Paul Anka

Paul Albert Anka was born in Ottawa, Ontario, to Camelia (née Tannis) and Andrew Emile "Andy" Anka Sr., who owned a restaurant called the Locanda.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/i-was-a-lonely-boy/article18288749/|title=I was a lonely boy|last=Hampson|first=Sarah|date=April 27, 2002|work=The Globe & Mail|access-date=January 25, 2020}} According to Anka's autobiography, My Way, both of his parents were of Lebanese Christian descent; however, he also states in his autobiography that his ancestors came from Bab Tuma, in Syria.{{cite book|last=Anka|first=Paul|year=2013|title=My Way: An Autobiography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nK3YhlaflSQC&q=Lebanese|pages=10–11|publisher=St. Martin's Publishing |isbn=9781250035202}}{{Cite web|year=2005|title=With Paul Anka, 'Rock Swings,' Part Two.|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4793881?storyId=4793881&t=1593052812491|website=NPR.org|publisher=Fresh Air radio talk show broadcast|page=minute 3.25- 4:38}} His father came to Canada from Damascus, Syria, and his mother was an immigrant from Lebanon.{{cite journal |title=Paul Anka, Kids' wonder singer |journal=Life Magazine |date=August 29, 1960 |pages=67–70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EU8EAAAAMBAJ&q=Andrew+Anka&pg=PA70 |access-date=25 June 2020}}{{Cite web|year=1998|title=Anka to honor his roots with concert in Lebanon|url=https://www.deseret.com/1998/3/7/19367340/anka-to-honor-his-roots-with-concert-in-lebanon|website=Deseret News}} His mother died when he was 18.{{Cite web|last=O'Keefe|first=Kevin|date=January 25, 2019|title=Paul Anka reflects on six decades of pop music success|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/paul-anka-reflects-on-six-decades-of-pop-music-success-1.4266005?cache=|access-date=September 6, 2020|website=W5|language=en}}

Anka sang with the St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral choir under the direction of Frederick Karam, with whom he studied music theory.{{Cite web |title=The Ottawa Citizen 21 Sep 2013, page 67 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/468593210/ |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}} He attended Fisher Park High School, where he was part of a vocal trio called the Bobby Soxers.{{cite web|publisher=City of Ottawa|url=http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-culture-and-community/museums-and-heritage/witness-change-visions-andrews-newton/paul|title=Paul Anka profile|access-date=December 4, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224121150/http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-culture-and-community/museums-and-heritage/witness-change-visions-andrews-newton/paul|archive-date=December 24, 2013}}{{cite web|publisher=History Of Rock|url=http://www.history-of-rock.com/paul_anka.htm|title=Paul Anka profile|access-date=December 4, 2013}}

File:Paul Anka Gröna Lund 1959.jpg in Stockholm, 1959]]

Anka recorded his first single, "I Confess", when he was 14. In 1956, with $100 given to him by his uncle, he went to New York City, where he auditioned for Don Costa at ABC Records, singing what was widely believed to be a lovestruck verse he had written to a former babysitter. In an interview with NPR's Terry Gross in 2005, he stated that it was to a girl at his church whom he hardly knew.{{allMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000745915|tab=biography|label=Paul Anka: Biography|first=John|last=Bush|access-date=September 24, 2013}} The resulting song "Diana" brought Anka stardom as it went to {{Abbr|No.|number}} 1 on the Canadian and US music charts.{{cite web|title=Canadian Charts from 1957 – 1986|work=1050chum.com|url=http://www.1050chum.com/index_chumcharts.aspx|access-date=December 3, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312100423/http://www.1050chum.com/index_chumcharts.aspx|archive-date=March 12, 2009|url-status=dead}} Retrieved November 26, 2006 "Diana" is one of the best selling singles ever by a Canadian recording artist.{{cite web|title= Gold & Platinum certification of albums at RIAA|work= www.riaa.com|url= https://www.riaa.com/gp/database/search_results.asp|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070608063940/http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/search_results.asp|archive-date= June 8, 2007}} Retrieved November 26, 2006 He followed up with four songs that made it into the Top 20 in 1958,{{cite magazine| title= U.S Billboard chart rankings| magazine=Billboard|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_index.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903144110/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_index.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 3, 2006}} Retrieved November 26, 2006 including "It's Time to Cry", which hit {{Abbr|No.|number}} 4 and "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings", which reached {{Abbr|No.|number}} 15, making him (at 17) one of the biggest teen idols of the time. He toured Britain, then Australia with Buddy Holly. Anka also wrote "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" – a song written for Holly, which Holly recorded just before he died in 1959. Anka stated shortly afterward:

