This Christmas season, Andy Williams planned to help celebrate his 75th year in entertainment alongside acts young and old. Now, according to Andy William’s Moon River Theatre General Manager Lynn Meredith, fans of the longtime crooner and showman will see video tributes to Williams alongside acts young and old.
Williams died Sept. 25 at the age of 84 following a battle with bladder cancer. He opened his $12 million, 2,000-seat theater – among the five largest theaters in Branson – in 1992.
“Fans can still see Williams, and they can still see the acts he would have performed with,” Meredith said. “They can still pay tribute.”
Meredith said attendance dipped by roughly 11 percent in the first couple of weeks following Williams’ death, but ticket sales have since rebounded. He declined to disclose revenues or attendance records.
“Losing someone of Mr. Williams’ stature and ability was devastating to all of us, but he was a great mentor and he created a terrific culture here at the theater,” said Meredith, who is finishing his second season with the theater.
Kathy Lennon, a vocalist with the Lennon Sisters, said the group’s connection to Williams dates back to the 1960s, and she credits him with bringing her group to Branson nearly 20 years ago.
Lennon said the sisters got to know Williams as teenagers, after they got their start in show business by singing on the “Lawrence Welk Show” as children.
“We just fell in love with him. Through the years, we would do “Ed Sullivan” or different variety shows, and we would bump into him,” she said. “Then, we had our own variety show for about a year, and Andy was a guest star. When that show closed, Andy asked us to be regulars on his show.”
That relationship led the Lennons to work with Williams on and off for nearly 10 years in gigs in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, Nev.
“We sang at his mom’s funeral. We sang at his dad’s funeral. He sang at our mom’s funeral. It was more than just entertainers working together; it was family,” Kathy Lennon said. “Our hearts are very heavy right now.”
Williams, a native of Wall Lake, Iowa, began his singing career performing with his three brothers in a Presbyterian church choir before becoming regulars on “Iowa’s Barn Dance Show” in Des Moines, Iowa, according to
AndyWilliamsTheatre.com. The radio exposure led the brothers to record “Swinging on a Star” with Bing Crosby, and it became a hit in 1944. After becoming a popular nightclub act in the late 1940s with Kay Thompson, the group disbanded in 1951.
Andy Williams became a regular on Steve Allen’s “The Tonight Show,” and with radio hits such as “Butterfly” and “Lonely Street,” he continued guest television appearances on such programs as “The Dinah Shore Show.” Williams’ career kicked into high gear in 1962, when he signed a deal with Columbia Records and began his TV variety program, “The Andy Williams Show,” which ran nine years.
Williams sold 18 gold albums and three platinum albums during his career, but the song he became most associated with was “Moon River,” the Oscar winning song from the movie, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Williams also was known for his family-oriented Christmas specials.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Williams was a frequent headlining act in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Following a profile of Branson that appeared on “60 Minutes” in 1991, Williams built his 48,000-square-foot theater on the Highway 76 strip.
Through his roughly yearlong battle with bladder cancer, Meredith said Williams remained committed to the theater, helping to plan shows three to four years down the road.
During the peak seasons in the fall and around Christmas, Williams’ theater and the adjacent Moon River Grill employ roughly 185 combined, Meredith said.
The theater and grill will remain open, as operations have transferred to Williams’ family, primarily his children, in accordance with the entertainer’s wishes, Meredith said.
“They have been very easy to work with, and they are working with us to make the Moon River Theatre a legacy to their father,” Meredith added.
Williams had planned to celebrate his 75 years in entertainment this fall by performing with seven stars in seven weeks. The last two – Ray Stevens and Clint Black – are wrapping up performances on the Moon River stage, before the theater shuts down Oct. 27 to prepare for the Christmas season.
“Andy was very involved in this year’s Christmas show. We had many meetings about music,” Meredith said of the family-oriented variety program.
“He had hoped to participate on some level, but definitely, his hands are all over this show.”
Williams wanted to keep the show fresh and had added new performers such as Katie Stevens of “American Idol” fame and gospel group Voices of Glory, featuring 12-year-old Nadia Cole and her siblings, who were finalists on “America’s Got Talent.” The new acts are scheduled to perform with Moon River veterans Bob Anderson, a singer and impressionist, the Lennon brothers, and adagio dance team Pasha & Aliona, according to Meredith.
Ross Summers, president and CEO of the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Williams left a lasting legacy in Branson.
“He really moved Branson into another league from an entertainment standpoint,” Summers said. “He was the first entertainer of a pop nature to move to town.”
Summers said the popularity of the theater helped bring to town acts such as Wayne Newton and the Osmonds.
“He was a top-drawer entertainer. He had had a successful television show; he had been a headliner in Las Vegas for many years, so to have someone of his caliber come to town was surprising. We were, and still are, very grateful,” Summers said. “He is probably the biggest name to play in Branson on a full-time basis.”[[In-content Ad]]
