Perry Como
Singer
May 18, 1912 - May 12, 2001
My Mom, "The Groupie" She followed the stars around till she got them to sign her Tablecloth. I've seen her in tears on occasion when she failed. She was a hard loser just as I am. It really takes its toll on you when you can't get the job done. My brother Bob says "that's all I would need, one rejection and I'd be out of there. I couldn't do what you're doing, Walt."
The first time I met Perry Como was in the Green Room of the Fox Theatre in St. Louis on July 26, 1989. He finally made his exit from the elevator yawning. We met, he wanted to know about The Tablecloth. "You want me to sign it?" "No Perry, I just need a picture with you. "In 1936 my Mom went to the Chase Hotel to add Ted Weems to the Tablecloth. Somehow she couldn't meet with him and she had to settle for you and Elmo Tanner." With this, Perry almost fell to his knees laughing. "1936, yes. That was about the time I was here and that was my first big job as a professional singer." Perry signed the Tablecloth along with whistler Elmo Tanner in 1936 at the Chase Hotel. "Walter, do you have any idea how much this Tablecloth is worth?" "It's not for sale Perry."
I showed him his signature along with whistler Elmo Tanner's name and he completely broke up. He insisted I give him that Tablecloth. We managed taking a couple of pictures that evening but the one giving me the haircut didn't happen till March 4, 1990 in the kitchen of the auditorium on the second floor of the Adams Mark Hotel in St. Louis. Perry was substituting for Sammy Davis, Jr. at the Variety Club Telethon.
He remembered meeting me at the Fox and I told him about the idea with the photo giving me a haircut. He couldn't have been nicer. Helped to set it up. Photographer Lola Holmes went with me that day to take the pictures. Perry enjoyed staging the haircut setting and the antics that went with it. We drew quite a crowd in the kitchen that morning for the photo session. Perry Como was one of my favorite people. He signed the Tablecloth for mom in 1936. That was Perry's first big band job as a professional singer with the Ted Weem's Orchestra.