Tony Butala, a founding member of The Lettermen, died Sunday, Nov. 1. He was 87.
The group’s media coordinator, Tracy Clark, confirmed his death in a statement, describing Butala as an important part of the Lettermen family. The statement also offered condolences to his children, grandchildren, siblings, partner, band colleagues and everyone who knew him.
The cause of death has not been disclosed. There will be no public viewing, and plans for memorial gatherings in Wisconsin and California are expected to be announced later.
Butala formed The Lettermen in the late 1950s with Jim Pike and Bob Engemann. The trio scored an early success in 1961 with its version of Fred Astaire’s “The Way You Look Tonight,” earning a Grammy nomination. The group went on to place 20 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and receive four Grammy nominations.
Butala performed with The Lettermen for more than six decades. The group’s recordings included “Goin’ Out of My Head/Can’t Take My Eyes off You,” “Everything Is Good About You,” “Come Back Silly Girl,” “Theme from a Summer Place” and “Hurt So Bad.”
He retired from performing with the band in 2019, the year Pike died at 82 from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. Engemann died in 2013.
In 2020, Butala attended a ceremony marking The Lettermen’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The group carried on after his retirement, and its current members are Donovan Tea, Bobby Poynton and Rob Gulack.
In its statement, the band remembered Butala as someone who “never met a stranger,” adding that he found his greatest joy in performing and sharing music with audiences around the world.
Butala began singing professionally as a child, appearing on KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh when he was 8. Two years later, he moved to Los Angeles with his mother to pursue music. There, he joined the Mitchell Boys Choir, which appeared in films including “White Christmas,” “Peter Pan,” “War of the Worlds” and “On Moonlight Bay.”
