Paul Anka

Overview

Canadian-born Paul Anka first achieved success in the 1950s as a teenage singing star (and, for the times, an unusual one in that he wrote many of his own songs). Although he appeared in several films, and was quite believable as a nervous, hyper young soldier in The Longest Day (1962) (for which he also composed the theme music), Anka's main interest was music, and he concentrated his efforts into composing (he wrote lyrics for Frank Sinatra's classic "My Way") and nightclub appearances in Las Vegas.
- IMDb mini biography by: frankfob2@yahoo.com

He discovered Michael Bublé, Corey Hart and David Clayton-Thomas.
Father-in-law of actor/director Jason Bateman, who married Paul's daughter, Amanda Anka in 2001.
Composed theme song for Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962).
Lorelai Gilmore's dog on Gilmore Girls (2000) is named after him.
He wrote "Lonely Boy" for his mother, who died of diabetes.

I had this talent for these stupid little teenage songs.
[on Frank Sinatra's unpredictable personality] If you went to dinner with Frank, you took your passport.
[as a youngster, performing between exotic dance numbers] I used to hang out in the dressing room and dig holes in the walls with the pocket knife I carried around with me so I could ogle the girls.
[on Justin Bieber's dealing with early celebrity] You've gotta realize, none of us were born sophisticated. You get lucky at a young age, you have a God-given talent, and you're crawling and absolutely moaning and learning as you take that voyage in life. C'mon. You can't tell a kid who just got a cheque for $150 million. I don't care how smart he is.
I harken back to Sinatra. He said, 'Kid, I always get excited about putting a record out and having a hit'. And I absolutely subscribe to that. In my mind, I haven't put my flag in the mountain. I do it to stay healthy and to stay aware and I don't want to ever just sit back. It's a great life. It's a great occupation. I just want to stay on this journey.

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