's bittersweet, man, It's bittersweet.
I walked on stage last night at the casino at
the Niaga Falls that you've worked many times, you know,
(27:28):
Falls View Casino, and people were just the and they
knew I was retiring. I talked about it. I just
it's like I told my wife, I can still hit
the ball, I just can't run the bases. And what
I mean by that is I don't have a private shit.
I can't I can't handle the traveling anymore. I'm seventy
(27:50):
nine years old. I go through an airport, they cancelations,
delays for five hours. It's just ridiculous. The work. The
audiences are changing. The older they get, the less they get.
The people who are buying the shows are twenty five
years old. They don't know from a yellow ribbon and
(28:10):
not three times. And Tonio Lando, they don't know. Antonio.
I got to the point to fly my band anywhere
is an automatic nine ten thousand dollars. So if I
was a candy store and I look at my overhead
and I say, my overhead is such in order for
me to survive this candy store, I'm going to have
(28:32):
to make some cuts. To make some cuts means I'm
cutting my show. I can't cut my show, Paul. I
can't go and stand up and tell stories with a
video behind me, and I can't do it. I feel
like it's the Raging Bull scene at the end, you
know where I couldn't contend And he goes out to
(28:53):
fourteen people. I go there, So I said, what do
I do? So I noticed Elton John retired, Henny Loggin's
retired barigner retired I'm seeing all these guys. Bill Medley's retired,
Frankie Valley's retiring, and I thought to myself, you know,
it sounds like it's the right time for me. Also,
(29:15):
then I asked myself this question, what passion do I
have now? And you know, my passion is Paul. Whether
I succeed at it or not. I've always had a
writer's muscle to flet meaning I've always wanted to write
a Broadway show. I've written one. I've always wanted the
right screenplays. I've written two. I've always wanted to write
(29:37):
a novel. I'm in the middle of one. So my
writing juices, that creative part of me is more alive
and more exciting now than ever. The only thing I'm
going to miss, Paul, I swear to you, is those
people out there that look up at you with that
joy on their faces. You know, every place I work,
(29:59):
and this is no bullshit, every casino I work, this
is what I hear. Hey, man, when was the last
time you saw a fall angle. That's the greatest act,
that's the greatest performer. You should hear this. Have you
seen what he does up there? Do you see when
he comes out of the orange. What happens? Did you
ever see his clothes? Do you hear those horns? Oh?
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
That is what I hear everywhere though. So I just
want you to know that I know you and you
love your audiences. I know you sixty four years. I
know how cool you are. I know how strong you are.
I know how intelligent you are. I know how articulate
you are. But I also know your heart. I have
(30:45):
known your heart because I look for your heart as
a friend for a long time. And I want to
share with Skip what I mean by that. I went
through a period of time Skip, where I went through
a breakdown. Freddy Prince, twenty two year old kid dies
in mind my arms, Okay, it broke me. I couldn't work.
(31:07):
I mean in my thirties, I had to leave the business.
I had to the last pair of lips that kissed
his lips with these right here. And we had this
one thing in common. He was a hung Arican, I
was a Greek Aurecan. So we had that thing in
New York City, thing happening together. So he was like
a young brother to me. So I go through a breakdown,
(31:27):
a literal terrible breakdown, and I kind of leave the
business for a year, but unlike now, I yearned to
be back on that stage. So I made the decision
to come back. I come back to the Riviera Hotel.
I'm on stage, Skip, and the middle of the show,
(31:48):
I'm by myself, no Dawn. I don't know what to expect,
what life is going to give me. I'm back in
Las Vegas. And who walks on the stage. Paul Anchor.
And what does he do? He greets me with a
special lyric that he writes to my way, both with
(32:10):
a heart and both with a comedic point of view,
and he uplifted me in one song. He took my fear,
my worries, my pain, everything in one four minute moment,
gave me a hug and a kiss and walked off
(32:31):
that stage. That's what Paul incle is about. I am
telling you I've met them all. So it's Paul, but
I've met them all. There's no more Paul Anchors. They're
not there. And here's why I say.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
That, I lose the lyric. Skip, I lose the lyric.