{{blockquote|"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" has a tragic irony about it now, but at least it will help look after Buddy Holly's family. I'm giving my composer's royalty to his widow – it's the least I can do.{{Cite book|first= John|last= Tobler|year= 1992|title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years|edition= 1st|publisher= Reed International Books Ltd|location= London|page= [https://archive.org/details/nmerocknrollyear0000unse/page/69 69]|isbn= 978-0-600-57602-0|url= https://archive.org/details/nmerocknrollyear0000unse/page/69}}}}

File:Paul Anka 1961.JPG

Anka composed the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (reworked in 1962 from a song Anka wrote earlier called "Toot Sweet"; it had been rewritten with lyrics and recorded by Annette Funicello in 1959 as "It's Really Love").{{cite web|author=Myers, Marc|author-link=Marc Myers|url=http://www.jazzwax.com/2014/01/tonight-show-theme-evolution.html|title=Tonight Show Theme: Evolution|website=JazzWax.com|date=January 7, 2014|access-date=November 5, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104115115/http://www.jazzwax.com/2014/01/tonight-show-theme-evolution.html|archive-date=November 4, 2014}} He wrote "Teddy" – a Top 20 hit for Connie Francis in 1960. Anka wrote the English lyrics to "My Way", Frank Sinatra's signature song (originally the French song "Comme d'habitude"). In the 1960s, Anka began acting in motion pictures as well as writing songs for them, most notably the theme for the hit film The Longest Day (which also was the official march of the Canadian Airborne Regiment), in which he made a cameo appearance as a U.S. Army Ranger. For his film work he wrote and recorded one of his greatest hits "Lonely Boy". He also wrote and recorded "My Home Town", which was a {{Abbr|No.|number}} 8 pop hit for him the same year. He then went on to become one of the first pop singers to perform at the Las Vegas casinos. In 1960, he appeared twice as himself in NBC's short-lived crime drama Dan Raven.

In 1963, Anka purchased the rights and ownership of his ABC-Paramount catalog and re-recorded his earlier hits for RCA Victor, which he had joined in 1960.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQsEAAAAMBAJ&q=Anka+buys+rights+back+from+para&pg=PA6 |title=Billboard |page=6 |website=Books.google.com |date=March 16, 1963 |access-date=March 14, 2016}}

File:Bill Elvis Paul.jpg and Elvis Presley backstage at the Las Vegas Hilton on August 5, 1972]]

Frustrated after more than ten years without a top 25 hit record, Anka switched labels again, which marked a turning point in his career. This time he signed with United Artists and in 1974 teamed up with Odia Coates to record the {{Abbr|No.|number}} 1 hit, "(You're) Having My Baby", exposing Anka to a new generation of fans and proving his staying power among his original fan base that was now maturing.

Anka also wrote five songs which were included on an album by Don Goodwin.{{cite magazine|author=Martin Melhuish|title=From the Music Capitals of the World| magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RQkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42|date=July 13, 1974|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=42–|issn=0006-2510}}

Anka and Coates recorded three more duets that made it into the Top 10: "One Man Woman/One Woman Man" ({{Abbr|No.|number}} 7), "I Don't Like to Sleep Alone" ({{Abbr|No.|number}} 8), and the {{Abbr|No.|number}} 15 duet "(I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love". In 1975, he recorded a jingle for Kodak written by Bill Lane (lyrics) and Roger Nichols (melody) called "Times of Your Life". It became so popular Anka recorded it as a full song, which peaked at {{Abbr|No.|number}} 7 in the US pop chart in 1976. The follow-up was another hit that Anka wrote for Sinatra, "Anytime (I'll Be There)", peaking at {{Abbr|No.|number}} 33. Anka's last Top 40 hit in the US was in the summer of 1983: "Hold Me 'Til the Mornin' Comes", which included backing vocals from then-Chicago frontman Peter Cetera; it hit {{Abbr|No.|number}} 2 on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart.{{cite book|title=Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Whitburn|year=2002|publisher=Record Research|page=22}}

Anka's 1998 album A Body of Work was his first new US studio release since Walk a Fine Line in 1983; vocalists and performers included Celine Dion, Kenny G, Patti LaBelle, and Skyler Jett. The album included a new version of "Hold Me 'Til the Morning Comes", once again performed with Peter Cetera. In 2005, Anka released an album of big-band arrangements of contemporary Rock songs titled, Rock Swings; the album provided a mainstream comeback of sorts that saw Anka awarded a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.

