As his weight continued to cost him roles, he decided to move to Italy for a fresh start and to find new film roles. Dr. Gabe Mirkin. Born in Los Angeles, California, she lived with her parents in California and in Rome, Italy, until 1959, when her father suddenly died of a heart attack. Took as his professional name a variation on his mother's name. The first was caused by me, although inadvertently. It was then that he came to the attention of that opera house's artistic director, Riccardo Vitale, who promptly offered the tenor carte blanche in his choice of operatic roles. The body of American tenor Mario Lanza (1921 - 1959) lies in the funeral chapel, October 1959. He substituted the masculine Mario for the feminine Maria and used her maiden name of Lanza as his surname. His wife, Betty, was the sister of Lanza's army buddy. Geni requires JavaScript! and vulnerability. Most unfortunately, two major snags developed along the way. No autopsy was performed. Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Andrea Bocelli and Jerry Hadley all credit Lanza as an inspiration to them in pursuing their chosen careers. [citation needed] While at MGM, Lanza worked closely with the Academy Award-winning conductor, composer, and arranger Johnny Green. His old habits of overeating and crash dieting, coupled with binge drinking, compounded his problems.[26]. While in the clinic, he underwent a controversial weight loss program colloquially known as "the twilight sleep treatment", which required its patients to be kept immobile and sedated for prolonged periods. [19] However, as his biographers Cesari and Mannering have established, Lanza was not overweight at the beginning of the production, and it was, in fact, a disagreement with director Curtis Bernhardt over Lanza's singing of one of the songs in the film that led to Lanza walking off the set. The following year (1948), however, he sang the role of Pinkerton in Puccini's Madame Butterfly in New Orleans. Music - Singer. Simply put, there will never be another Mario Lanza. The Great Caruso In 1951, Lanza portrayed Enrico Caruso in The Great Caruso, which was MGM's biggest success of the year. He also appeared in the film version of the latter (albeit as an unrecognizable member of the chorus). The Lanza voice was so incredible, so powerful, so golden, so dazzling that an awestruck Arturo Toscanini called it, simply and correctly, the "voice of the century". She spent two weeks in the hospital in a coma from which she never recovered. [2], The title song of his next film, Because You're Mine, was his final million-selling hit song. In 1998, daughter Colleen Lanza was killed by a car as she crossed a street. The famous Italian tenor Enrico Caruso died in 1921. The song went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Lieutenant Pinkerton with considerable verve and dash. His fellow students during that period included Leonard Bernstein, conductor/impresario Sarah Caldwell, composer/conductor Lukas Foss and teacher/composer/conductor Frederick Fennell, to name but a few. His father Antonio Cocozza was from Filignano, a town in the province of Isernia in the region of Molise. To support this myth, most critics during Lanza's life espoused the belief that Lanza's vocal range and quality were on a par with no other singer but Caruso. Damon Lanza had lived with his. Photo of Mario Lanza Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. orphaned along with three other siblings when his mother, Betty Hicks. ... Vocally he was vsingiLecure. Publicity Listings Lanza also received offers to sing in any opera of his choosing from the San Carlo in Naples. His MGM masterpiece, The Great Caruso (1951), was the top-grossing film in the world in 1951. [6] His films, especially The Great Caruso, influenced numerous future opera stars, including Joseph Calleja,[35] José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Vyacheslav Polozov. Myth #4: Lanza was murdered by … [38] Philadelphia's Queen Street Park was renamed for Lanza in 1967. The song went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Born in Los Angeles, California, she lived with her parents in California and in Rome, Italy, until 1959, when her father suddenly died of a heart attack. The Salad Years. He made two mediocre European-produced films, enjoyed generally successful concert performances and died, apparently of a heart attack, on October 7, 1959, only seven years after "The Student Prince" nightmare at the terribly young age of 38, leaving behind four children and his shattered wife, who died five months later of a drug overdose after returning to Hollywood.Lanza's seven films and scores of astonishing recordings continue to stun and inspire singers