Tony Sandler (born Lucien Joseph Santelé, 18 August 1933) is a Belgian singer who was half the vocal duo Sandler and Young, which was popular from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Europe 1954–1963

Sandler began performing as a boy with the Belgian choir « les petits chanteurs des sept croix » of Mouscron. In 1954, he recorded his first hit "Song of the Sea" while serving with the

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air and Space Component (, ) is the Air force, air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force (; ). It was founded in 1909 and is one of the world's oldest air services. ...

during the Korean War. He attracted international audiences in

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and

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, and became a stage and television star with dozens of hit records. He also starred in four German/Italian films, including Do Not Send Your Wife to Italy, as well as musical productions. Sandler then starred and headlined with singing engagements at the 'Roof Garden' of the renowned Café Roma in Alassio on the

Italian Riviera The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( ; ) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinally it extends from the border with F ...

leading him to his U.S. debut. On 29 November 1963 Sandler joined the cast of the "Casino de Paris" revue at the Dunes Hotel in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. In this extravaganza, produced by

Frederic Apcar Frederic Apcar (born Frédéric Stefan Apcar; September 16, 1914 – August 2, 2008) was a Russian-born French acrobatic dancer and producer/impresario best known for his pioneering "Vive Les Girls" and long-running "Casino de Paris" shows at the D ...

, Tony Sandler performed side by side with French star

Line Renaud Line Renaud (born Jacqueline Ente on 2 July 1928) is a French singer, actress and AIDS activist. In her 80 year career, she has appeared in 86 films and TV films, released 25 albums and 114 singles. She has also appeared in 12 plays and written ...

and also one American entertainer Ralph Young.

Sandler & Young (1963–1987)

Tony Sandler and Ralph Young stayed for two seasons committed to the Casino de Paris show. In 1965 Tony Sandler and Ralph Young decided to cease work as soloists and perform together as a singing team. The hit duo Sandler and Young performed for two decades as headliners in the main showrooms of the major Las Vegas hotels and casinos and all over the country. They secured guest spots on many national TV shows and sold millions of records, making them one of the most popular acts in show business. In the mid-eighties, Ralph Young retired from the act. On special occasions, Sandler and Young reteamed to perform to sellout crowds. Their last appearance together was at the 2003 All Stars benefit show Let Freedom Ring in Palm Springs to honor the victims of 9/11. Ralph Young died at his Palm Springs home on 22 August 2008 at the age of 90. Several Sandler and Young albums have recently been re-released by the Butterfly label.

Solo work

After Young's retirement, Sandler, 16 years younger, continued to perform and produce, singing American and European repertory. In 1985, for the TV network PBS he hosted the programs ''Portrait of Europe: Flanders'' and ''For the Night of Christmas'' from Bruges. In the nineties he toured solo with his one-man show, ''Chevalier—Maurice & Me'', and with the symphony–pop production ''My Paris'', arranged by

Peter Matz Peter Matz (November 6, 1928 – August 9, 2002) was an American musician, composer, arranger, and conductor. His musical career in film, theater, television, and studio recording spanned fifty years. He worked with a number of prominent ar ...

. Sandler portrayed the life and work of

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor, and entertainer. He is best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", " Louise", " Mimi", and " Thank Heaven f ...

. In the same period Sandler toured very intensely with musical productions such as "Best of Broadway", "Sandler sings Lerner & Loewe" and "Sandler sings Jacques Brel". In 2005 Sandler produced ''Mijn Moederspraak, An Anthology of Flemish Art and Folk Songs'', containing Flemish folk songs arranged by pianist Gregory Theisen. In another 2005 project "The Great International Songbook", Sandler performed an international repertoire with both big band and quintet or trio and performed as well in Europe as in the USA. He hosted the television special ''Tony Sandler's Holiday Greetings'' with the Viking Choir, which was broadcast on PBS.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandler, Tony 1933 births Living people Belgian emigrants to the United States Belgian male singers Belgian pop singers People from Menen English-language singers from Belgium