On October 12, 2009, Anka stated that Michael Jackson's new release titled "This Is It" was a collaborative effort between the two in 1980. According to Anka, after recording the song, Jackson decided not to use it and the tune was then recorded and released by Sa-Fire. After Anka threatened to sue for credit and a share of royalties, the administrators of Jackson's estate granted Anka 50% of the copyright.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN1215390020091013|title=UPDATE 2-New Michael Jackson single a mistake|work=Reuters|date=October 13, 2009|access-date=July 28, 2010|first=Jill|last=Serjeant}} An additional song that Jackson co-wrote with Anka from this 1980 session, "Love Never Felt So Good", was discovered shortly thereafter. His album Songs of December charted at {{Abbr|No.|number}} 58 in Canada in November 2011.{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20041226005640/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 26, 2004|title=CANOE – JAM! Music SoundScan Charts|website=Jam.canoe.ca|access-date=May 1, 2012}}

Anka collaborated with a number of Italian musicians, including composer/director Ennio Morricone, singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti, and lyricist Mogol. His official discography reports nine singles released by RCA Italiana,[http://www.paulanka.com/flash/main.html Paul Anka Official Site. Discography. Import singles.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212165013/http://paulanka.com/flash/main.html |date=February 12, 2009 }} Paulanka.com Retrieved on February 13, 2009. but the Italian charts list at least six other songs he interpreted or recorded in Italian. His top hit was "Ogni giorno" which scored {{Abbr|No.|number}} 1 in 1962, followed by "Piangerò per te" and "Ogni volta", which reached both {{Abbr|No.|number}} 2, in 1963 and 1964. "Ogni volta" ("Every Time") was sung by Anka during the Festival di Sanremo of 1964 and then sold more than one million copies in Italy alone; it was also awarded a gold disc.{{Cite book|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1978|title=The Book of Golden Discs|edition=2nd|publisher=Barrie and Jenkins Ltd|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/170 170]|isbn=0-214-20512-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/170}}

He returned to Sanremo in 1968 with "La farfalla impazzita" by Battisti-Mogol. On that occasion, the same title was interpreted by Italian crooner Johnny Dorelli. The pair of singers, however, were eliminated before the final stage of the musical contest. Anka, maybe only coincidentally, left the Italian scene shortly thereafter. In 2003, Anka came back with an exclusive concert in Bologna, organized by the Italian company Mapei during the CERSAIE exhibition. He recorded a version of "My Way" with alternate lyrics dedicated to the sponsor of the evening. {{Citation needed|date=July 2012}}

In 2006, he recorded a duet with 1960s Italian hitmaker Adriano Celentano, a new cover of "Diana", with Italian lyrics by Celentano-Mogol and with singer-songwriter Alex Britti on the guitar.M. L. Fegiz: Duetto inedito con Paul Anka nella storia musicale di Celentano. Corriere Della Sera, November 7, 2006. The song hit {{Abbr|No.|number}} 3.

File:Paul-Anka-1959.jpg amusement park on August 19, 1959, in Helsinki, Finland]]

Anka has been very popular in Finland since the beginning of his career. He performed in Helsinki's Linnanmäki in 1959,{{cite book| author= Mikael Huhtamäki| title=Live In Finland: Kansainvälistä keikkahistoriaa Suomessa 1955–1979 | publisher=Gummerus | year=2013 | isbn=978-951-20-8730-3 | language=fi}}{{cite web| url= https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2008/04/22/paul-anka-linnanmaella| title=Paul Anka Linnanmäellä - Elävä Arkisto |first=Jukka|last=Lindfors|work=YLE | date=2008-04-22 | access-date=November 28, 2020 | language=fi}} in Lappeenranta in 1989, at the Pori Jazz Festival in Pori on 19 July 2007 and in 2012, and in Tampere three times on 6 August 2008 and on 9 and 10 August 2009. He also appeared in the Las Vegas scene in the 1991 Finnish film Prince of the Hit Parade (Iskelmäprinssi), directed by Juha Tapaninen.{{cite web| url= https://www.csfd.cz/film/395784-iskelmaprinssi/oceneni/| title=Iskelmäprinssi (Prince of the Hit Parade) |publisher=Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze| access-date=November 28, 2020 | language=cs}} At the end of the film there is an archive footage of Anka's performance in Linnanmäki. As background music, Anka performs his song "How Long" in the film.

