Tony Butala, a founding member of the harmony trio The Lettermen, has died at the age of 87.
His death on Sunday was confirmed by the band's media coordinator, Tracy Clark, who shared an official statement from the group.
“We have lost an integral member of The Lettermen family,” it read. “It is with profound sadness that we announce the recent passing of Tony Butala, founding member of the international recording artists ‘The Lettermen,’ and recipient of a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“Our most heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with his children, grandchildren, siblings, the love of his life, the entire Lettermen organization and all who knew and loved him.”
“Tony never met a stranger,” the official band statement continued. “His life was a living example of talent, perseverance, and refinement. But above all, his true joy was entertaining and sharing his music with audiences worldwide.”
A cause of death was not provided. There will be no public viewing, the statement said, with details of celebrations of life in Wisconsin and California to be announced at a later date.
Butala was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, in 1938, and his career began at an early age.
He was singing professionally by the age of 7, appeared on KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh at 8, and moved with his mother to Los Angeles at 10.
In Los Angeles, he joined the Mitchell Boys Choir and appeared in classic films like White Christmas, Peter Pan, War of the Worlds and On Moonlight Bay.
In the late '50s, Butala co-founded The Lettermen with Jim Pike and Bob Engemann. The trio's lush vocal harmonies made them one of the most popular vocal groups of the 1960s.
Their first hit came in 1961, with a version of Fred Astaire's “The Way You Look Tonight” that peaked at No. 13 on Billboard's Hot 100.
The recording earned a Grammy nomination in 1962, and at the same awards ceremony the group was also nominated in the coveted best new artist category.
A further 19 songs reached the Billboard charts over the following decade.
Two of those made the Top 10: 1962's “When I Fall in Love” and the Grammy-nominated 1968 medley “Goin’ Out of My Head/Can’t Take My Eyes off You.” Their last hit was 1971's “Everything is Good About You.”
The group toured constantly, playing colleges across the country and venues around the world.
Butala was the last surviving member of the original lineup. Pike died in 2019 at the age of 82, of complications of Parkinson's disease, and Engemann died in 2013.
The Lettermen have had various lineups across their many decades, replacing members who left while always remaining a trio to keep the group's distinctive three-part sound alive. The current lineup is made up of Donovan Tea, Bobby Poynton and Rob Gulack.
Butala stepped away from performing in 2019. In 2020, he and The Lettermen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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