"[13] After serving for two years in the U.S. Navy in World War II, Pavlak moved to New York in 1946,[4] where, by mid-June, he had adopted the stage name Paris, found work at Manhattan's Copacabana, and appeared on Paul Whiteman's Starway to the Stars, a radio program showcasing young talent.
Among this episode's fellow rising stars was a young Judy Holliday, about four months into her star-making Broadway run as Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday.
[15][17][18] They accompanied artists such as Maxine Sullivan,[15] Connie Sawyer,[19] Bibi Osterwald,[20] Ethel Waters[21] Larry Blake,[22] Michael Brown,[20] actress Shirl Conway, in her singing debut[23] the husband-wife duo Alan and Phyllis Sues.
But not so Paris who, firstly, is a stylized piano virtuoso in his own right; and in combination with his other two strings, a zingy act that can play class cafes and vaudeville with equal facility.
"[27] In March 1957, roughly one month after Bleu's demise, the Paris trio began providing musical backgrounds for NBC's daytime series Home, hosted by Arlene Francis.
[42] On July 10, 1977, Paris died at age 51 at Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital, where he had been admitted approximately one week before, reportedly as a result of "complications from a heart ailment and acute diabetes".
The following year, composer-arranger Patrick Williams paid tribute to his late colleague with the final "special thanks" offered on his new MPS release, Come Out and Shine.This album is dedicated to the memory of Norman Paris, who "shined" in my life.