Ross Bagdasarian
[9] When World War II started, he enlisted and served four years as a control tower operator[12] and rose to the rank of a staff sergeant (SSgt) in the Army Air Forces.[9][14] After the war, he returned to Fresno and married Armenouhi "Armen" Kulhanjian, and they tried for a time to be grape growers.[9] Bagdasarian's Broadway debut was in 1939 when he played the newsboy in The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan, his cousin.[16] It is an adaptation of an Armenian folk song Bagdasarian wrote with his cousin William Saroyan.The executives at Liberty Records suggested that he adopt a pseudonym as they thought his name too difficult to pronounce.[9] In December 1956, he charted with his first record credited to his David Seville pseudonym, and "Armen's Theme" reached No.[29] Bagdasarian's rise to prominence came with the song "Witch Doctor" in 1958,[30] which was created after he experimented with the speed control on a tape recorder bought with $200 (equivalent to $2,100 in 2023) from the family savings.[37] Shana Alexander, writing for Life magazine in 1959, noted that Bagdasarian was the first case in the "annals of popular music that one man has served as writer, composer, publisher, conductor and multiple vocalist of a hit record, thereby directing all possible revenues from the song back into his pocket."[17] Bagdasarian died of a heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills on January 16, 1972, eleven days before his 53rd birthday.[31] He resumed the franchise with his wife Janice Karman in the late 1970s, after finishing law school,[20] and became the complete owner when he bought the rights from his siblings in the mid-1990s.
Ross Bagdasarian Jr.Fresno, CaliforniaBeverly Hills, CaliforniaChapel of the Pines CrematoryDavid SevilleAlvin and the ChipmunksNovelty musicThe Alvin ShowRoss Jr.William SaroyanJanice KarmanLucy SaroyanStrawberry SaroyanDavid "Dave" Sevillecartoon bandWitch DoctorThe Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)Billboard number-one singlesArmenian-AmericanFresno High SchoolWorld War IIArmy Air ForcesSevilleBroadwayThe Time of Your LifeViva Zapata!Stalag 17Destination GobiThe Proud and ProfaneAlfred HitchcockRear WindowCome On-a My HouseMitch MillerColumbia RecordsRosemary ClooneyKay Armenoff-BroadwayBillboard chartsBillboard year-end top 30 singles of 1951Hey, Brother, Pour the WineDean MartinLiberty Recordshomonymous Hitchcock filmBillboard charttape recordernovelty recordBillboard number-one singleSimon "Si" WaronkerTheodore "Ted" Keep1st Annual Grammy AwardsBest Recording for ChildrenBest Comedy PerformanceShana AlexanderBillboardThe Chipmunks Sing the Beatles HitsBritish InvasionCanned Heathe owned a grape ranchE & J Gallo WineryBeverly HillsLet's All Sing with the ChipmunksChipmunks à Go-GoThe Greatest Show on EarthThe Stars Are SingingThe Girls of Pleasure IslandAlaska SeasKismetHot BloodThree Violent PeopleThe Devil's HairpinThe Deep SixArmenian Americans in Los AngelesMark ArnoldAllMusicStudwell, William E.Saroyan, WilliamWashington PostArmenian General Benevolent UnionNew York MagazineThe New York TimesAssociated PressOmnibus PressLos Angeles TimesHolden, StephenThe Fresno BeeBrooklyn CollegeCity University of New YorkRoss, LillianGill, BrendanNew YorkerThe Official UK Charts CompanyPeopleAdams, CecilChicago ReaderThe Straight DopeBeck, JerryAmerican Society of Composers, Authors and PublishersAlexander, ShanaRyon, RuthGifford, BarryUniversity of California PressMcFarlandArnold, MarkInternet Broadway DatabaseDiscogsBagdasarian ProductionsVoice of Dave SevilleVoice of Alvin & The ChipmunksVoice of Alvin SevilleVoice of Simon SevilleVoice of Theodore SevilleThe ChipettesClyde CrashcupAlvin's HarmonicaAlvin's OrchestraAlvin for PresidentSing Again with The ChipmunksAround the World with The ChipmunksThe Chipmunk SongbookChristmas with The ChipmunksThe Chipmunks Sing with ChildrenThe Chipmunks See Doctor DolittleThe Chipmunks Go to the MoviesThe Very Best of The ChipmunksChipmunk PunkUrban Chipmunk