and the public 40 years after his death. He was besieged on cross-country concert tours and appearances years before Elvis Presley and The Beatles, was a true "superstar" before the word was invented and the first singer to ever earn gold records, with million sellers in both classical and popular categories.His MGM masterpiece, The Great Caruso (1951), was the top-grossing film in the world in 1951. Mario Lanza sitting at table while other man provides instructions to fine dining in a scene from the film 'The Toast Of New Orleans', 1950. Lanza was born in 1921. Mario Lanza has been awarded two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: a Star for Recording at 1751 Vine Street, and a Star at 6821 Hollywood Boulevard for Motion Pictures. No autopsy was performed. [citation needed] His performance earned him compliments from the subject's son, Enrico Caruso Jr., a tenor in his own right. People Magazine, in 1998, summed up the Lanza voice as "magnificent". On September 25, 1959, he entered Rome's Valle Giulia clinic for the purpose of losing weight for an upcoming film. At the same time, Lanza's increasing popularity exposed him to intense criticism by some music critics, including those who had praised his work years earlier. Shortly after Mario's discharge from the Army, they were married on April 13, 1945, in a civil ceremony (and remarried on July 15, 1945, in a Catholic church). While in the clinic, he underwent a controversial weight loss program colloquially known as "the twilight sleep treatment", which required its patients to be kept immobile and sedated for prolonged periods. Frank Sinatra sent his condolences by telegram.[29]. . He sang over 150 concerts in his brief career, and at the time of his death had agreed to appear in the 1960-1961 Rome Opera season as Canio in "Pagliacci". [4], Lanza was a big inspiration to fellow RCA Victor recording star Elvis Presley. Legally changed his name from Alfredo Cocozza to Mario Lanza in 1948, just before he signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Lanza never fully recovered from the emotional catastrophe of "The Student Prince" fiasco and losing his MGM contract, and declined slowly in a pattern of near-alcoholism, food-binging, huge weight gains and losses and professional tempestuousness. Conductor Peter Herman Adler, with whom Lanza previously had worked both in concert and on the soundtrack of The Great Caruso, visited the tenor in Rome during the summer of 1959 and later recalled that "[Lanza] was working two hours a day with an operatic coach, and intended to go back to opera, his only true love." Father of Colleen Lanza; Damon Lanza; Private and Marc Lanza, Mario Lanza (born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza January 31, 1921 - October 7, 1959) was an American tenor of Italian ancestry, and an actor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. Husband of Betty Lanza Fired by MGM during production of The Student Prince (1954) in 1952 after director Curtis Bernhardt assailed him over the "excess" passion of one song in his stunning recording of the soundtrack, his career began a downturn that would never be reversed. Apr 14, 2017. Mario Lanza. Music critic Jay C. Rosenfeld wrote in The New York Times of August 9, 1942, "Irma González as Mimì and Mario Lanza as Rodolfo were conspicuous by the beauty of their voices and the vividness of their characterizations." Mario Lanza's death at 38 gets a fresh look from doctor, biographer. During this period, Lanza also came very close to bankruptcy as a result of poor investment decisions by his former manager, and his lavish spending habits left him owing about $250,000 in back taxes to the IRS.[21]. Mario Lanza – Singing to the Gods (2006): A very entertaining 59-minute vintage special from TCM that gives you a well-rounded look at the famous tenor with interviews from both those who knew him as well as film historians. "[36] Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper concluded that "there had never been anyone like Mario, and I doubt whether we shall ever see his like again". As one of the first students at Tanglewood in the early 1940s, he was certainly in distinguished company. Good looks, charisma, and a voice that could shatter glass and sent a shiver up your spine at the same time. - IMDb Mini Biography By: . By age 16, his vocal talent had become apparent. Winged Victory (1944, Twentieth Century-Fox) as a chorus member (uncredited), That Midnight Kiss (1949, MGM) as Johnny Donnetti, The Toast of New Orleans (1950, MGM) as Pepe Abellard Duvalle, The Great Caruso (1951, MGM) as Enrico Caruso, Because You're Mine (1952, MGM) as Renaldo Rossano, The Student Prince (1954, MGM) as Prince Karl (singing