Welcome
to the home page of The
Russ Columbo Society. Our
mission is to perpetuate the
music and memory of Russ Columbo
in order that present and future
generations may be inspired and
entertained by this truly gifted
musical artist... this giant
upon whose shoulders many of our
most famous and popular singers
have stood. Our primary
goals are to secure for Russ
Columbo a star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame and enshrinement in
the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
On successive Sundays (April 18 & 25, 2010) Damon Leigh
was the guest of Disc Jockey, Chris Valenti on WYYR radio.
The subject of this live, commercial-free, epic four-hour
program was "The Amazing Life of Russ Columbo"
Each program recording is two hours in duration and may be listened to by
utilizing the MP3 players below.
(For your convenience, compliments of WYYR.com, you may also download these
sound files to play on your personal MP3 player.)
The Amazing Life of Russ Columbo
(Part I)
The Amazing Life of Russ Columbo
(Part II)
To
download MP3 file: Right-Click this button...
To
download MP3 file: Right-Click this button...
Then select "Save Target As..."
Then select "Save Target As..."
Hollywood Personalities in 1933
Miss Sally Blane, the beautiful lady pictured with Russ
Columbo in this newsreel, was his longtime, loyal friend.
She was with Russ at the very end, September 2, 1934,
when he died at Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles.
Although Carole Lombard was his fiancée at the time,
she was at Lake Arrowhead when Russ was shot.
Although he never regained consciousness, Russ clung to
life for hours, but those were the days before freeways.
By the time
Miss Lombard arrived at Good Samaritan, it was too late... Russ had
already passed into eternity.
(NOTE: This newsreel was produced shortly before Russ and
Carole began dating... thus they're not pictured together.)
Where is Russ Columbo's star?
Believe it or not, although he was immensely popular in concert performances, had his own radio program on NBC, sold more records up until the time of his death than did his chief rival, Bing Crosby, composed music and lyrics to hit songs which are still considered "standards" today, performed live on experimental television in 1931 and starred in motion pictures for both 20th Century and Universal Studios, Russ Columbo, the man who inspired an entire generation of America's greatest popular singers, has never been honored with a star on the world-famous Hollywood Walk of Fame!
Mr. Columbo's brilliant, meteoric career came to a sudden and tragic end on September 2, 1934. Isn't it time that this iconic musical genius and consummate entertainer receives this symbolic token of long-overdue public recognition and peer appreciation of his artistry? If you believe, as so many other people do, that Russ Columbo deserves to be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame, please express your heartfelt sentiments about it to the good people in charge of posthumous star nominations:
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce 7018 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
Scenes from: "Broadway Through a Keyhole"
Starring Russ Columbo, Constance Cummings & Paul Kelly
(20th Century Pictures - 1933)
Scene from: "That Goes Double" Starring Russ Columbo &
Charlotte Wynters
(Warner Bros. Pictures - 1933)
Scene from: "Moulin Rouge" Starring Russ Columbo,
Constance Bennett & The Boswell Sisters
(20th Century Pictures - 1934)
Featured Song: "Coffee in the Morning (Kisses in the
Night)" by Harry Warren & Al Dubin
The Battle of the Baritones
Russ ColumbovsBing Crosby
singing
"Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the
Day"
"The Golden Voice
from the West"
"The Romeo of Song"
All of Me
Guilty
Bill Cwiklo
Vice-President of The Russ Columbo Society
Bill Cwiklo is the author of the blog entries on Russ Columbo and Carole Lombard. Born in Wisconsin and educated at Georgetown University, the University of Dijon, France and at American University, Bill is now a consultant in the area of complex litigation and information management systems. His interest in popular music and film started as a child. His parents gave him a radio and a late night Canadian radio station woke him up to the then under appreciated beauty of pre-rock popular music. His mother, a stalwart Russ Columbo fan, brought the tragedy of this great artist to his attention. His research on Mr. Columbo's life and work as well as his interest in cinema have been avid interests ever since.
Bill Cwiklo's blogs are very detailed as he uses movies and everything else at his disposal to make his points. Enjoy two very entertaining and uniquely fact filled blogs involving two of the biggest stars to ever come out of Hollywood... Russ Columbo and Carole Lombard.
Bill Cwiklo's Russ Columbo Blog
Bill Cwiklo's Carole Lombard Blog
Too
Beautiful For Words
Russ Columbo's final resting
place in the Sanctuary of the Vespers
The Great Mausoleum at Forest
Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California
I See Two Lovers
This was the last song ever recorded by Russ Columbo (August 31,
1934)
