[Marc]

R.I.P

Andy Williams, singer of Moon River and Can't Take My Eyes Off You, has died aged 84.

Publicist, Paul Shefrin, said the legendary crooner and TV host died at his home in Missouri following a year-long battle with bladder cancer.

Williams began singing with his brothers as a child, and his easy style and mellow voice led former US president Ronald Reagan to call him "a national treasure".

Last November Williams told the crowd at a show at the Moon River Theatre in Missouri that he had bladder cancer.

In a surprise appearance he vowed to return this year to celebrate his 75th year in show business.

He told the audience that people with cancer "are getting through this thing".

"They're kicking it, and they're winning more and more every year. And I'm going to be one of them."

The silver-haired singer missed planned performances earlier last autumn with an undisclosed medical condition.

It was an emotional night at the venue, which was opened by the singer himself in 1992 and named after his most famous song.

There was a standing ovation from a nearly full house.

The singer had a string of hits in the 1950s and 1960s, including a UK number one in 1957 with Butterfly.

His other Top 10 hits include Can't Get Used To Losing You, Almost There and Can't Take My Eyes Off You.