Vic Franklyn
Singer
Vic Franklyn was born Lyn Evans in Aberdare, Wales - a stone's throw, as this site has long noted, from where Tom Jones grew up. He emigrated to Canada, settling in Ontario, and built a career as one of that country's most cherished club and television crooners, often described by fans as the "Canadian Frank Sinatra" for the rich, easy warmth of his voice.
His stage name was, by his own account, a tribute to his two favourite singers: Vic Damone and Frank Sinatra, combined into "Vic Franklyn". His talent was recognised by the Canadian Talent Library Trust, the non-profit body that supported Canadian recording artists between 1962 and 1985, and from 1976 he hosted his own Saturday night television show on CHCH-TV out of Hamilton, broadcast into major Canadian markets - a huge platform that made him a fixture of Ontario supper clubs and living rooms alike.
Franklyn recorded four albums across his career - After All Is Said and Done, Shangri-La, Friends and Leave Tenderly - none of which received a wide international release, which has made original vinyl copies treasured collector's items among his fanbase to this day. He lived for many years in Scarborough, Ontario, and later in the Cobourg area, before his death - a loss keenly felt by the large and devoted fan community that continues to trade memories, photographs and recordings of him decades on.