With less success than in Italy and Finland, Anka tried the French market as well, with his first song being "Comme Avant" with Mireille Mathieu. In 1964, he released an album titled Paul Anka à Paris; the six tracks on side B were sung in French. A single release in Japanese ("Kokoro no Sasae"/"Shiawase e no Tabiji") is also reported on his discography. In 1993, he recorded a duet with Filipino singer Regine Velasquez titled "It's Hard to Say Goodbye", included on her album Reason Enough. This song was re-recorded several years later by Anka and Celine Dion and was included on his album A Body of Work.{{Citation needed|date=July 2012}}{{Citation |title=It's Hard To Say Goodbye by Paul Anka, Céline Dion - Track Info {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/its-hard-to-say-goodbye-mt0003810033 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-11}}

Anka has performed four times in Israel,{{cite news |last1=Feldman |first1=Yakir |title=Paul Anka rocks Tel Aviv |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/paul-anka-rocks-tel-aviv-595601 |access-date=October 26, 2020 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=14 July 2019}} and in 2019 rejected pleas that he boycott the country.{{cite news |title=Paul Anka, Canadian-American singer, tells BDS supporters to 'f-- off' |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/canadian-american-singer-paul-anka-told-bds-supporters-to-f-off-595433 |access-date=October 26, 2020 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=July 12, 2019}}

{{BLP sources section|date=July 2020}}

Anka appeared in 1958's "Let's Rock", where he sang and appeared in a scene signing autographs. His first major-film acting role was in a cameo as an army private in The Longest Day (1962). He also composed the title song to the movie. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he starred in such teen exploitation films as Girls Town (1959) and Look in Any Window (1961), in which he played a peeping tom. He later played an Elvis-hating casino pit manager in 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) and a yacht broker in Captain Ron (1992). He guest-starred as a murder suspect in one of the Perry Mason Made-for-TV movies, The Case of the Maligned Mobster (1991). He made guest appearances as himself in the episode "Red's Last Day" on That '70s Show and in "The Real Paul Anka" episode of Gilmore Girls. He made several appearances on the NBC TV series Las Vegas. In 2016, he made another guest appearance as himself in the "Spring" episode of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, a revival of the original show.{{Cite web |title=Paul Anka |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/paul_anka |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}

Anka was the subject of the 1962 National Film Board of Canada documentary Lonely Boy, considered a classic work of cinéma vérité.{{cite web|url=http://www.nfb.ca/film/lonely_boy|title=Lonely Boy|year=1962|work=Documentary|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|access-date=October 13, 2009}} He wrote and performed songs in the 1985 Canadian children's Christmas cartoon George and the Christmas Star. He appeared on The Simpsons season 7 episode Treehouse of Horror VI, Attack of the 50 Ft Eyesore, singing a song with Lisa in October 1995. In American Idol{{'}}s seasons 2 and 3, he made a special appearance and sang an adapted version of "My Way" that mocked the format of the show as well as participants, judges, and the host. The performance was praised as one of the best moments of the show. He also played the role of Buddy Maus in Season 2 Episode 14 "The Betrayal" of the TV show Kojak.

