Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis (born April 3, 1944), known professionally as Tony Orlando, is an American pop/rock singer, songwriter, and music executive whose career spans nearly seven decades. He is best known for his work as part of Tony Orlando and Dawn.
In 1993, he opened the Tony Orlando Yellow Ribbon Music Theatre in Branson, Missouri. He ended his act there in 2013 and has since continued to perform many live shows as a headliner, mostly in Las Vegas, Nevada. When his song "Candida" became an international number-one song, he began to use his name in the group becoming "Dawn featuring Tony Orlando" and then "Tony Orlando and Dawn". The group had 19 other top 40 tracks, including "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", the top-selling hit of 1973 and one of the biggest selling singles of all time. The group also had a hit variety program, The Tony Orlando and Dawn Show on CBS from 1974 to 1976. They then broke-up in 1977, after which he has performed as Tony Orlando. In 1985, he played the role of Tony Castillo in The Cosby Show on Season 1 Episode 23 titled "Mr. Quite".
Orlando retired from performing on the road, in concert in 2024, after sixty-four years. He shifted his focus to movies, Broadway, streaming new product, and writing his next book.
