Engelbert Humperdinck opened up about the dark side of the entertainment industry. In “The Engelbert Humperdinck Show,” the British singer reflected on his experiences with unwanted advances early in his music career.
Engelbert Humperdinck recalls unwanted advances from talent agents while trying to launch his music career
Page Six reports that the 90-year-old singer said it was “hell” breaking into the music industry, as talent agents allegedly pursued him for personal reasons.
Humperdinck recalled traveling from Leicester, England, to London in the late 1950s with hopes of making it in the music industry. He also said his older sister could barely afford to fund a one-night hotel stay while he met with talent agents.
He also talked about finding it “very difficult” to find representation because some talent agents were interested in something other than his professional career.
“In those days, you know, a lot of the agencies were…the men that fancied men,” he said. “I had to go through a lot because I got chased a lot by agents,” he said.
“I was true to myself then,” Humperdinck continued. “And I avoided all that, but I went through hell with that sort of thing.” The singer described his refusal to participate in what he called the ‘casting couch’ culture of the industry.
“Casting couch, it’s called the casting couch, right?” he said.
“Not in a Hollywood way, but in an agent’s way, you know.”
“Every agent I went to was the same thing,” Humperdinck added.
Fortunately, Humperdinck found Sydney Myers, a married man who helped him enter the industry. The agent invited Humperdinck to stay with him for six months as he met people in the industry.
Myers helped cover some of his living expenses, and his wife was also welcoming toward him.
“And he was a meticulous man,” he added of Myers. “I liked him very much.”
Myers was instrumental in helping Humperdinck secure a 42-week stint on the British music variety series “Song Parade.” There, the singer performed under his birth name, Gerry Dorsey, before adopting the stage name Engelbert Humperdinck.
This story originally appeared on Realitytea
