Charlie Applewhite

Charlie Applewhite
Charlie Applewhite promotional photo, 1954
Background information
Birth name	Charles Edwin Applewhite
Born	(1932-11-25)November 25, 1932 Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Died	April 27, 2001(2001-04-27) (aged 68) Plano, Texas, United States
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, businessman
Years active	1953–1967
Labels	Decca Records, MGM Records
Associated acts	Milton Berle

Charlie Applewhite (November 25, 1932 – April 27, 2001) was an American singer and radio host. The height of his fame came as a regular on the Milton Berle show in the mid 1950s, and he became a highly-paid entertainer, performing on records, radio, and television. The advent of the Rock era and a plane crash that left him severely injured curtailed his career.

Charles Edwin Applewhite was born on November 25, 1932, in Fort Worth, Texas. Applewhite was taught to sing by his mother, who was part of a church choir. He began singing in local children's talent shows at age 4. Applewhite's mother began to groom her young son to become a professional singer at an early age. His first professional performance occurred at the age of 10, singing in a Fort Worth movie theater. After young Applewhite became old enough to go into downtown Fort Worth alone, he would travel there to sing for money on street corners if his allowance had run out.

At R. L. Paschal High School, Applewhite learned how to read music and played trumpet in the school band. After his graduation, Applewhite worked for a short time in the oil fields. When he broke his arm in a work-related accident, Applewhite quit his job and went back to Fort Worth His first job after returning home was singing in a Dallas night club for five dollars a night. This led to a more lucrative offer from Carswell Air Force Base to entertain at their Officers Club for US$100 per week. Applewhite then received an offer to become a singing waiter at the Studio Lounge in Dallas. After working at the Studio Lounge for a time, Applewhite was offered night club engagements in Shreveport, Louisiana and Kansas City, Missouri.

At age 21, he left Texas for New York City, attempting to make a career as a performer. Applewhite closed his US$600 savings account, using the money to pay for his New York trip. His "big break" came of his own initiative; three days after arriving in New York and being turned down by every agent he contacted, he boldly ignored the office personnel and, unannounced, entered the office of Milton Berle and demanded that he be auditioned. Berle acquiesced in thoughts of appeasing him, but was impressed to the point of signing Applewhite to a contract to appear regularly on Berle's show. Before leaving Berle's office, Applewhite was also signed to a contract with Decca Records; his first appearance on Milton Berle's television show was December 1, 1953. While working on the Berle program, Applewhite was a regular cast member of The Morning Show, along with female vocalist Edie Adams, while Jack Paar was the host. After Paar moved to a weekday afternoon television program at CBS, he brought Applewhite and the other cast members to the new show.