Anka appeared in an episode of The Morecambe and Wise Show in 1970, singing his own lyrics 'My Way'.{{Cite web |date=1970-10-08 |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/bca86a4e18024cb28ba650cec4f86b26 |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}} The show was broadcast again on BBC2 on Christmas Day 2021 after the tape recording - believed lost - was found.{{Cite web |title=BBC Two - The Morecambe and Wise Show, 1970: The Lost Tape |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0012xpz |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}

Anka appeared as himself in the American sitcom That 70s Show in season 2, episode 2 "Red’s Last Day".{{Cite web |title=That '70s Show: Season 2, Episode 2 {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/that_70s_show/s02/e02#:~:text=That%20'70s%20Show%20%E2%80%93%20Season%202,%20Episode%202%20Red's%20Last%20Day&text=On%20his%20last%20day%20at,Lyle%20Waggoner%20(as%20themselves). |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}

On Gilmore Girls, Lorelai Gilmore named her Polish Lowland Sheepdog after Anka.{{Cite web|url=https://www.greatpuppydogs.com/!breed-info/polish-lowland-sheepdog.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331174031/http://www.greatpuppydogs.com/!breed-info/polish-lowland-sheepdog.html|url-status=dead|title=greatpuppydogs.com - greatpuppydogs Resources and Information.|archive-date=March 31, 2012|website=www.greatpuppydogs.com}} Series co-creator Daniel Palladino chose the name after hearing the Rock Swings album at a coffeehouse.[http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/02/theyre_slippin_.html "They're slippin' 'em Paul Anka, dig?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919152153/http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2006/02/theyre_slippin_.html |date=September 19, 2010 }}, Maureen Ryan, Chicago Tribune, February 11, 2006 Both Paul Ankas were featured in a dream sequence Lorelai describes to her daughter Rory in the cold open to "The Real Paul Anka", the eighteenth episode of Season 6.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765894/ Gilmore Girls: "The Real Paul Anka"]. The Internet Movie Database.{{cite web|url=http://crazy-internet-people.com/site/gilmoregirls/pages/s6/s6s/127.html |title=Gilmore Girls: "The Real Paul Anka" (Transcript 127)|website=Crazy-internet-people.com |date=April 11, 2006 |access-date=August 6, 2012}}

Anka competed in season four of The Masked Singer as "Broccoli". He ended up finishing in 7th place during the Group C finals.{{cite web|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1212829/the-masked-singer-unmasks-the-broccoli|title=The Masked Singer Unmasks the Broccoli|first=Lauren|last=Peister|date=November 27, 2020}}

File:PaulAnka07.jpg

Anka was married to Anne de Zogheb, the half-English and half-Lebanese{{cite web|first=Rob|last=Haskell|url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/anne-anka-art-collector-model-home|title=She Did It Her Way|work=W|date=24 December 2014|access-date=15 July 2023}} daughter of Lebanese diplomat Charles de Zogheb, from February 16, 1963, until 2001.[http://www.qatar-tribune.com/data/20130424/content.asp?section=chillout1_1 "Paul Anka tells his amazing tale"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007033613/http://www.qatar-tribune.com/data/20130424/content.asp?section=chillout1_1 |date=October 7, 2013 }}, qatar-tribune.com; accessed February 11, 2015. The couple met in 1962 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she was a fashion model on assignment and under contract to the Eileen Ford Agency. Zogheb, brought up in Egypt,[http://www.coverart.com/2011/09/anne-de-zogheb Anne De Zogheb biodata], coverart.com; accessed February 11, 2015. is of Lebanese, English, French, Dutch, and Greek descent. The couple married the following year in a ceremony at Paris-Orly Airport. Through his daughter Amanda, he is the father-in-law of the actor Jason Bateman.{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Joyce |date=2011-08-25 |title=Jason Bateman and wife expecting another girl |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jason-bateman-and-wife-expecting-another-girl/ |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}

On September 6, 1990, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.{{Cite news|title=Anka Passes Citizenship, Flunks No-parking Lesson|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1990/09/08/anka-passes-citizenship-flunks-no-parking-lesson/|date=September 8, 1990|work=Orlando Sentinel|access-date=December 7, 2011}}

In 2008, Anka married his personal trainer, Anna Åberg, in Sardinia, Italy.{{cite web |url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/A/Anka_Paul/2008/02/29/4883738-sun.html |title=CANOE – JAM! Anka, Paul: Paul Anka will always do it his way |website=Jam.canoe.ca |date=February 29, 2008 |access-date=March 14, 2016 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719111116/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/A/Anka_Paul/2008/02/29/4883738-sun.html |archive-date=July 19, 2012}} They divorced in 2010, and Paul has full custody of their son. Anna was featured in the Swedish TV3 show Svenska Hollywoodfruar (Swedish Hollywood Wives).