Look he's laughing. I lose the lyric, and I'm embarrassed
to tell him. He comes on my radio show and
embarrassed to tell him, Paul.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
It's the lyric this gift, right, So finally I say,
I got to tell the truth, and I tell him
so Paul very quietly, you know Paul as he slips
his wine he's drinking it, or he's coffee.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
You know, it's very cool. You know how Paul is.
He just keeps it to himself. He has a plan.
He knows it's taking the next thing. I know, it's
Christmas and I get a Christmas gift from Paul anchor
what is it? Maybe someday you played on the podcast.
It's a tape of Paul finding listen to me finding
(33:37):
the lyrics somewhere in his fault because you know, one
of those people that keeps everything he's ever done, and
he's meticulous, you know how he is. And he goes
and he finds the very lyric that he sings for me,
and he does it on a video as a Christmas
gift to me. Now, let me ask you a question. Seriously.
(33:59):
All right, business always gets wrapped for people having egos
and this and that, and they're not. You know, Kanye
puts down Taylor Swift and what he did was the
business we grew up in. We cared about each other,
and he showed it to me. Now, that's over fifty
years of friendship with a guide who could just simply
(34:21):
say I forget him. He blew it, Let him livers. No,
he shows up once, what comes back with the same
heart felt piece of material Again. I treasure that tape.
I show that tape to my family. I showed that
tape to other performers. I am so proud of my
(34:42):
friendship with you, young man, who you had, not your
age that you say.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
You respect your elders two years older, but.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
Get you have been an unbelievable talent artist friend and
I mean it, Paul, Thank you to You're really an
iconic legend, but still remained a heartfelt guy. I knew
when I met you when I was sixteen years old,
and that's the truth.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
Well, I'll tell you I'm sitting here glowing because I
have two best friends, and Paul is both of them.
Speaker 3 (35:16):
OPU.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
He's a special guy. He really is. He is well,
his head comes down to almost normal size after those accolades.
Let me just ask you, the very first guest that
you had on your on your variety show was the
great One, Jackie Gleason, and the two of you became friends.
But I was told that that wasn't the case right away.
So what was that meeting? Like? What was that?
Speaker 3 (35:40):
I don't know. Is that a pretty long story? You
want to hear that story?
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Yeah, we want to hear the most Tony.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Yeah, definitely, Okay.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
As long as there's more, As long as there's more
about me after?
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Would you say, Jackie skip? Jackie was the great one
in his.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Day, without a doubt, without a doubt.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
Right, everybody referred to him as the great One. Yes, right.
So Freddy Silverman, who was then president of CBS Television,
so the Tonio Land and Dawn Show, he named it
Tonio Land and Dawn. That was his baby. He took
responsibility for whatever happened. So the first guest that he
books on the show is Jack Deek Gleeson. Agin, I'm
(36:19):
about to work me little Toniolando with the great sketches,
singing with him, et cetera. So I come into rehearsals,
dress rehearsal day. You know, Jackie wouldn't rehearse, he just
I'm coming in, pal get ready, So Tellima and Joyce up,
Dawn are singing their duet on stage, and I'm sitting
(36:42):
right behind Jackie and he doesn't know it's me, And
he says, who the two and the amateur Knight and
Dixie I'm working with today? WHOA No, we have to
tell you. I wouldn't handle it today like I did then.
But remember I was twenty nine years old, full of
pisson vinegar right, and already in the business since I'm sixteen.
(37:04):
So I finally walk up to him and I say,
mister Gleeson, I'm a Paul. You just said. If you
think those girls don't know what means it's the N
word in Yiddish. They know what it means, you owe
them an apology. It shocks me that you would say
something like that. By the way, I haven't met me.
(37:25):
I'm your amateur knight in Dickie. My name's Tony Orlando.
So he goes just like this ball skip, I'm out
of here, pal, and he gets somebody walks out. Freddy
Simliman comes down. He goes, Tony, what are you doing?
