# The Lettermen co-founder Tony Butala, known for ‘The Way You Look Tonight,’ dead at 87

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-lettermen-co-founder-tony-butala-known-for-the-way-you-look-tonight-dead-at-87/
- Published: 2026-11-04T19:59:38+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T20:37:29+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://pagesix.com/2026/11/04/celebrity-news/the-lettermen-co-founder-tony-butala-dead-at-87/
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Tony Butala, co-founder of The Lettermen, has died aged 87.
- The group’s “The Way You Look Tonight” reached No. 13 in 1961.
- Butala received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star with the group in 2020.

## Summary

Tony Butala, co-founder and last surviving member of The Lettermen’s original line-up, has died aged 87. The Grammy-nominated trio became one of the best-known vocal groups of the 1960s, and Butala helped sustain its distinctive three-part sound across decades of touring and changing line-ups.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1938, Butala began singing professionally at seven and appeared in films as a child after moving to Los Angeles. The Lettermen’s 1961 version of “The Way You Look Tonight” reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned a Grammy nomination; the group later placed 19 more songs on the charts. Butala stopped performing in 2019, and he and the group received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2020. The band says there will be no public viewing, with memorial events in Wisconsin and California to be announced later.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.