Anka's autobiography, My Way, co-written with David Dalton, was published in 2013.{{Cite journal |last=Pitt |first=David |date=2013 |title=My Way |url=http://ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=86163232&site=ehost-live |journal=Booklist |volume=109 |issue=14 |pages=39 |via=Academic Search Complete}}

File:Paul Anka Skip Homeier Dan Raven 1960 (cropped).JPG, 1960]]

In October 2016, Anka married Lisa Pemberton in Beverly Hills, California.{{cite web |last1=McNiece |first1=Mia |title=Paul Anka Is Married Again at 75! All the Wedding Details |url=https://people.com/music/paul-anka-married-lisa-pemberton-exclusive-details/ |publisher=People |access-date=January 19, 2022 |date=October 28, 2016}} They divorced in 2020.{{cite web |last1=Saidi |first1=Adnan |title=Paul Anka On Turning 80, Old Friends In The Music Industry And His New Album |url=https://swiftheadline.com/paul-anka-on-turning-80-old-friends-in-the-music-industry-and-his-new-album-music-entertainment/ |publisher=Swift Headline |access-date=January 19, 2022 |date=August 20, 2021 |archive-date=January 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119193921/https://swiftheadline.com/paul-anka-on-turning-80-old-friends-in-the-music-industry-and-his-new-album-music-entertainment/ |url-status=dead }}

File:Paul Anka star on Walk of Fame.jpg]]

In 1972, a street in Ottawa was named Paul Anka Drive.{{Cite news|title=Ottawa honors Anka|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19720825&id=Lb0yAAAAIBAJ&pg=1360,3716976|first=Catherine|last=Jutras|work=Ottawa Citizen|page=3|date=August 26, 1972}} In 1981, the Ottawa City Council named August 26 as "Paul Anka Day" to celebrate his quarter-century in show business.{{Cite news|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|title=Ottawa honors Anka|page=2|date=July 17, 1981}}

In the mid-1980s,[http://www.popmatters.com/pm/article/65731-qa-with-music-icon-paul-anka "Q&A with music icon Paul Anka"], Valerie Kellogg, PopMatters, November 14, 2008. Anka was secretly recorded while launching a tirade against his crew and band members, berating them for behavior that he considered unprofessional. When asked about it on the interview program Fresh Air, he referred to the person who did the recording as a "snake we later fired". The recording became widely known after being uploaded to the internet around 2004, and a number of quotes from it became famous, including "The guys get shirts!"; "Don't make a maniac out of me!"; and "Slice like a f*****g hammer".{{cite web| title=Paul Anka is Pissed|date=November 21, 2019 |publisher=YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG3GkBxsrQo}} Some of the quotes were reproduced by Al Pacino's character in the 2007 film Ocean's Thirteen. In the TV show Gilmore Girls, Lorelai Gilmore names her dog Paul Anka.{{cite web |last1=Jamal |first1=Zakiya |title=What Happened To Paul Anka On 'Gilmore Girls'? Lorelai's Dog Is Still Part Of The Family |url=https://www.romper.com/p/what-happened-to-paul-anka-on-gilmore-girls-lorelais-dog-is-still-part-of-the-family-22837 |website=Romper |access-date=March 10, 2023 |date=November 23, 2016}}

In 2012, Anka co-founded the holographic tech startup, ARHT Media.{{Cite web|url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/from-jedi-council-to-deepak-chopra-tabletop-versions-of-3d-holograms-the-next-big-thing/|title=From Jedi Council to Deepak Chopra: Tabletop versions of 3D holograms the next big thing|website=Techrepublic.com|date=September 16, 2016|access-date=October 19, 2019}} He is currently a member of ARHT Media's Board of Advisors, alongside Kevin O'Leary and Brian Mulroney until the latter's death in February, 2024.{{Cite news|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/story-of-a-shattered-life-a-single-childhood-incident-pushed-dawn-crey-into-a-downward-spiral|title=Story of a shattered life: A single childhood incident pushed Dawn Crey into a downward spiral |newspaper=Vancouver Sun|date=November 24, 2001|access-date=October 19, 2019}}

{{Main|Paul Anka discography}}

{{Reflist}}

Works cited

• 36 People Magazine November 7, 2016, p. 13

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{{UK best-selling singles (by year) 1952–1969}}

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Category:1941 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American male actors

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