LaRosa probably wished he’d followed his own advice on his last night of work. You see, he was one Arthur Godfrey’s protégés and lead singer on the Arthur Godfrey show. Thing is, he learned his final performance was his “swan song” at the same time as the shocked audience.
At the time, Godfrey’s various shows accounted for 12% of CBS’s nightly business. But the gasps of dismay from the audience were harbingers of change…after firing the red-hot crooner, his popularity plummeted. So why the firing in the first place? Apparently Godfrey took issue with Larosa’s hiring of an agent. Public opinion favored Larosa, so much so that singer Ruth Wallis recorded a song in 1955 entitled “Dear Mr. Godfrey”. Want to hear it?