Tragic cleon? I said, okay, what is I said? We
asked you something? Ready? If he said, who's the amateur
(37:46):
Knight and Dixie and the two on stage. Would that
be acceptable to you? Would you not ask him for
an apology? Are you? Are you going to kiss his
ass right to the end, Tony, You're right, but this
is your first show. And all I concerned it about
is that it say, hey, you're right, but let's placate him.
(38:08):
I'm going to get him back. I'm paying him twenty
five thousand dollars in those No one got twenty five
thousand dollars for a variety show appearance like Jackie. So
he comes back. Now, Jackie had an associate with him
that had the ascot and the plaid jacket, right, you know.
And all he would do. I swear to God this
is truth is open up a pack of parliaments, push
(38:30):
the bottom up. The cigarettes would come up, and he'd
take the cigarette and put it in Jackie's mouth and
light Jackie's cigarette. I swear to God that was his job.
Speaker 2 (38:39):
I was there.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
I sat it on my dressing room door. It's time
for me to do my sketch with mister Gleeson. And
the knock on the door is his gopher guy. Mister
Gleeson would like to go over the cue cards with you?
I said yes, Sir, I walk in and there's Jackie
and I got the que card guy there, and Jackie says,
now listen to me, no live in pal you got
(39:01):
that only the great one ad lips. I go, yes,
sirvice to Gleason. We go over the two cards and
we go on the stage. The song is called I'll
teach you everything I know. So it's all the gleasonisms.
So he'll go, I'll teach everything I know, and I go,
even how sweet it is, I'll teach you everything I
(39:23):
know right one of these days to the moon, Alice.
Take one, stop tape. He says, camera two, I want
to close up. The rector says camera two. Listen to
that's to Gleason. Please, I'll teach you everything I know,
even else sweet it is the teacher. Camera three, I said,
(39:45):
camera two has to close up. Back off, Yes, sir,
mister Gleason. It's the third time. I'll everything I know.
Heven own sweet it is. I'll tell you that. He
goes stop tape. I said, Ted is rolling. I say that.
I could see his eyes. He looked at me and
I said, come on, great one, you're the great ad liver.
(40:08):
Come on an ad lib now we have three hundred
people in the audience, and the audience goes, oh, go down.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
I can't believe this hour.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
I go and I knew him.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Go ahead, go ahead, finish in the street.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
Go back to my dressing room. Ready. So I'm saying,
I said, I can't take this guy. I said, I
love him, I idolize him. He's brilliant, but I can't
take stop tape, stop tape stuff. It's ridiculous. We got
a director in here. He's pony shut. But it's the
(40:44):
first chocolt. You're right. I'm sorry, so sorry, sorry, mister Souliman.
Nancy Walker do you remember that name, Nancy Walker? Yes,
absolutely big on sitcoms and comedian. She walks into my
dress room and she goes, now you listen to me, Tony. Oh,
this son of a bitch he fired me in nineteen
(41:05):
forty nine in my first play. And I'm gonna get
him in this next sketch. And what is the next sketch?
Do you remember Oh Great Grasshopper? Remember that show, Oh
Great Gresshopper? It was any thing. So we did a
comedy sketch about ohs Gresshopper, And what's to happen is
that Nancy pulls her hands over like the hits him
(41:28):
over the head. He hits me over the head. So
playing a karate scene, but a funny karate scene. So
I see Nancy wind up. She's winding up, blly, oh great,
debrew leg and she comes up over her head and
she comes on Gleeson's head and I could see him,
(41:51):
but I know that I'm next, and I'm thinking I'm
gonna get it and showing up everybody both hands over
his head like this, and it comes down on my
head and waw, And I mean, where hit me? And
struck right? So I go back to my dressing room.
(42:12):
Show is over. Nancy comes in smiling, how spig out
of again? Said Nancy, I'm in trouble. CBS is going
to be so piston. Well, I just this is my
first show. She goes, hey, had it come in that
side of a X? Anyway, you get to knock on
the door. Who is it? The guy with Department cigarettes
dignation would like to see you in the dressing room.
(42:35):
Immediately I said, yes, sir. I go in and there's
Jackie with his back to the door, back to here
to this day, him stirring his drink. I hear the
ice clink clink, clink, clink clink, and I walk in.