voice), Serenade (1956, Warner Bros.) as Damon Vincenti, Seven Hills of Rome (1957, MGM) (also known as Arrivederci Roma) as Marc Revere, For the First Time (1959, MGM) as Tonio Costa (final film role), Mario Lanza: The Best of Everything (2017) as himself. Lanza was suddenly one of the top "properties" at MGM, doing one picture after another and thriving on the adulation that goes with life at the studios. Lanza had four children with his wife Betty: Colleen - a screenwriter, died of a road accident in 1997; Elisa - a housewife with two sons, Damon - had dabbled in restaurant and motorcycle business; Marc - died of a heart attack in 1993 at age 37. The following year, in The Toast of New Orleans, his featured popular song "Be My Love" became his first million-selling hit. the one who made the greatest impact was Mario Lanza,"while Hedda Hopper stated, ". After appearing at the Hollywood Bowl in 1947, Lanza signed a seven-year film contract with Louis B. Mayer, the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who saw his performance and was impressed by his singing. [27][28] Maria Caniglia, Franco Fabrizi and Enzo Fiermonte attended the funeral. [citation needed]. Mar 28, 2013 - Mario Lanza with wife Betty and daughters Elisa and Colleen. He appeared in the wartime shows On the Beam and Winged Victory. Reportedly, Koussevitzky later told him "Yours is a voice such as is heard once in a hundred years. He resumed his singing career with a concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey with the NBC Symphony Orchestra in September 1945 under Peter Herman Adler, subsequently his mentor. She was a staunch conservative Republican, and campaigned for Ronald Reagan three times during the course of his political career. Others referred to him extravagantly as the "new Caruso", after his "instant success" in Hollywood films, while MGM hoped that he would become the movie studio's "singing Clark Gable" due to his good looks and powerful voice. parents in Italy but returned to his native Los Angeles and was left. Adler promised the tenor "all possible help" in his "planning for his operatic future. [23] He gave a total of 22 concerts on this tour, receiving mostly positive reviews for his singing. This item: Lanza: His Tragic Life by Raymond Strait Hardcover $34.92. Mar 28, 2013 - Mario Lanza with wife Betty and daughters Elisa and Colleen. Rarely have we seen a more superbly romantic leading tenor. According to opera historian Clyde McCants, "Of all the Hollywood singers who performed operatic music . The following month, he replaced tenor Jan Peerce on the live CBS radio program Great Moments in Music on which he made six appearances in four months, singing extracts from various operas and other works. The union produced four children: Colleen, Ellisa, Damon, and Marc. Mr. Jan 31 1921 - Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Oct 7 1959 - Rome, Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Lazio, Italy, Antonio Cocozza, Maria C (Mary) Cocozza (born Lanza), Elizabeth Jeanette Lanza (Coccoza) (born Hicks Lanza), Colleen Maria Lanza Davis, Ellisa Bregman (born Lanza Bregman), Damon Anthony Cocozza Lanza, Marc Lanza, Jan 31 1921 - Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States, Oct 7 1959 - Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy, Antonio Cocozza, Maria Cocozza (born Lanza), Colleen Davis (born Lanza), Damon Anthony Lanza, Marc Lanza, Kit and Morgan Benson, Source: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5182, Tally Haugen, Source: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=30498972, Tally Haugen, Source: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5181, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, Los Angeles County, California, United States, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy, Culver City, Los Angeles County, California, United States, "Mario Lanza", "Antonio Cocozza Jr.", "Freddie", "The new Caruso", "the greatest voice of the 20th Century". He could sing operatic arias, popular songs, Neapolitan favorites, operetta tunes, sacred melodies and Great American Songbook standards, making him what some call the "crossover artist supreme". According to Hedda Hopper's Hollywood (radio show broadcast February 11, 1951), he was playing semi-pro football in Scranton, Pennsylvania in the 1940s. He is celebrated and honored with film festivals, a steady flow of new CDs, and constant worldwide musical tributes--most notably by Domingo-Carreras-Pavarotti and a multitude of lesser vocal lights. He adopted his stage name by masculinizing his mother's maiden name, Maria Lanza. Mario Lanza's life, sadly, has all the markings of an epic Shakespearean tragedy. In April 1959, Lanza reportedly fell ill, mainly with heart problems as well as pneumonia. Ellisa is a Beverly Hills native, born to Mario and Betty Lanza at Cedars Sinai Hospital, second of four children. After recording the soundtrack for his next film, The Student Prince, he embarked upon a protracted battle with studio head Dore Schary arising from artistic differences with director Curtis Bernhardt, and was eventually dismissed by MGM.