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The Legendary Dick Contino<br />
Dick Contino<br />
The World’s Greatest <strong>Accordion</strong>ist<br />
The Early Years<br />
Dick Contino was born of Italian<br />
parentage on January 17,1930, in Fresno,<br />
California. He attended Fresno High and<br />
played fullback on the football team until<br />
his father found out and forced him to<br />
stop. As another activity, Dick played his<br />
accordion in the school assemblies and at<br />
special functions. His accordion playing<br />
popularized him so well that he easily<br />
won the class presidency at election time.<br />
Fast forward to the time when Dick<br />
Contino walked into the Fresno Musicians’<br />
Union to get his transfer to Los Angeles,<br />
one secretary of the union introduced him<br />
to Heidt’s talent scout, who asked him to<br />
audition for him the following day. The<br />
advance man was greatly impressed with<br />
Dick’s ability, and arranged for him to audition<br />
for Horace Heidt. Horace was equally<br />
impressed, and at long last Dick’s dream of<br />
appearing on a national broadcast came true<br />
when Horace selected him as one of four<br />
contestants to appear on the initial Phillip<br />
Morris broadcast. It was on the otherwise<br />
calm night of December 7, 1946 Dick made<br />
his appearance on the first Horace Heidt<br />
- Phillip Morris broadcast. Dick gave his<br />
rendition of Lady of Spain and the bobbysox<br />
audience stomped, clapped, and yelled<br />
with frenzy, declaring him the winner by a<br />
margin of a full 30 points on the applause<br />
meter, awarding him first prize of $250.<br />
Thirteen straight weeks of competition<br />
later with overpowering results on the<br />
applause meter from California to Broadway,<br />
Contino stood up to a microphone<br />
at Manhattan’s radio station WNBC and<br />
slapped out Bumble Boogie romping away<br />
with the first Horace Heidt Quarter Finals<br />
and a prize of $750. He became a permanent<br />
member of the Musical Knights<br />
and toured theaters and auditoriums from<br />
coast to coast. He went on to win the 1948<br />
GRAND FINALS and the first prize<br />
money of $5,000.<br />
With the Horace Heidt show as his<br />
launching pad, Dick went on to become<br />
the most famous accordionist in history.<br />
Dick’s Current Bio<br />
Dick Contino, the legendary virtuoso<br />
of the accordion, is once again proving himself<br />
as one of the premier entertainers of our<br />
time. Dick stars in main showrooms from<br />
Las Vegas to Atlantic City and headlines<br />
many fairs and festivals throughout America.<br />
The California native who has become<br />
known as the “world’s greatest accordionist,”<br />
completed a national tour in which he broke<br />
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continued on page 15
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