Art Donovan Post-playing career What did donovan do when he left the nfl He published an autobiography, Fatso,
Was the autobiograpghy a hit
Was Art Donovan's autobiography Fatso a hit?
He published an autobiography, Fatso, in 1987. He was noted as a jovial and humorous person during his playing career and capitalized on that with television and speaking appearances after retiring as a player. He owned and managed a country club near Baltimore. Donovan also appeared ten times on the Late Show with David Letterman, telling humorous stories about his old playing days and about other "old school" footballers he played with and against. He relayed a story that he played without a helmet and in fact is shown on football cards without a helmet. Letterman wore Donovan's No. 70 Colts jersey in the famous Super Bowl XLI commercial with Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno.  Donovan guest-starred in the Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete in the episode "Space, Geeks, and Johnny Unitas". He also appeared as a guest commentator at the WWF King of the Ring tournament in 1994. Donovan's appearance at the 1994 King of the Ring event would become infamous among wrestling fans for being seemingly uninformed about the product as well as generally befuddled behavior such as repeatedly asking how much certain wrestlers weighed. He was joined by Gorilla Monsoon on play-by-play, who inadvertently referred to Donovan several times as "Art O'Donnell", and Randy Savage.  He was co-host of the popular 1990s program Braase, Donovan, Davis and Fans on WJZ-TV in Baltimore with Colt teammate Ordell Braase. The trio talked more about Art Donovan's fabled stories than contemporary NFL football, but the show held high ratings in its time slot. He was also a pitchman for the Maryland State Lottery and ESPN. CANNOTANSWER
CANNOTANSWER
Arthur James Donovan Jr. (June 5, 1924 – August 4, 2013), nicknamed the Bulldog, was an American football defensive tackle who played for three National Football League (NFL) teams, most notably the Baltimore Colts. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

Early life
Art Donovan, born June 5, 1924, was the son of Arthur Donovan, Sr., a boxing referee, and the grandson of Professor Mike Donovan, the world middleweight boxing champion in the 1870s.

Art attended Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx. He received a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame in 1942 but left after one semester to join the United States Marine Corps, enlisting in April 1943. He served four years, to include service in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. He took part in some of the conflict's fiercest engagements, such as the Battle of Luzon and the Battle of Iwo Jima. He also served as an ammo-loader on a 40mm gun on the aircraft carrier  and as a member of 3rd Marine Division. His earned citations, which included the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the Philippine Liberation Medal, and would later earn him a place in the U.S. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame, the first pro football player so honored. After the war, he completed his college career at Boston College.

Professional football career
In each of his first three seasons, Donovan played for a team that went out of business. He started out with the first Baltimore Colts, which folded after his rookie season in 1950, followed by the New York Yanks in 1951, and their successor, the Dallas Texans, in 1952. After the Texans franchise folded, many of their players moved to Baltimore when the Colts were awarded a new franchise in 1953 and became the second Baltimore Colts, Donovan played with that team. He became one of the stars in an outstanding defense and was selected to five straight Pro Bowls, from 1953 through 1957. The Colts won back-to-back championships in 1958 and 1959. He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

During his career, Donovan played in what many believe was one of the most important games in NFL history, the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Colts and the New York Giants. The contest between the two teams took place on December 28, 1958, and ended in a 17–17 tie. Being the championship game, it went into overtime, the first NFL game to do so. Witnessed by 40 million viewers on nationwide television, the game came to be known as the "greatest game ever played." Donovan made an important tackle during the overtime, stopping the Giants and allowing Johnny Unitas to lead the Colts on an 80-yard scoring drive to win the game. Donovan was one of 12 Hall of Fame players to take part, six of whom were Colts.

