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The Story of Russ Colombo

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Russ Colombo was the most famous American singer for his signature tune, “Some Call It Madness, But I Call It Love” and for the legend around his early death. Born in Camden, New Jersey, he started playing the piano at an early age and made his professional debut as a violinist at the Imperial Theater in San Francisco when he was 9. He also played this instrument with several bands around the country before joining the Gus Arnheim Orchestra in 1928. For his numerous compromises with different groups, he was unable to continue studying at 17, so that he dedicated to dedicate most of his time to play violin and sing in many nightclubs. 

With only 20 years, he started participating in films; nevertheless, he did not feel interested in much work related to cinema because he wanted to take advantage of his time to do what he really liked. One of the visionary projects of this artist was to run a nightclub for a while, but the business was completely unsuccessful. Thanks to his manager’s negotiations, he got a recording contract with Victor Records, and therefore, had more and more popularity, especially with female fans.

Another of his tasks was to overdub the singing voices of those movie stars who do not know how to sing. After performing a role in a Vitaphone short, called That Goes Double, he was invited back to Hollywood to sign a contract with Twentieth Century Pictures. Under mysterious circumstances, his longtime friend, photographer Lansing Brown shot Columbo in 1934.




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