'I got to entertain, kid. Any way I can.'
His rolling baritone and suave good looks made him a star of Broadway, Vegas, movies, radio and TVfor five decades. Aware that his type of fame, old-school and easily parodied, was unusual, he enjoyed it to the fullest, enthusiastically joining in the fun while still scoring all the best tables in town.
His final year as Russia's President has been his most successful yet. At home, he secured his political future. Abroad, he expanded his outsizeif not always benigninfluence on global affairs