Post-playing career

He published an autobiography, Fatso, in 1987. He was noted as a jovial and humorous person during his playing career and capitalized on that with television and speaking appearances after retiring as a player. He owned and managed a country club near Baltimore. Donovan also appeared ten times on Late Night with David Letterman, telling humorous stories about his old playing days and about other footballers he played with and against in his time. He relayed a story that he played without a helmet and in fact is shown on football cards without a helmet. Letterman wore Donovan's No. 70 Colts jersey in the famous Super Bowl XLI commercial with Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno. Donovan also made several appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Donovan guest-starred in the Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete in the episode "Space, Geeks, and Johnny Unitas". He also appeared as a guest commentator at the WWF King of the Ring tournament in 1994. Donovan's appearance at the event would become infamous among wrestling fans for being seemingly uninformed about the product as well as generally befuddled behavior such as repeatedly asking how much certain wrestlers weighed. He was joined by Gorilla Monsoon on play-by-play, who inadvertently referred to Donovan as "Art O'Donnell", and Randy Savage.

He was co-host of the popular 1990s program Braase, Donovan, Davis and Fans on WJZ-TV in Baltimore with Colt teammate Ordell Braase. The trio talked more about Art Donovan's fabled stories than contemporary NFL football, but the show held high ratings in its time slot. He was also a pitchman for the Maryland State Lottery and ESPN.

Achievements
 Played 12 seasons, 138 games
 Five-time consecutive Pro Bowl Selection (1953–1957)
 Four-time consecutive first-team All-Pro (1954–1957)
 First Colt to enter Pro Football Hall of Fame (1968)
 Member of 1958, 1959 NFL champion Baltimore Colts
 Began NFL play with Baltimore as a 26-year-old rookie (1950)
 Co-hosted the WWF's 1994 King of the Ring pay-per-view event
 U.S. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame (2004)

Personal
Donovan was married to the former Dorothy Schaech for 57 years. Since 1955 they owned and managed the Valley Country Club in Towson, Maryland. Although he was the owner, Donovan was known for doing menial labor at the club to include painting and working in the kitchen washing pots and pans.

Death and legacy
Donovan died August 4, 2013, at Stella Maris Hospice in Baltimore from a respiratory disease at age 89.  A funeral mass was held at the Cathedral of Mary our Queen in Baltimore, and he was buried in a private ceremony at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. The Washington Post said of Donovan:

References

External links
 
 

1924 births
2013 deaths
American football defensive tackles
American Roman Catholics
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
Baltimore Colts players
Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players
Boston College Eagles football players
Dallas Texans (NFL) players
Deaths from respiratory disease
New York Yanks players
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players
Players of American football from New York (state)
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from the Bronx
United States Marines
Western Conference Pro Bowl players
Burials at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens
National Football League players with retired numbers
"Close Your Eyes" is a 1973 hit song recorded by Canadian trio Edward Bear.  It was the lead single released from their fourth and final studio album, Close Your Eyes and was the biggest hit from the LP.  The song was written by Larry Evoy, and was a sequel to their best-known hit, "Last Song".

"Close Your Eyes" spent 12 weeks on the U.S. charts, and peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a major hit in their home nation, where it reached number three.  It was a sizeable Adult Contemporary hit in both nations, reaching number 11 in the U.S. and number four in Canada. It was the group's final hit.

The song was included on their 1984 compilation LP, The Best Of The Bear.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links
 Lyrics of this song
 

1973 songs
1973 singles
Capitol Records singles
Canadian soft rock songs
1970s ballads
Edward Bear songs Ben James Peters (born Greenville, Mississippi, June 20, 1933; died Nashville, Tennessee, May 25, 2005) was an American country music songwriter who wrote many #1 songs. Charley Pride recorded 68 of his songs and 6 of them went to #1 on the American country charts. Peters was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980.

Peters was briefly a recording artist himself; his only charting hit was his own composition "San Francisco is a Lonely Town", which hit #46 on the country charts in 1969.

