Singer Julius La Rosa, publicly fired on Godfrey show, dies

Julius La Rosa, the celebrated 1950s singer who reinvented himself as a television, stage and nightclub performer after his young career was thrown into turmoil by a bizarre and humiliating on-the-air firing by Arthur Godfrey before a national audience, died Thursday at his home in Crivitz, Wis.

Like many fresh talents discovered by the powerful Godfrey, Mr. La Rosa had been plucked from obscurity, taken into the “Little Godfrey” family, paid a salary beyond his wildest dreams and exposed to colossal television and radio audiences.

With his chunky-cheeked, boyish grin and dark, curly hair swept back from a widow’s peak, he crooned pop favorites for 35 million people from 1951 to 1953 on CBS’ “Arthur Godfrey Time,” a weekday morning television and radio show, and for “Arthur Godfrey and His Friends,” a Wednesday night variety program.

Godfrey — a folksy, sentimental ukulele strummer to his audiences but an imperious, tyrannical boss behind the sets — ordered all his entertainers to take dancing lessons.

Ed Sullivan signed him, at triple his old salary, for a dozen appearances on his national television variety show, “Toast of the Town.”

In 1958, he married Rosemary Meyer, who was Como’s secretary.

Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Maria Smith; a son, Chris; a sister, Sadie; and one grandson.

Over the ensuing decades, as tastes in television and music changed, Mr. La Rosa was seen in mostly regional musicals and stage productions, including “Kiss Me Kate,” “Carousel,” “South Pacific,” “Stalag 17” and “The Realist,” often receiving excellent reviews.

In 1950, his Navy buddies managed to promote him to Godfrey, himself a Naval Reserve officer, who gave the young singer an audition in Pensacola, Fla., where Mr. La Rosa was stationed.

Impressed with his rendition of “Don’t Take Your Love From Me,” Godfrey had him flown to New York to appear on his television show, and on the air promised him a job when he mustered out.

[...] while his name slowly faded over more than a half century, it never quite went away, especially for those who still remember Johnnie Ray, Margaret Whiting, Georgia Gibbs, the McGuire Sisters and other voices of the “golden oldies” generation.