In Defense Of Paul Anka

Most people forget,Paul co-hosted the ucp telethon with dennis james for many years.I watched it every year.
My fondest memories are thos with Diana Garcia,a child who had cp,she walked with braces and i can remember she walked for paul without the use of a cane one year but i do rememebr her singing with paul"this is love" and althought she was small,she had a powerful voice,she sang with andrea mccardell,the annie theme and it was one of thos telethons that touched your heart.
One year,Paul got snowed in I believe in canada,he couldn't make the ny portion but sure tried, he made the CA portion with john ritter,sitting on the white couch,florence henderson filled in for Paul.Heres a little history.

James hosted the first telethon; using the then-new television medium to raise money for charity. James was the emcee of the United Cerebral Palsy Associations' telethons. UCP was founded in 1949 by Leonard and Isabel Goldenson and Jack and Ethel Hausman. (Leonard was the American Broadcasting Company's guiding spirit from the 1950s to the 1980s). James hosted the charity's primary telethon (in New York City on WOR-TV (now WWOR-TV) for 47 years, aided by Jane Pickens, Paul Anka, Florence Henderson, and other performers. He also hosted telethons in major cities all over the United States on a monthly basis from 1950 until 1979. When the telethon went national in 1979 with John Ritter as M.C. in Los Angeles, UCP enlisted James as a national presenter, in addition to James' duties as the anchor of the New York City version, which was also seen on cable all over the US via WOR-TV.

Paul has always been a very giving person to those in need, he has headlined benefits for causes such as mda, ucp,he has doen things the public isn't aware of and he dosen't and never has made it a big deal when he would fly to another state to help raise money for a charity,thats just the way he is,a caring human being.

This is one of my favorite pictures.

Paul in the 70's

So by 1973,I was adopted finally and I knew nothing more then I had a home forever and people who loved me.I was a typical kid but I loved music.When my parents played records,I would listen carefully so I could learn the words,I learned Pauls songs by hard.My aunt had his albums as well an di could sing right along with them and by the end of the day knew every word to"my way or I don't like to sleep alone",I impressed my friends and family.

Back in the mid 70's most people were watching shows like"chico and the man,fish,barney miller"me,I was watching talk shows, no kidding,dinah shore,old ed sullivan shows, old howdy duty shows that were shown on pbs, my very favorite show was"make room for daddy"Paul was on the show and i just was in awww,he was so handsome as a teen,no wonder I liked him so much.

My parents couldn't understand why the connection with Paul Anka,I can answear that easy"i had a place to go through music ,my own world and i could sit for hours and listen and sing and nobody bothered me, nobody judged me and i could be me".

My grandmother was good for a laugh,she got caught up in my adventures and oen of them was Paul.She'd eb on the look out for tv shows and call me, once she called"put on sha na na Pauls gonna be on" sure enough there he was a beard and singing in a brown suit,or "pauls on dick clarks show put it on" and there he was singing away,I watched anything and everything he was on,I just him so much,Kojak was one he wa son and my father was yelling"joanne your friends on tv,get up here and watch it",here i ran up the stairs and Paul wa son an old police show{Paul Anka (THE BETRAYAL)1974, American Bandstand - Himself - Tribute to Paul Anka (1981) ,The Paul Anka Show" (1982

I have seen everyone of these shows and some have been taped over the yrs, pbs repeated some old old shows and movies as did the late late shows,i remember most of the shows,which are special to me and hold fond memeories.

In Defense Of Paul Anka

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Paul anka, ucp telethon

this began the love affair with Paul.

Monday, December 7, 2009

In Defnse of Paul Anka

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