Legendary Singer Andy Williams Dead At 84

Following a celebrated 74-year career, singer and entertainer Andy Williams has died, TMZ reported Wednesday. He was 84 years old.

Williams had waged a year-long war with bladder cancer before finally succumbing at his Branson, Mo., home. Though best known for his performances of the American standard ballad "Moon River" - the original composition by Henry Mancini being best known perhaps best known for its prominent featuring throughout the classic 1961 Audrey Hepburn romantic comedy "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - Williams' career was dotted with 18 gold and three platinum-certified albums.

A 74-year odyssey of entertainment began in 1938, when West Lake, Ia.-born Williams and his three older brothers Bob, Dick and Don formed the Williams Brothers Quartet, performing on Midwest radio in markets such as Des Moines, Chicago and Cincinnati. The quartet joined another beloved crooner, Bing Crosby, on Crosby's 1944 hit "Swinging on a Star," then in the musicals "Janie" and "Kansas City Kitty" in 1944, followed by "Something in the Wind" and "Ladies Man" in 1947.

His solo career began in 1953 with six songs recorded for RCA Victor's X label, none of which caught fire. A regular spot on "Tonight Starring Steve Allen" in 1954 helped him to a recording deal with Cadence Records. His 1956 cover of Charlie Gracie's "Butterfly" marked Williams' only career Billboard No. 1 single.

The 1950s and '60s were filled with Top-10 hits for Williams, including "Lonely Street," "Are You Sincere?" and "The Hawaiian Wedding Song." It was at the 1962 Academy Awards that Williams forged his career's hallmark. With "Moon River" nominated for Best Original Song for its use in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," Williams agreed at sing Mancini and Johnny Mercer's composition live. It won, but since the performance was never recorded and released, it never charted for Williams as a single.

However, the next year, Williams performed Mancini and Mercer's "The Days of Wine and Roses," which also won for Best Original Song. Two years later, he sang the Mancini's "Dear Heart" and performed Mancini's Mercer collaboration "The Sweetheart Tree" in 1966.

By that time, only Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Elvis Presley had sold more records individually than Williams. From 1971 through 1977, he also hosted seven consecutive Grammy Award ceremonies. Williams also hosted his own variety show, "The Andy Williams Show," from 1971 to 1977.

In 1992, after seeing a show at Ray Stevens' Branson, Mo. theater, Williams opened the Moon River Theater in the Missouri family-entertainment mecca at the encouragement of friends and family in time for the 1992 season. With a capacity of 2,054 people, the theater built from a fabricated rock section along Missouri's Highway 76 and decorated with waterfalls and koi ponds blending into the surrounding Ozark Mountains scenery has hosted acts from Phyllis Diller, Pat Boone and the Osmond Family, to Pat Benatar.

Right up to this month, Williams was reportedly hoping to once more take the stage at his theater as he has for years.