Johnny Mathis Bio, Wiki
Johnny Mathis is an American singer of popular music who is best known for many songs such as “Winter Wonderland,” “Misty,” “O Holy Night,” “Silver Bells,” “It’s Not for Me to Say,” & “We Need a Little Christmas.”
Johnny Mathis Age
Mathis is 87 years old as of 2022, he was born on September 30, 1935, in Gilmer, Texas, United States.
Johnny Mathis Height
Mathis stands at the height of 5 feet 7 inches tall.
Johnny Mathis Education
Mathis is an alumnus of George Washington High School in San Francisco. During his time there, he was a star athlete, hurdler, and high jumper. He also played basketball. There earned an athletic scholarship to attend San Francisco State College (San Francisco State University). He attended Francisco State College in the year 1954 with the intent to become a P.E. (Physical Education) teacher and an English teacher. Mathis still remains the top jump height in the college. He was only 7 cm (3 in) short of the 1952 Olympic record. He graduated from the college in the year 2017 with an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.
Johnny Mathis Career
Mathis began his career with singles of standard music. He became famous as an album artist with a number of his albums achieving the status of platinum or gold and 73 making the Billboard charts. Additionally, he is described as a romantic singer. his discography includes rhythm and blues, Brazilian, and Spanish music, a few disco songs, soul, country music, and show tunes. In 1979 Johnny released an album called “Mathis Magic”. He also has 6 albums of Christmas songs. In addition to that, he cited Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and Lena Horne in an interview in the year 1968. Moreover, his first song was “My Blue Heaven.”
He began dancing and singing for visitors at various places including church functions, school, and at home. When he was 13 years old, he was accepted as a student by Connie Cox (voice teacher). This was in exchange for work around Connie’s house. Additionally, he studied with her for 6 years and he learned operatic and classical singing, voice production, exercises, and vocal scales. Aside from that, Mathis was responsible for eulogizing Saunders at his funeral, thanking him for giving him his very 1st chance as a singer in 2008. Additionally, he made an appearance as a guest vocalist on Late Night with David Letterman in the year 1988. He appeared there as a singer of Henry Mancini’s theme to the “Viewer Mail” segment.
Johnny Mathis’s Criminal Minds
Furthermore, Johnny has taped 12 of his own TV specials and starred as a guest in more than 300 TV. He has narrated for a 2014 documentary movie ’51 Dons. Apart from that, he has starred in the Season 14 finale of Criminal Minds, “Truth or Dare”. Where he served as best man at David Rossi’s wedding and acted as an old friend of David. . Aside from that, Mathis is a philanthropist. he has volunteered at multiple organizations. The organizations include the YWCA and YMCA, the American Cancer Society, the NAACP, the March of Dimes, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
He is an avid enthusiast for sports and golf. For golfing, he has 9 holes in one to his credit. Moreover, Johnny has served as host for a number of Johnny Mathis Golf Tournaments in the U.S. and U.K.Mathis has been serving as a host of a charity golf tournament in Belfast sponsored by Shell corporation, since the year 1985. He has also been hosting the annual Johnny Mathis Invitational Track & Field Meet has continued at San Francisco State University. Since it began in the year 1982. During his leisure, he likes cooking. He published “Cooking for You Alone,” a cookbook, in the year 1982.
Johnny Mathis’s Awards and Honors
For his 3 recordings: “It’s Not for Me to Say,” “Chances Are,” and “Misty,” he was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He holds the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received in the year 2003 from the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Moreover, Johnny is an inductee of the Great American Songbook Hall Of Fame (June 21, 2014).
In 1978, Mathis’s hit duet “The Last Time I Felt Like This” from the movie “Same Time, Next Year” earned a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Mathis won the Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2006. He is a proud inductee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame (2007). General Colin Powell (Awards Council member) presented the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in the year 2011.
Johnny Mathis’s Net Worth
In Mathis’s career as a singer, he has been able to accumulate a net worth ranging between $10 Million and $400 Million.
Johnny Mathis Salary
He receives annual earnings that range between $35,000 and $100,000.
Johnny Mathis’s Parents and Siblings
Mathis was born to Clem Mathis (father) and Mildred Boyd (mother). His parents are both domestic cooks. He is of African-American ethnicity. They relocated to San Francisco when Mathis was 5 years old, and they settled on 32nd Avenue in the Richmond District, where Mathis and his siblings were brought up. His dad Clem Mathis worked in vaudeville as a pianist and singer. He bought Mathis an old upright piano for $25 (US$385 in 2021 dollars) and encouraged his music, after seeing his talent. Mathis started to learn routines and songs from his dad. Mathis’s parents also ran his fan club. Additionally, Jonny grew up alongside his 6 siblings, Clem L. Mathis, Jr., Elizabeth Mathis, Marguerite McMillian, Ralph Mathis, Linda Mathis, and Michael Mathis. He is the 4th born among his siblings.
Johnny Mathis Wife
Mathis is openly gay. There is no information regarding whether he is dating anyone at the moment. However, there will be an update. In a 1982 United States Magazine article, he was quoted saying that homosexuality is a way of life that he has grown accustomed to. He later stated that the comment was not supposed to have been in the record. After that, he did not publicly talk about his sexual orientation for quite multiple years. In the year 2006, he explained his silence that he received so many death threats as a result of the article. On May 14, 2017, in an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, he now came out clearly and confirmed that he is gay.
Johnny Mathis Kids
Mathis manages to keep information regarding whether he has children away from the public. However, an update regarding his children will be done once available.
Johnny Mathis Showbiz Millionaire
In June 1957, Johnny appeared in “The Ed Sullivan Show,” the popular television program. His appearance there assisted him to increase his fame. In that same year, he released the single “Chances Are” which became among his top-selling song copies. He released another single “Wild Is the Wind” in November 1957 and it was featured in the movie of the same name. The single earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Mathis has also released his album called “Johnny’s Greatest Hits,” which spent an outstanding 490 successive weeks on the Billboard Top 200 album charts – 3 weeks at no.1. He also appeared in his 2nd movie for 20th Century Fox, where he sang the song “A Certain Smile.” This song earned a nomination for the Academy Award for ‘Best Original Song’.
Johnny Mathis Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
He is vocal on his social media accounts where he posts frequently. On his Twitter account, he has about 8k followers, around 440k followers on his Facebook page, and about 5k followers on his Instagram account.