[3]. A year later, in The Toast of New Orleans, his featured popular song "Be My Love" became his first million-selling hit. [22], Lanza moved to Rome, Italy in May 1957, where he worked on the film Seven Hills of Rome, and returned to performing live in November of that year, singing for Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Variety Show at the London Palladium. Following the success of these performances, he was invited to return to New Orleans in 1949 as Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata. . Listen to Be My Love, Danny Boy and more from Mario Lanza. Colleen. Had [Lanza] been already a leading tenor, if not the leading tenor at the Met[ropolitan Opera House], and come to Hollywood in between seasons to make a picture, he would have had [the security of having] the Met as his home," Green remarked. Albanese said of Lanza in 1980: I had heard all sorts of stories about Mario [Lanza]. Mar 28, 2013 - Mario Lanza with wife Betty and daughters Elisa and Colleen. He made three more films before dying of a heart attack at the age of 38. Mme. His mother Maria Lanza was from Tocco da Casauria, a town in the province of Pescara in the region of Abruzzo. The story is truly incredible: a wild, incendiary Philadelphia kid who can sing better than Enrico Caruso sets out to become the greatest dramatic opera singer who ever lived, is detoured by MGM honcho Louis B. Mayer and vixen Hollywood, is remade into a fiercely handsome box-office champ with a 50-inch chest, his own national radio show, 1951 TIME Magazine cover idol, and king of the pop record world. Mario Lanza MARIO LANZA was one of the first true superstars. Among the multitudes of stunned admirers worldwide included the likes of Serge Koussevitzky, Frank Sinatra, Presley, Tito Schipa, Renata Tebaldi, Sophie Tucker, Kirsten, Albanese and countless others. Prior to this, Lanza had made only two appearances on an operatic stage, when in 1948 he sang the role of Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly in New Orleans. They had been married for 14 years. Available to ship in 1-2 days. Reviewing his second appearance at Chicago's Grant Park in July 1947 in the Chicago Sunday Tribune, Claudia Cassidy praised Lanza's "superbly natural tenor" and observed that "though a multitude of fine points evade him, he possesses the things almost impossible to learn. After his discharge, Mario spent more than a year in serious study with Enrico Rosati, the former vocal teacher of the great golden age tenor Beniamino Gigli. American tenor. The title song of his next film, Because You're Mine, featured his final million-selling hit song. (bio by: [fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=46483611" target="_blank Kit and Morgan Benson)] Maintained by: Find A Grave, In October 2007, Charles Messina directed the big budget musical Be My Love: The Mario Lanza Story, written by Richard Vetere, about Lanza's life, which was produced by Sonny Grosso and Phil Ramone, and which premiered at The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Greenvale, New York.[37]. From January to April 1958, Lanza gave a concert tour of the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. His fellow students during that period included, Although greatly admired by generations of opera stars, including. "[14] In the October 14, 1959, edition of Variety, it was reported that Lanza had planned to make his return to opera in the role of Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci during the Rome Opera's 1960–61 season. In a 1977 interview with Lanza biographer Armando Cesari, Green recalled that the tenor was insecure about the manner in which he had become successful, and was keenly aware of the fact that he had become a Hollywood star before first having established himself on the operatic stage. Edmund Purdom starred in the role, lip-synching to Lanza. He was fantastic! Davis. [24] Despite a number of cancellations, which resulted from his poor health during this period, Lanza continued to receive offers for operatic appearances, concerts, and films. 