Ross Bagdasarian

Ross S. Bagdasarian (January 27, 1919 – January 16, 1972) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor best remembered for creating the iconic cartoon band Alvin and the Chipmunks. Born in Fresno, California to an Armenian‑American family, his father tended a grape vineyard and his early years were shaped by the close relationship with his first‑cousin, novelist William Saroyan. After graduating from Fresno High School in 1937, Bagdasarian moved to New York to pursue acting, but World War II interrupted his plans; he served four years as a control‑tower operator in the Army Air Forces, rising to staff sergeant and spending time in England, France, and Spain—where the city of Seville inspired his later stage name David Seville. Returning to California after the war, he married Armenouhi “Armen” Kulhanjian in 1946, tried grape‑farming, and eventually settled in Los Angeles to launch a songwriting career that quickly yielded hits such as “Come On‑a My House” (co‑written with Saroyan) and Dean Martin’s “Hey, Brother, Pour the Wine.”

Bagdasarian’s breakthrough arrived in 1958 when he experimented with tape‑speed manipulation to produce the novelty record “Witch Doctor,” released under the David Seville pseudonym and soaring to the top of the Billboard chart. The same technique birthed Alvin and the Chipmunks, named after Liberty Records executives Simon Waronker, Theodore Keep, and Alvin Bennett; the debut single “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)” sold four million copies and earned three Grammy Awards at the inaugural ceremony. Over the next decade Bagdasarian wrote and produced numerous Chipmunk hits, released several albums, and produced The Alvin Show for CBS (1961‑62). Despite his modest formal musical training—he could not read or write standard notation—he controlled every aspect of his creations, from writing and performing to publishing and merchandising, generating what was estimated in the early 1960s to be $20 million in revenue. Bagdasarian died of a heart attack in Beverly Hills on January 16, 1972; his legacy lives on through the continued popularity of the Chipmunks franchise, now managed by his son Ross Jr. and daughter‑in‑law Janice Karman.