He goes sit down. Pal said yes, sir, mister listen.
He says, uh, that script book on the table is
(42:57):
that for me? I said, yes, sir, you can have
that if you want it. He said, yeah, I want
to tell you what to do with that script book
of yours. Put it up and read to me what
I wrote on the first page. Yes, sir, mister Gleason,
and I opened it up. I look, this is dear Tony.
I apologize. Wow, I was wrong. Wow.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
Jackie had the ending huh.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
And then he says, where are the girls? They're the
ones I apology to, and he apologizes to them. So
this is the truth. I'm on that show for four
straight seasons, every single tape night, every night, every Friday,
I'm in makeup. The phone would ring. It's me Jackie.
(43:39):
I watched the show last week. I want to tell
you something. What the hell are you wearing? A silver
sent before and a black tuxedo. He would watch the
show and till every little thing that he saw that
help me. He would call four.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
Straight years, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
Great stuff. And in Tony. He was a plate you
know that. Yes, he used to go to He used
to go to Bill Fearravante in New York, who absolutely
from head to toe clothed that man right down to
the flower. Bill Fairvante, impeccable.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
You know where my love for him was. My dad
looked like Jackie Gleason and he sounded like Jackie. So
to me, he was very much my dad's figure. So
it was a tough one. I'm so happy it ended
up happy. You know.
Speaker 2 (44:28):
Paul told me, he said, skip, Tony's got great stories
and he's a great storyteller. But what he didn't tell
me is you got balls to do that. What you did,
you got balls.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
But you heard what I said. I started it out
by saying I wouldn't have handled it that way today.
I really wouldn't have.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
He wouldn't have said it either. He would have been
absolutely aware of what's politically correct.
Speaker 3 (44:52):
I don't know what made him say that. I never
saw it happened with him again, you know, Paul, I
don't think you even know this. My uncle Carmine, My
uncle Carmen's name is Carmine Faba, the ma to d
of the Kopa Cabana.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Carmine, that love Carmine, that's my uncle loved them. Do
you know the great thing about he had balls. I'll
never forget Tony because you know, I was a kid
working there. I wrote all the music for the shows.
But I'm still a kid, and I'm saying, oh, where's
there going? Where am I going from here? I was
sitting ringside watching the man. You and I loved Sammy
(45:31):
Davis Junior. That was the talent and Frank knew it.
We all know it. I am sitting ringside watching Sammy
and he was in a song. He was saying, sometimes
I feel like a motherless child. Now, two tables over.
A couple of the boys were there, right noses sitting ringside.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
Also.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
One of them said, and you look like one. The
lights went out like this, Carmina said, get them three
guys go down, picked them up and the table took
them out. Put in another table and lightsman back up again.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
Carry him out, table and all.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Gone, see table everything boom, beg your heart look back
to Sammy. I mean all within a minute. That's the
kind of story.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
Everybody who's on this podcast right now, imagine this. Paul
and I know each other sixty four years, I knew
that Paul, at a young age, was already a megastar
at the famous Copa Cabana. This is going to blow
his mind, now what I you With three straight shows.
(46:42):
They snuck me in.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
Wow Wow, me and Jackie Mason and every other comic
I brought in. It wasn't that some kind of place.
It was a basement. It was with pillars everywhere. I mean,
they made so much money.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
It was sick.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
Just to bring this up to real time, Tony. So
Paul performs, you know, constantly, and one of the places
he likes to perform is the mohegan Son and I
know that you're about to go there. It's interesting. I'm
originally from Connecticut and very close to them. Chuck Bonell,
the chief of staff's been there over twenty five years.
Great friend. James Gestner, the Chairman of the Tribe, Chairman
(47:29):
of the Tribal Council, as a friend. He's been a
chairman of the Tribal Council three years, but he's been
twenty seven years on the Tribal Council. The mohegan Son
is one of the places that clearly knows how to
do it. So I'm glad that that's going to be
one of your stops on this I don't call it
a farewell tour, but a farewell tour.
Speaker 1 (47:49):
It's this stuff.
