Paul Anka

Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including "Diana", "Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and "(You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wrote the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; one of Tom Jones' biggest hits, "She's a Lady"; and the English lyrics to Claude François and Jacques Revaux's music for Frank Sinatra's signature song "My Way", which has been recorded by many, including Elvis Presley. He co-wrote three songs with Michael Jackson: "This Is It" (originally titled "I Never Heard") "Love Never Felt So Good", and "Don't Matter to Me", which became posthumous hits for Jackson in 2009, 2014, and 2018, respectively. Anka was born in Ottawa, Ontario, to Camelia (née Tannis) and Andrew Emile "Andy" Anka Sr., who owned a restaurant called the Locanda. His parents were both of Lebanese descent. His father came to Canada from Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria, and his mother was an immigrant from Lebanon. His mother died when he was 18. Anka sang with the St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral choir under the direction of Frederick Karam, with whom he studied music theory. He studied piano with Winnifred Rees. He attended Fisher Park High School, where he was part of a vocal trio called the Bobby Soxers. Paul Anka recorded his first single, "I Confess", when he was 14. In 1956, with $100 given to him by his uncle, he went to New York City where he auditioned for Don Costa at ABC Records, singing what was widely believed to be a lovestruck verse he had written to a former babysitter. In an interview with NPR's Terry Gross in 2005, he stated that it was to a girl at his church whom he hardly knew. The resulting song "Diana" brought Anka stardom as it went to No. 1 on the Canadian and US music charts. "Diana" is one of the best selling singles ever by a Canadian recording artist. He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958, including "It's Time to Cry", which hit No. 4 and "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings", which reached No. 15, making him (at 17) one of the biggest teen idols of the time. He toured Britain, then Australia with Buddy Holly. Anka also wrote "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" – a song written for Holly, which Holly recorded just before he died in 1959. Anka stated shortly afterward: "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" has a tragic irony about it now, but at least it will help look after Buddy Holly's family. I'm giving my composer's royalty to his widow – it's the least I can do." ... Source: Article "Paul Anka" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known For: Acting

Born: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 1941-07-30

Died: null

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1958	Let's Rock!	Himself	40
2	1959	Girls Town	Jimmy Parlow	36
3	1960	The Private Lives of Adam and Eve	Pinkie Parker	30
4	1961	Look in Any Window	Craig Fowler	56
5	1962	Lonely Boy	Himself	62
6	1962	The Longest Day	U.S. Army Ranger	76
7	1974	The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: More 1974		70
8	1977	Lindsay Wagner: Another Side of Me		0
9	1979	My Way	Himself	0
10	1981	Lily: Sold Out	Self	65
11	1991	Prince of the Hit Parade	Himself	35
12	1991	Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster	Nick Angel	65
13	1991	Voices That Care	Self - Choir Member	80
14	1992	Captain Ron	Donaldson	56
15	1993	Ordinary Magic	Joey Dean	53
16	1994	Shake, Rattle and Rock!	Mr. Lagrange	58
17	1996	Mad Dog Time	Danny Marks	53
18	2001	3000 Miles to Graceland	Pit Boss #1	59
19	2004	AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies	Self	80
20	2008	The Memories of Angels	Self (archive footage)	80
21	2011	Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon	Self	79
22	2011	Paul Anka plays Avo Session		0
23	2013	Paul Anka - Live in Switzerland		80
24	2013	C'est votre vie	Self	0
25	2017	Buddy Holly: Rave On	Self	75
26	2019	David Foster: Off the Record	Self	70
27	2019	Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin	Self	70
28	2020	Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth	Self	75
29	2024	My Way	Self	75
30	2024	Paul Anka: His Way	Self	0

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1948	The Ed Sullivan Show	Self	68
2	1950	What's My Line?	Self - Mystery Guest	69
3	1956	The Dinah Shore Chevy Show	Self	60
4	1957	American Bandstand	Self	84
5	1957	Aktuelle Schaubude	Self	60
6	1958	The Dick Clark Show	Self	55
7	1958	Kraft Music Hall	Self	47
8	1961	Werner Müllers Schlagermagazin	Self	0
9	1961	The Mike Douglas Show	Self - Co-Host	54
10	1961	The Mike Douglas Show	Self	54
11	1962	The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	Self	75
12	1963	Viña del Mar International Song Festival	Self - Musical Guest	47
13	1964	The Hollywood Palace	Self - Singer	45
14	1964	Einer wird gewinnen		70
15	1966	4-3-2-1 Hot and Sweet	Self	0
16	1969	The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour	Self	58
17	1969	This Is Tom Jones	Self	60
18	1971	Samedi soir	Self	60
19	1971	Cadet Rousselle	Self	0
20	1972	Midi trente	Self (voice)	60
21	1972	The Midnight Special	Host	78
22	1973	Kojak	Buddy Maus	70
23	1974	Dinah!	Self	67
24	1974	3 nach 9	Self	65
25	1975	Les Rendez-vous du dimanche	Self	60
26	1975	Numéro un	Self	60
27	1975	Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell		10
28	1976	Donny & Marie	Self	65
29	1980	Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters	Self	50
30	1982	Champs-Elysées	Self	63
31	1984	Goldener Löwe	Self	0
32	1986	Wedden, dat..?	Self	80
33	1987	Sacrée soirée	Self	65
34	1987	Téléthon	Self	50
35	1989	The Simpsons	Paul Anka (voice)	80
36	1996	The Rosie O'Donnell Show	Self	35
37	1997	The View	Self	45
38	1998	That '70s Show	Paul Anka	79
39	1998	Ein Herz für Kinder	Self	100
40	2000	Gilmore Girls	Paul Anka	79
41	2001	Star Academy	Self	64
42	2002	American Idol	Self - Guest	51
43	2003	Die ultimative Chartshow	Self	50
44	2003	Las Vegas		70
45	2004	Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel	Self	40
46	2009	Svenska Hollywoodfruar	Himself	0
47	2016	Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life	Paul Anka	73
48	2019	The Masked Singer	Broccoli	77
49	2019	The Masked Singer	Broccoli (archive footage)	77
50	2024	Vegas: The Story of Sin City	Self - Entertainer	60

Paul Anka

Film

Television