Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Engelbert Humperdinck “went through hell” fending off unwanted advances from agents early in his career.
The 90-year-old crooner has reflected on travelling to London in the late 1950s to try and establish himself as a singer, but finding representation proved to be a “very difficult task” because of the “casting couch” propositions he received.
Speaking on The Engelbert Humperdinck Show, he said: “In those days, you know, a lot of the agencies were…the men that fancied men.
“I had to go through a lot because I got chased a lot by agents.
“I was true to myself then. And I avoided all that, but I went through hell with that sort of thing.
“Casting couch, it’s called the casting couch, right?
“Not in a Hollywood way, but in an agent’s way, you know.
“Every agent I went to was the same thing.”
The Release Me singer eventually found one agent who “helped [him] out”, Sydney Myers, who invited him to stay in his London apartment for six months while finding his feet in the industry.
“Except I did find one guy that helped me out. He was a married man.
“[His wife] treated me very well. I ate very well during that six months, you know.
“And he was a meticulous man. I liked him very much.”
Sydney later helped the singer land a 42-week stint on music variety series Song Parade, on which he performed under the name Gerry Dorsey before adopting his stage name.
And Engelbert admitted the TV exposure was a great springboard to finding more work and establishing him as a household name.
Engelbert’s real name is Arnold George Dorsey, but he adopted Gerry in tribute to his idol Jerry Lewis. However, he previously explained the name failed to attract attention within the music industry.
He said in a previous interview: “Gordon [Mills, manager] took a song I had written, Stay, to Decca Records, initially under Gerry Dorsey, but it didn’t make an impression.
“So he changed the name on the record and took it back to another executive at Decca, and I was signed on the spot under Engelbert Humperdinck!
“No one calls me by my original name – even my family went along with the change to maintain the persona.”