Speaker 3 (47:50):
Well, the reason I'm posing it out there is because
of Tom Canton great. Of course, Tom loves Paul and
he's loved me the days in Atlantic City, I work
mohican Son when there was no arena, no hotel. I
worked mohegan Son when it was a tent, I remember,
and then it became ook Den and then Tony Bennett
(48:11):
h and myself we opened up the cabaret. Hit him
on a Friday night, me on a Saturday night, and
then they built the arena. So really it's it's almost
like it's home to me, mohican Son. It's a home.
If there's any one casino that I call home and
think of it as as a home base, its mohegan Son.
(48:33):
So when it came down to the last show I
was going to do after sixty four years performing, I
wanted it to be at mohegan Son.
Speaker 1 (48:41):
Well, Tom cantel and they love you there, and you're
in good hands with Tom. He's a great guy. Yeah great,
and he'll do it. He'll do it right. He'll do
it right.
Speaker 3 (48:49):
You know what. I remember we put Tom Cantone and Paul.
You did for him, which did for me. You actually
wrote a birthday song for his daughter and sent them
the video.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
Good family. He's a good man.
Speaker 3 (49:01):
I know more about you than you.
Speaker 1 (49:02):
I'm hearing all of that. You're telling me more than
I wanted to hear. I gotta get down to earthier
with all that. Listen, I gotta recheck Christen.
Speaker 3 (49:11):
Listen. I know you here. We've all heard show business
bullshit in our lives before. But I'm retiring now. There's
no bullshit left in Tony. Okay, that's one of the
great suporters. Nobody but him can do it his way. Nobody.
Speaker 1 (49:25):
Thank you, Tony. In keeping with that my friend you
mentioned earlier the night I showed up at the Riviera, So,
knowing me as you say you do, I went back
in the files and I dug this out. And if
there's anything there isn't anything more apropos as this. I'm
(49:46):
gonna start the piano with a seacord and this is
for you, buddy, This is for you. In fact, you
know what I'm gonna put my glasses on. So I
don't fuck it up tonight. It's my delight to say,
(50:07):
how right I think all this is now? This is
what I did at the River Folks years ago. Again
for him to state, I think it's great to celebrate
with love and kisses. It's with real joy. I greet
(50:31):
our boy, and I would shout it on the highway.
You know I'm straight, but I still state I did
Tony my way. It's joy to greet our boy. I
(50:55):
won't be coy. I've stated clearly. This hall is wall
to wall and he's as tall, well almost nearly, but
tall or small, I'm sure you all no. He comes
(51:15):
on and in a whiz way. By any tests, he's
just the best. He does it his way. For what
is a man? What has he got If not real guts,
(51:36):
then not a lot and chums. Tonight here on the.
Speaker 6 (51:41):
Stage Orlando, he sure came of age. He came on
strong with every song, but he didn't sing.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
My way, And so I have to go and do
my show. I can't win awards here. I'd stay, but
there's no pay. And by the way, I miss those
(52:18):
two broads here. Tony's a joy, he's my boy. He
entertained and in a rare way, but even he he
sure must agree. Don did it? And I wiggle my
(52:40):
ass on stage and say their way. I'm sure you
all can more than tell.
Speaker 7 (52:50):
I wish him love, I wish him well, wish him
success beyond compare, I wish him everything, but hair.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
I look at him and go, son of a bitch.
The Vegas Pact are glad he's back. They love Tony,
they love him. My way relived, My boy relived. That's
(53:29):
for you, my honey, Bunny.
Speaker 2 (53:31):
Quite a tribute to you, Tony. Quite a tribute and
deservedly said everything right, Paul. He played his hand the
right way. He only made one mistake from what I've
learned today, and that is he didn't use the name
Joe Schmoe and the nail Biters. Such a great name,
Joe Schmoe and the nail Biters.
