Tony Butala

Anthony Francis Butala (born November 20, 1940) is an American singer. He was the lead singer of the vocal group The Lettermen since 1958, although he has been retired since 2019. Butala is the last surviving of the original three members. The Lettermen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February 2020. Early life Butala was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, of Croatian descent, the eighth of eleven children of Mary Ann (Ference) and John George Butala. He spent much of his early years on a farm owned by his grandparents, enjoying a rural upbringing which included deer hunting. Butala said in a radio interview that hunting in those days was done more out of survival, rather than sport as it is today. He shot his first deer at the age of 12. Career Butala began his professional singing career in 1948, when he appeared on "Starlets on Parade", a Saturday morning show on KDKA radio in Pittsburgh. He quickly became a favorite in and around his hometown of Sharon during his pre-teen years.