Paul Anka does it his way.
Really, as is amply demonstrated in his Life and Times biography Destiny, which airs on CBC Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Produced and directed by Christopher Sumpton, the hour-long biopic is more than television's usual highly staged thumbnail sketch of celebrity reflected back on itself. Destiny strives to be a personal statement from Anka himself. It's resonant viewing, particularly for anyone who has crossed paths with the Ottawa-born-and-raised former teen idol.
LEAVING BYTOWN
The first-born of Andy and Cammy Anka's three children, Anka was a kid in a hurry to grow up, an ambition, the documentary makes clear, that had nothing to do with turning his back on Bytown.
Leaving his hometown at the tender age of 16, Anka seemed fated for success, enjoying his first No. 1 single, Diana, within a year of moving to New York. By the time he was 20 he was a millionaire.
For the national audience, Destiny -- the title refers to the Anka hit You Are My Destiny -- is a decent rags-to-riches story. Anka's success at such an early age didn't give Sumpton much personal tragedy and career misfortune to make the story really gripping.
Where the program finds its dramatic arc is in Anka's tumultuous relationship with the capital.
Splicing archival footage of Anka's NFB documentary Lonely Boy with footage shot recently around town, the camera focuses on Anka's return to the city, including some snow play at his alma mater Fisher Park High School, shinny with his protege Vancouver singer Michael Buble, and meet-and-greets with Jim Watson and Bob Chiarelli, and the roots that he severed 45 years ago.
"It wasn't a falling out," Anka said yesterday from his Los Angeles home. "It was more of a misunderstanding.
"I left Canada at an early age when Canadians were just getting a sense of themselves and pop music was brand new. You leave and become successful somewhere else. Your hometown feels abandoned.
"It hit me hard. The lack of support left me feeling betrayed. I didn't need to get back into that. Why get in harm's way?
"But at this age, I needed closure. I realized that the make up of the city had changed in the 20 years since I've been away."
It's frustrating the biopic glosses over Anka's tight relationship with the Rat Pack and Elvis Presley. And when the program's narrator casually mentions his recent divorce from his wife of 38 years, you feel the show's real challenges of covering too much material in too little time.
CARTE BLANCHE
Anka worked closely with Sumpton in order to avoid the usual career banalities one gets with A&E's Biography, that usually amount to little more than a resume of career highlights. Despite Anka reserving a final say on content, Sumpton was given carte blanche while Anka himself took a no-holds-barred approach to the project.
"I knew that the film crew had my interests at heart," Anka says. "I was having fun with the film. My family have never been so exposed and that's what I wanted. Canada's special to me. It's my home. I wanted this piece to be a lot more informal and personal.
"The documentary is enlightening to people who don't know my background and what I've done. But the world doesn't revolve around celebrity.
"Who cares about me (or a) lot (of people) like me? This program is the story of a guy from Canada, how he got started, the music he's written and what some of the people around him think about him."