Speaker 1 (53:52):
Listen, I'm being tempted here because I know Tony and
I've seen it with Frank and everybody else. Once you
get that needle up your arm and you know, you
say you're retiring, and everything, big percentage come back, a
big percentage. No, No, I'm going to finish this thought,
but I find the right moment you won't have to
(54:14):
worry about your overhead, your commercial. I'm going to put
your ass on stage with me, maybe once, maybe twice,
maybe three, and I'll give you a taste of it
for about fifteen twenty. You can do your hits and
go home to your family because I know you. Listen,
if your health God willing, we all have that important dynamic.
(54:38):
You're going to be on stage with me and you
can have some fun and go do what you want
to do, write your scripts and on and on.
Speaker 3 (54:44):
Well, if I ever did that, I have a name
for the tour.
Speaker 1 (54:47):
What's it called?
Speaker 3 (54:48):
I changed my mind tour?
Speaker 1 (54:51):
No, it's going to be called he changed his mind tour,
not me?
Speaker 3 (54:58):
You know what? As you see what I'm talking about.
You see he wrote that to me. You ready, nineteen
seventy seven. We're in twenty twenty four. He wrote that
that many years ago. It still has it on a
piece of paper. Who the fuck does that in this business?
Speaker 1 (55:18):
Listen, somebody who can't open a computer and doesn't want one.
Speaker 2 (55:22):
He's a He's a hoarder. He's a hoarder the order.
Speaker 1 (55:27):
Of the best.
Speaker 3 (55:28):
This has been not only moving to me, but it's
one of the reasons why it's so hard to quit
this game because of people like you.
Speaker 2 (55:37):
Paul.
Speaker 3 (55:38):
You inspired me when I saw you at the Brooklyn
Paramount Theater. You inspired me when you heard those performances
like put your head on my shoulder, A young kid
being able to sing like that and right like that.
It was I wanted to sing like you and have
Frankie Avalanche. Well, that's what I wanted more than anything
(55:59):
in the world, was to have Frankie Avalanche's hair, which,
by the way, that sort of a big still has
the same hairy had when he was sixteen years old.
Speaker 1 (56:07):
And then I go to dinner.
Speaker 3 (56:08):
I never had his hand and I never had you. Yes,
you did.
Speaker 1 (56:11):
You had a lot of hair, Tony.
Speaker 3 (56:12):
What I have had is your friend.
Speaker 2 (56:15):
And always will and we appreciate you, and we appreciate
your doing this my professors.
Speaker 3 (56:21):
Old man, you're two years older than me, and you
always will.
Speaker 1 (56:25):
I'll keep giving you the best advice I can.
Speaker 2 (56:27):
Buddy, thanks for doing this serious say Tony, thank thank you,
very very very much.
Speaker 3 (56:32):
This was just.
Speaker 2 (56:35):
What a great what a great treat for me and
everyone who's going to listen.
Speaker 3 (56:40):
It's just taking the time to do this and thank
you for taking the time to look in to my
background and come up with all the right moments, and
you did all that homework for me. I'm humbled by that.
Thank the two of you also for watching and listening
to these long stories and Paul there, Thanks for you.
(57:00):
They just aren't enough. Thanks for you.
Speaker 1 (57:02):
Thank you, buddy, Thank you, Tony. Don't throw away the tuxedo, Tony,
don't throw away the tuxedo, and don't put don't put
on any weight or lose it. We can fix it.
Speaker 3 (57:13):
I'm on those look on. I might just a little bit.
Speaker 1 (57:17):
Hey, I might scare you with the phone call. Believe me,
be prepared, baby. This is worse than the Marines. When
I call you up, your show up. There's no training involved.
Love you, Tony. Thank you so much. God. Let's stay healthy, man,
stay healthy.
Speaker 3 (57:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (57:42):
Our Way with Paul Anka skip Ronson is a production
of iHeart Reading.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
The show's the executive producer is Jordan run Todd, with
supervising producer and editor Marcy Depino.
Speaker 1 (57:55):
It was engineered by Todd, Carlum and Graham Gibson, and
mixed and mastered by Doug Boum.
Speaker 2 (58:01):
If you like what you heard, please subscribe, and leave
us a review.
Speaker 1 (58:05):
For more podcasts on iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite Chip
Host
Paul Anka
Popular Podcasts
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.