4.9 out of 5 stars 20. A rarity in that he was a best-selling classical artist, Lanza's many recordings on RCA Victor Red Seal--most notably "Be My Love". His first two films, "That Midnight Kiss" (1949) and "The Toast of New Orleans" (1950), teamed him with actress Kathryn Grayson, and was an overnight success. [1], His film début for MGM was in That Midnight Kiss (1949) with Kathryn Grayson and Ethel Barrymore. But for every allegation that Lanza was an impossibly crude, out-of-control sybarite or an insufferable egotist, there is ample testimony emphasizing a very different person. LANZA, Damon Beloved son of Mario and Betty Lanza passed away August 16, 2008 at age 55. Even today when people get gloomy around me, I swear in high C and say, 'Let's get going ... you're fracturing me with this misery!'. Much has been made of the influence Lanza has had on contemporary tenors such as Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti, but an apocryphal story has followed Lanza through his career and beyond. The History of Mario Lanza. Official Sites. His wife, Betty Hicks Lanza, was the younger sister of his Army buddy, Bert Hicks, and they married shortly after Mario's release from the Army; together they had four children: Colleen, Elisa, Damon, and Marc. Ellisa Lanza Bregman, recipient of the Camellia Award. I should know because I sang with so many tenors. [39], Lanza was born at 636 Christian Street in South Philadelphia. Born Alfred Arnold Cocozza in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he left high school early to work in his uncle's grocery store, until he auditioned for a music scholarship in 1942. The tenor was born Alfredo. On October 7, Lanza died of an apparent pulmonary embolismat the age of 38. Even today when people get gloomy around me, I swear in high C and say, 'Let's get going ... you're fracturing me with this misery!' "[33] His equally outstanding colleague Plácido Domingo echoed these comments in a 2009 CBS interview with, "Lanza's passion and the way his voice sounds are what made me sing opera. [15] Variety also noted that preparations had been underway at the time of Lanza's death for him to participate in recording a series of complete operas for RCA Italiana. A year after Lanza's death, Elvis recorded an English translation of O Sole Mio, which was popularized by Lanza. His wife, shattered by his death, died five months later. Death Of Mario Lanza. Starts at 60 Writers. During World War II, he was drafted into the Army, and served until the end of the war. Simply put, there will never be another Mario Lanza. His wife, Betty, was the sister of Lanza's army buddy. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16. I sing as though my life depends on it, and if I ever stop doing that then I'll stop living, All my life I liked fun. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) You have view only access under this Premium Access agreement. Mario Lanza with wife Betty and daughters Elisa and Colleen | Mario lanza, Old movie stars, Celebrity kids. I sing each word as though it were my last on earth. [Lanza] had an unusual, very unusual quality ... a tenor with a baritone color in the middle and lower registers, and a great feeling for the making of music. According to Green, Lanza possessed "the voice of the next Caruso. In 1951, he played the role of tenor Enrico Caruso, his idol, in the biopic The Great Caruso, which produced another million-seller with "The Loveliest Night of the Year" (a song which used the melody of Sobre las Olas). He had everything that one needs. A great musicality. He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1751 Vine Street; and for Motion Pictures at 6821 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Among the multitudes of stunned admirers worldwide included the likes of Serge Koussevitzky, Frank Sinatra, Presley, Tito Schipa, Renata Tebaldi, Sophie Tucker, Kirsten… This was when Cocozza adopted the stage name Mario Lanza for its similarity to his mother’s maiden name, Maria Lanza. He was interested in her picture, and the buddy introduced them. Contact your company to license this image. Scranton named February 15, Mario Lanza Day. This song, It's Now or Never, went on to be one of Elvis' all time best selling songs. The building was demolished on June 29, 2018; a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker marks the site. Herbert Graf subsequently wrote in Opera News (October 5, 1942), "A real find of the season was Mario Lanza [...] He would have no difficulty one day being asked to join the Metropolitan Opera." . Hollywood movie star Mario Lanza (d. 1959). Apr 13 1945 - Los Angeles, California, United States, 1940 - 2040 Mercy Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Antonio Cocozza, Maria Cocozza (nata Lanza), Elizabeth Jeanette Betty Cocozza (Lanza) (nata Lyhan Hicks), Damon Lanza, Colleen Lanza, Marc Lanza,
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