Tony Butala, 1938 – 2026

Singer Tony Butala, the last living member of The Lettermen, has died, his family announced on Nov. 2. He was 87. Butala sang in several 1950s film—as Tommy Rettig’s voice in The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, in War of the Worlds, Peter Pan, On Moonlight Bay, and White Christmas; he also had an acting role in 1958’s Dragstrip Riot. He sang in a quartet with Connie Stevens, and in 1958, he, Mike Barnett, and Talmadge Russell formed The Lettermen (the lineup changed through the years). The group had such 1950s-60s hits as “The Way You Look Tonight,” "Come Back Silly Girl,” "Theme from A Summer Place,” "Goin' Out of My Head/Can't Take My Eyes Off You,” "Hurt So Bad,” and "When I Fall in Love.” He told writer Crystal Schelle, “If you have a hit record, you’re a recording artist, you’re not an entertainer necessarily, you’re a recording artist. You can go to school to learn music, to become a professor of music, you can take dance, you can take acting, but there’s no course you can take to be a successful entertainer. You do that by beating the boards, in lounges and playing in front of funky crowds and learning your trade. That’s how I learned my trade and formed The Lettermen.” Butala also owned Butala Vineyards, in Chatsworth, California.