Ric de Azevedo, Singer, and King Family Golden Boy passed at 75 Richard Renato de Azevedo died at home on March 14, 2023, after a 2-year battle with cancer. Though he claimed to be shy, Ric spent most of his life in the limelight. His mother, Alyce, was one of the Grammy-nominated singing King Sisters who released over 150 records during their 40-year career. His father, Syd, died when he was only five. Ric became a premier singing star of both the King Family Show, a weekly ABC Saturday night program during the mid-1960s, and a key member of the trio Reunion, singing alongside two of the former Letterman. Ric was born in Los Angeles, California on May 10, 1947, and grew up in Studio City, California where he graduated from North Hollywood High School. During his later teen years, his entire family of siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles joined his mom and aunts, the King Sisters, on a national ABC television show titled The King Family Show. It later went into syndication where it played for many more years during seasonal specials like Christmas, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, and the 4th of July. Ric soon became a standout star of the younger generation with his gentle guitar playing and rounded full-bodied vocal talent. Many viewers claim the most memorable moment of the entire show came during a Christmas broadcast after Ric had joined the army and was serving on the East Coast. His mother, Alyce King, longingly sang to a photo of Ric, “I’ll be home for Christmas” accompanied on piano by another son, Lex de Azevedo. Without his mom knowing anything ahead of time, Ric suddenly walked onto the stage live, reducing his mother to a flood of hugs and tears as she rubbed his freshly buzz-cut hair and shouted, “It can’t be done!” “Ric was always the golden boy in our family,” remembers another cousin, Tina Cole, who later starred in the sitcom My Three Sons. “He was so talented and so gorgeous; he could play anything and could sing even better. There was lots of competition in a group of 24 very talented cousins, but whenever we cut a record, it was almost always Ric who got the solos. He was built like a football player but could swoon you with his golden-brown hair, piercing blue eyes, voice, and personality. He could send fans to the moon, and frequently did, despite his very soft and gentle soul.” After his return from military service, Ric met and married Anna Wilcox de Azevedo in the Los Angeles Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They had two children, Eric, and Jennifer (and eventually five grandchildren) while living in Simi Valley, California. He continued to be a big part of King Family tours and worked by day in the Industrial Film division of Universal Studios. He later had a 35-year career as an executive with Warner Bros. movie studios. Upon his retirement, he left California and moved to Fruit Heights, Utah, outside Salt Lake City. He also starred in several of the LDS-oriented hit musical plays written by his older brother, Lex de Azevedo - Saturday’s Warrior and Threads of Glory, where he can be heard on the original cast recordings. In the mid-seventies, two retired Letterman, Jim Pike and Bobby Engemann (who had sold the legal rights to use the name Letterman to the third original member) came up with a new name, Reunion, and asked Ric to become the third member of the famous trio. Singing in very tight three-part harmonies, they toured, released records, and played concerts and corporate events all over the world for over 33 years. Ric was a devoted family man and lived and vacationed with his “favorite things”: his beloved wife of 48 years, his children, and his grandchildren. He loved nothing more than to hang out in the cozy surroundings of his cabin in Big Bear, California with his family around him - fishing, swimming, camping, hiking, cooking delicious meals, always with beautiful music playing in the background. His sense of humor and easy warmth endeared him to friends, coworkers, extended family, church members, and all who came to know and love him. Ric is survived by his wife Anna, son Eric de Azevedo, daughter Jennifer de Azevedo Suttner, and grandkids, Cameron Suttner, Ethan Suttner, Chad Suttner, Corinne de Azevedo, Sydney de Azevedo, great-grandson Suede Suttner and his brothers Lex de Azevedo and Cameron Clarke. Services will be held on April 15 at 11 am in the Fruit Heights LDS chapel at 170 North Mountain Road, Fruit Heights, UT 84037