Christmas Without Andy Williams In Branson, MO


by Pam Grout
I have had a crush on Andy Williams ever since I heard him sing “Moon River” at the 1962 Academy Awards. He and his turtleneck sweaters, holiday TV specials and eight Christmas albums were as much a part of my family’s annual tradition as hot cider, corn pudding and being forbidden from opening presents until reading the biblical Christmas story in Matthew 1:18.

Now that Andy’s gone (he died on September 25th of bladder cancer), I wasn’t sure I could get through the holidays without shedding a tear every time I heard his soothing voice belting out, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

I was happy to discover that his legacy — and, indeed, the daily singing of that perennial holiday classic — is very much alive in Branson, Missouri. His Moon River Theatre, once featured in Architectural Digest, has been hosting yearly Christmas shows since 1992 when he first built the $12 million structure on 16 acres of Ozark countryside far from the glare of Hollywood, a move his agent, wife and most of his friends considered utterly insane.

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