Perry Como: What you see is what you get

(Perry Como in 1956)

People thought that Perry Como was “Mr. Natural” because he wore a sweater on national TV.  However, his propensity for natural good taste went way beyond just that.

Como was born into a Roman Catholic family that had immigrated to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania from Palena, Italy.  Out of the 13 Como children, Pierino (“Perry”) was the first to be born in the United States.  The family spoke Italian at home; therefore, Perry did not learn to speak English until he began school.  He never had a voice lesson, but was taught to play musical instruments at a young age.  His father, an amateur baritone, paid for all of his children to have music lessons, even though he could barely afford to do so.

Young Perry began working at age 10 in a local barber shop.  Wikipedia reports that “despite his musical ability, Como’s primary ambition was to become the best barber in Canonsburg.”  By age 14, he had mastered barbering well enough to have his own shop.  He took over the barber-shop area of a Greek coffee house, and was soon singing his way through the haircuts he gave.  He became known as a “wedding barber” who would sing romantic songs to the groom while preparing him for the big event.  As a result, Como would receive many gifts from the groom’s family and friends.  Como was proud of his working-class background, and years later shaved Kirk Douglas’ beard on TV.

Como also respected his religious roots.  While he and his childhood sweetheart Roselle were celebrating

their 25^th wedding anniversary with a trip to Italy, they had a somewhat private audience with Pope Pius XII.  Como (who made it a habit to avoid drawing attention to himself while attending Sunday Mass at his home church) was unpleasantly surprised when photos of this visit with the Pope made international headlines.  After checking into the source of these headlines, Como discovered that the Vatican’s own press department had contacted the media. 

Although Como’s holiday performances of Ave Maria were hugely popular, he refused general requests for it, explaining that “It’s not the time or place to do it.”

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Como

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Perry_and_kirk_douglas.jpg

Copyright May 18, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved