Paul Anka performed Frank Sinatra’s iconic 1969 song “My Way” on stage at the post-premiere dinner Paul Anka: His WayA documentary about the Canadian singer and songwriting legend who won worldwide acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival.
At a gala dinner at Toronto’s Union Station, Anka, now 83, recounted a career spanning decades and genres. He recalled that at a dinner party at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, Sinatra told him that he was retiring from acting.
“I’ve had enough,” Anka said he was told, but not before Sinatra added that he needed to finish one last album. The legendary singer, flanked by his young wife Mia Farrow, added: “You never wrote me that song.”
Now under pressure, Anka returned to New York, sat down at the piano after midnight, and wrote this famous ballad for a performer who was about to take his final bow. At dawn the next day, Anka called Sinatra to tell him that a new song he had written inspired by his retirement had been completed.
“It did a lot for me and him. It was such a big hit and he stayed around for another ten years. Shows you what a hit record can do. my way.
Paul Anka: His way, Directed by John Maggio and produced by Blue Ant Studios, PA Doc and Ark Media, the film looks back at the Ottawa-born artist’s eight-year career that brought him global success . Anka spoke on the Union Station stage before his performance about the lessons he learned while making the documentary.
“Friends, it comes down to a simple question of what really matters. Everything comes to an end—wealth, fame, and power—all wither. It doesn’t matter what you have. Resentment, resentment, frustration, and jealousy will Disappear, and so will your hopes, your plans, your ambitions and your to-do list. Things that once seemed so important like winning and losing will soon disappear,” Anka said.
“What does it matter? What matters is not your success, but your meaning. What matters is not what you learned, but what you taught. What matters is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice. Enrich, empower or encourage others to follow your example. It’s not your abilities that matter, it’s not your character that matters, it’s not how many people you know who feel permanently lost when you’re gone. Your memory, but the memory of those who love you, is what matters is how long you will be remembered, by whom, and for what,” Anka added.
The Toronto Film Festival runs until September 15th.
