Orlando bio makes eye-opening revelations

A.J. Flick

Friday, Jan. 31, 2003 | 9:04 a.m.

Tony Orlando is taking the rap.

Not only does the veteran entertainer heap a good portion of blame on himself for a failed first marriage, drug habit and his early attempts at fatherhood in his recent autobiography, but he's enthusiastically backing Young MC's rap version of his signature song, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree."

In "Halfway to Paradise" (St. Martin's Press, $24.95), co-written with Patsi Bale Cox, Orlando relates the events of his life with unflinching honesty from a young teen idol to music industry exec to pop music and TV star as part of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson. He recounts in painful detail his reaction to buddy Freddie Prinze's suicide; his own descent into depression, drugs and infidelity; and his eventual salvation.

"I hate reading stories where people put the blame on everyone but themselves," Orlando says, calling from his Branson, Mo., home. "I thank God for the good blessings he's given me, but the fact of the matter is that I've had my choices. I wanted to be on the up and up so that when my kids read the book, they can say, 'OK, Dad, at least you told the truth.'

"I'm 58 years old and there's only a nine-month period that I'm really ashamed of myself," Orlando says. "Actually, I'm very proud of the fact that when I saw myself getting into trouble, I had a braking system, which was my family and my upbringing. I knew from them and when things were bad, I'd think of them, that's when I'd put the brakes on. I wanted people reading the book who were in a similar situation to know that there is always a way out. It's not hopeless."

The revelations aren't always dire. For instance, Orlando remembers a youthful appearance on "American Bandstand" when Dick Clark informed him after the performance that his fly was down the entire time. And he drops a few bombshells, such as admitting an affair with one of the members of Dawn and how she dumped him, and being bullied in a psychiatric ward while trying to kick his cocaine habit.

Along the way, he offers musings such as he thought two of Dawn's biggest hits ("Knock Three Times," "Yellow Ribbon") were too corny to cut, Bob Hope's role in turning "Yellow Ribbon" into a pop culture legend during the return of the Vietnam POWs and subsequently, the Iranian hostage crisis; and how Orlando co-wrote one of Barry Manilow's biggest hits, "Could It Be Magic," but there's only one place where he's given credit.

"There are all sorts of wonderful stories," says Orlando. "My relationship with Jerry Lewis, my first TV show with Jackie Gleason as a guest. But unfortunately, a lot of the stories about the book lean more heavily toward the Freddie Prinze stuff and the drug situation."

Orlando talks as if he still can't believe he became a teen heartthrob, successful businessman, pop music icon and can still pack houses coast to coast -- from his home base in Branson, to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., to tour stops in between. Orlando still gets nervous before shows.

"I think, 'Are they going to be there? Is anybody coming?' And then they're turning away people because it's sold out. And I think, 'Dear God, how great that is! How wonderful!' "

Whether you call it karma or say "what comes around, goes around," Orlando has done a lot of good -- including unwavering loyalty to the Muscular Dystrophy Association -- so perhaps it's coming back.

For years, he's made himself as accessible as possible to his fans, holding backstage "meet and greets" with the faithful -- some of whom follow him from city to city, bestowing untold dozens of yellow roses -- and signing autographs whenever and wherever asked, which is how he met the love of his life, Francine.

Orlando has accomplished many things in his career, including stints on Broadway in "Barnum!" and turning in a credible acting job in the TV movie "Three Hundred Miles for Stephanie." But rap? No, Orlando doesn't rap in the new version of "Yellow Ribbon," which has been covered more than 1,000 times. Young MC ("Bust a Move") does the honors, with Orlando singing along.

"It's a kick, isn't it?" Orlando asks, laughing.

The single is the brainchild of veteran music producer Joel Diamond, who is responsible for -- among many other things -- Engelbert Humperdinck's "After the Lovin' " and David Hasselhoff's music career.

"Halfway to Paradise" closes not with the words "The End, but ... to be continued."

"I'm only 58," Orlando says, "and I look around me and here's Paul McCartney and those guys who are a couple years older than me, like Rod Stewart, still going strong. I'm the young guy on the block!"