24 Paul Anka
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One of the biggest teen idols of the late '50s, Paul Anka was born Paul 
Mustapha Abdi Anka, OC, on July 30, 1941, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 

A child prodigy, he became a successful performer, songwriter, actor music 
businessman, and recording artist. He bagan performing, as an impressionist, 
at the age of 12 and by the age of 14, he was stealing the family car to drive 
to amateur singing contests in nearby Hull, Quebec, and writing his own songs. 

In 1957, while on a trip to New York with a group of friends, Anka was able to get 
an audition with Don Costa, a producer for the ABC record label. At the audition 
Anka sang his own composition, "Diana," an ode to a former babysitter. Costa liked 
what he heard, recorded it, and watched as the single hit #1 on both sides of the 
Atlantic, eventually selling a reported ten million copies worldwide.

By 1961, when the teen idol craze began to cool off, Anka (a millionaire while 
still a minor) had over 125 compositions under his belt, his own record label (Spanka), 
and the recognition of being behind the second-best-selling single of all time 
(only "White Christmas" had sold more copies than "Diana"). 

During the early '60s Anka performed a solo act all over the country and was one of 
the first pop singers to do shows in Las Vegas. In 1961 he made yet another shrewd 
business move by buying the rights to his old masters. 
He made a fortune on reissues alone. 

He's appeared in several movies, including the 1962 drama The Longest Day, for which 
he wrote the title song, hosted television variety shows like Hullabaloo, The Midnight 
Special, and Spotlite, and has performed for all over Europe and Asia.

One of his biggest money-makers was writng the theme song to The Tonight Show with 
Johnny Carson, for which he received $5,000 in royalties everytime the song was aired, 
which just happened to be every weeknight for almost 30 years. 

He wrote Frank Sinatra's signature song, "My Way" (actually he rewrote the French song 
"Comme d'Habitude") and he also penned Tom Jones' biggest hit, "She's a Lady." 

In 1974 he recorded a duet with his singing protégée, Odia Coates called with 
"(You're) Having My Baby," that became Anka's third #1 song 
(along with "Diana" in 1957 and "Lonely Boy" in 1959).

Anka was elected to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1980. He has stars on the 
Hollywood (California) and Canadian Walks of Fame, and in 1991. He was inducted into 
the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1993, and the Government of France honored him with 
the title 'Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'. In 2005 he was appointed 
an officer of the Order of Canada (OC) a .In December 2007, Paul Anka was inducted 
into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

A blot on Anka's personality came one night in the mid-1970s when he launched into 
an after-show tirade which was secretly recorded by a "snake we later fired" 
(Anka stated during a Fresh Air interview). The diatribe, in which Anka berates his 
crew and band members, has spawned a number of in-joke references and quotations, 
the main ones being: "The guys get shirts," "Don't make a &^%$#@* maniac out of me," 
and "I slice like a hammer." Some of these are reproduced verbatim by Al Pacino's 
character in the film Oceans 13. The entire "performance" can be heard at 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LsnW0WZlKQ (CAUTION: Adult Language!)

He was married to Anne de Zogheb, the daughter of Lebanese diplomat Count Charles de 
Zogheb, from February 16, 1963 to September 28, 2000. They have five daughters: Amelia, 
Anthea, Alicia, Amanda (wife of actor Jason Bateman) and Alexandra. He is the grandfather 
of Francesca Nora Bateman, daugher of Amanda and Jason Bateman, born October 2006. 

Anka has a son, Ethan (born 2005), with Anna Yeager whom he married in Sardinia on 
November 28, 2008.

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 a Order of Canada: Appointment to the Order of Canada is the highest civilian honor 
within the Canadian system of honours, with membership awarded to those who exemplify 
the order's Latin motto, taken from Hebrews 11:16, "desiderantes meliorem patriam," 
meaning "They desire a better country." Once appointed the letters "OC" may be placed 
after the person's name.