Mario Lanza (January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an Italian American tenor and Hollywood movie star in the late 1940s and 1950s. He was the son of Italian immigrants and began studying to be a professional singer at age 15. Orchestra conductor Arturo Toscanini would reputedly later call him "the greatest voice of the twentieth century." Others referred to him as the "New Caruso," after his "instant success" in Hollywood films, while MGM hoped he would become their "singing Clark Gable" with his good looks and powerful voice.
After his performance at the Hollywood Bowl in 1947, he signed a seven year contract with MGM head Louis B. Mayer who saw the show and was impressed by his singing. Before that time, Lanza had only two opera appearances, when in 1948 he sang Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly in New Orleans. His movie debut was The Midnight Kiss, which produced a hit song "Celeste Aida." The following year, in The Toast of New Orleans, his song "Be My Love" became his first million-selling hit. In 1951, he starred in the role of his idol, Enrico Caruso, in the biopic, The Great Caruso, which produced another million-seller with "The Loveliest Night of the Year." It was the top-grossing film that year. His next film, Because You're Mine, produced his final million-selling hit of the same title, and earned an Academy Award nomination. After recording the soundtrack for his next film, The Student Prince he walked out on the project after an argument with producer Dore Schary over his behavior on the set.
Lanza was known to be "rebellious, tough, and ambitious," and during most of his film career, he suffered from addictions to overeating and alcohol which had a serious affect on his health and his relationships with directors, producers and sometimes the cast. Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper writes that "his smile, which was as big as his voice, was matched with the habits of a tiger cub, impossible to housebreak." She adds that he was the "last of the great romantic performers." He made three more films before dying of a heart attack at the age of 38. At the time of his death in 1959 he was still "the most famous tenor in the world." Author Eleonora Kimmel concludes that Lanza "blazed like a meteor whose light lasts a brief moment in time."
The Lanza "myth" was created by familiar Hollywood formulas, which used his social class, his Italian-American identity, combined with his good looks and exceptional talent as a singer, to create the "poor boy makes good," who is "transformed into a star." He appealed to audiences worldwide with his ability to cater to various musical tastes, including operatic arias, popular songs, Neopolitan favorites, operettas, sacred songs, and Great American Songbook standards, making him what some call the "crossover artist supreme." Today, the "magnitude of his contribution to popular music is still hotly debated," as he only appeared on the opera stage twice and many felt he needed more "operatic quality time" before being considered a great star of opera. Nonetheless, his groundbreaking films, especially The Great Caruso, influenced numerous future opera stars, including José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti. According to opera historian Clyde McCants, "Of all the Hollywood singers who performed operatic music . . . the one who made the greatest impact was Mario Lanza," while Hedda Hopper concludes, ". . . there had never been anyone like Mario, and I doubt whether we shall ever see his like again."
This entry is from 
© MMIX