Number One Compositions in America

"Turn the World Around" (1967) was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for Eddy Arnold & top 5 Billboard chart AC single.
"That's A No, No" was a 1969 #1 Cashbox chart country hit for  Lynn Anderson.
"Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" was a 1971 #1 Billboard chart country hit for Charley Pride; it also went to #21 on the American pop charts. It won Ben Peters the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Country Song.
"It's Gonna Take a Little Bit Longer" was a 1972 #1 Billboard chart country hit for Charley Pride.
"Before the Next Teardrop Falls" (w/Vivian Keith); first recorded in 1967 by Duane Dee in a version which reached #44 on the Billboard country singles chart early in 1968, the 1975 version by Freddy Fender was a #1 Billboard chart country and a #1 Billboard chart pop hit; it won a Country Music Association Award for Single of the Year in 1975.
"Love Put a Song in My Heart" (1975) was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for Johnny Rodriguez.
"A Whole Lotta Things to Sing About" was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for Charley Pride in 1976.
"Daytime Friends" (1977) was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for Kenny Rogers. Westlife covered this song for a special BBC performance with Tony Brown as producer.
"Burgers and Fries" was a 1978 #1 Billboard chart country hit for Charley Pride.
"Before My Time" was a 1979 #1 Record World chart country hit for John Conlee and also a #1 hit on Canada's RPM'S country chart.
"You're So Good When You're Bad" (1982) was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for  Charley Pride.

Other Number One Compositions
 I Want To Wake Up With You as recorded by Reggae singer, Boris Gardiner (1986-1987). This song was #1 in UK for 3 weeks. This song is one of the biggest hits in the history of reggae music.
"Living It Down" went #1 in Canada's country music charts and it went to #2 as a Billboard chart country hit for Freddy Fender in 1976 in America.

Notable Compositions

"If The Whole World Stopped Lovin'" was a #3 pop hit in the UK in November 1967 for the Irish singer Val Doonican. It made #2 in Ireland.
"If The Whole World Stopped Lovin'" was a #12 American Billboard chart hit in 1966 pop hit for Roy Drusky.
"Misty Memories" was a Grammy Nominated country chart hit for Brenda Lee in 1971.
"I Need Somebody Bad" was a #11 Billboard country chart hit for Jack Greene in 1973.
"Don't Give Up On Me" was a #3 American Billboard country chart hit for Jerry Wallace in 1973.
"It's Time To Cross That Bridge" was a #13 Billboard chart country hit for Jack Greene in 1973.
"I Can't Believe That It's All Over" was a #13 Billboard chart country hit for Skeeter Davis in 1973.
"All Over Me" was a 1975 #4 Billboard chart country hit in America for Charlie Rich.
"Lovin' On" was a #20 American Billboard chart country hit for T.G. Sheppard in 1977.
"Before the Night is Over" was recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis originally in 1977 and by Jerry Lee and BB King in 2006.
"Puttin' In Overtime At Home" was a 1977 #8 Billboard chart country hit in America for Charlie Rich. It made #3 in Canada.
"Lovin' On" was a #16 American Billboard chart country hit for Bellamy Brothers in 1978.
"Tell Me What It's Like" (1979) was a #8 American Billboard chart Grammy Nominated country hit for Brenda Lee.
"Lost My Baby Blues" was a 1982 top 5 Billboard chart country hit in America for David Frizzell. It made #5 in Canada.
"I'm Only a Woman" recorded by Tammy Wynette.

Notable History Making Albums

Peters had 3 songs, "The Little Town Square", "That's A No No" and "Satan Place" on the million selling The Harper Valley P.T.A. album. This is a pop culture music album by Jeannie C. Riley released in 1968. This is Jeannie C. Riley's biggest album ever. The album was released by Plantation Records, and was very successful. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop album chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard country album chart.
Peters had 2 songs, "Mr. Mistletoe" and "Soon It Will Be Christmas Day" on The Christmas Album. This is a holiday music album by country music singer Lynn Anderson released in 1971. This was Lynn Anderson's first Christmas music album. The album was released by Columbia Records, and was very successful. The album reached No. 13 on the "Billboard 200" in 1971 (her highest chart position on that chart).
Peters had 1 song, "Daytime Friends" on the 4 million selling 10 Years of Gold album. This is a collection of 10 years of Kenny Rogers hits.  The album was released by United Artist, and went No. 1 on the Billboard country album chart in 1977.
Peters had 1 song, "Daytime Friends" on the 4 million selling Kenny Rogers 20 Greatest Hits album. This is a collection of his hits prior to this project released in 1983. The album was released by Liberty Records, and was successful.

References

American country songwriters
American male songwriters
University of Southern Mississippi alumni
2005 deaths
1933 births
Musicians from Greenville, Mississippi
20th-century American musicians
Songwriters from Mississippi
20th-century American male musicians