Tony Bennett's Last TV Appearance Was On Nickelodeon - The Reason Why Is Lovely
The legendary singer Tony Bennett has died at age 96 and leaves behind a long legacy of music and entertainment. Fans of the crooner may be surprised to discover that his last appearance on television (outside of some music videos and recorded performances with Lady Gaga) nearly a decade ago was on a Nickelodeon kids' program — "Wallykazam!," to be precise.
If you weren't a preschool-aged Nick Jr. viewer (or the parent of one) between 2014 and 2017, you might not be aware of "Wallykazam!" But in a 2014 New York Post story on how Bennett came to appear on the show, he made it clear that his grandchildren were fans of the series: "My granddaughters are very big fans of the show so they were excited to hear that I was going to do this," Bennett said.
The crooner went on to explain that his reasons for agreeing to participate in the program had to do with the philosophy that guided his entire career in show business: "I am not a fan of demographics so I started out with the premise of performing for the whole family and still feel that way, so it's always a pleasure."
You can listen to Bennett's performance as the singing voice of the mischievous Bobgoblin now
If you're not up on the "Wallykazam!" mythos, here's a brief refresher: The show follows the fairy tale adventures of Wally Trollman (Thomas Langston) and his group of friends, one of whom is the somewhat antagonistic Bobgoblin, who is probably the closest thing the show has to a villain. Normally the Bobgoblin is voiced by Aria Capria, but for Season 1, Episode 23 of the show, entitled "Wally Saves the Trollidays," a possibly overqualified performer took over the role of "Bobgoblin's Singing Voice" — and as fate would have it, the performance will now stand forever as the final one Tony Bennett ever gave for TV outside of a handful of music videos and specials.
If you're looking for an unorthodox way to honor the memory of Tony Bennett, you might take a few moments to listen to his (exceedingly brief) contribution to the song "If Every Day Could be a Trolliday" from "Wallykazam!" which has been uploaded to YouTube.
It's probably not the song that Bennett would want to be remembered for, but it is a historically significant part of his body of work, and for Nickelodeon viewers of a certain age, probably their first or even only exposure to the iconic performer.