William Warfield Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
William Warfield was a concert baritone singer, who gave his recital debut in New York's Town Hall in 1950. He was then quickly invited by the Australian Broadcast Corporation to tour Australia for thirty-five concerts. As an actor, he appeared in only two motion pictures, one of them being his memorable performance as Joe in the 1951 version of ...
[conductor Eugene Ormandy introduces Warfield to the audience in an unintentionally humorous way:] "With us tonight is William Warfield, who is with us tonight. He is a wonderful man, and so is his wife."
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Fact
1
Was supposed to have played Jim in a 1952 MGM Technicolor musical version of "Huckleberry Finn", with songs by Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane, but the project was shelved. Dean Stockwell was supposed to have played Huck, with Gene Kelly and Danny Kaye as the two con men. Some of the songs were later used in MGM's 1960 non-musical Technicolor remake of the novel, which featured an entirely different cast from the proposed 1952 version.
2
Immediately prior to his recording the Mozart Requiem with Bruno Walter, the Westminster Choir, and three other soloists, Warfield and all of the artists who made the recording participated in a live performance of the work, at Carnegie Hall.
3
He made six singing tours for the U.S. Department of State.
4
Starred in two different productions of "The Green Pastures" on television, both for the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" series.
5
Was a professor of voice at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
6
African-American bass-baritone singer-actor in concert recitals, operas, oratorios, films, symphonies with speaking roles, and jazz programs such as NPR's "Riverwalk".
7
During the 1980s was chair of vocal music for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's School of Music.
8
In 1955, he was chosen by the Philadelphia Orchestra as their official soloist on the orchestra's first tour of Europe.
9
He and Miss Price were legally separated in 1958, but did not receive a divorce decree until 1972.
10
Professor of Voice at Northwestern University.
11
Warfield had made his recital debut in 1950, in Town Hall, New York City, when Roger Edens arranged for him to come to Hollywood to make his screen debut as Joe in "Show Boat".
12
He became almost as identified with the song "Ol' Man River" as Paul Robeson had a generation earlier, and starred with Leontyne Price and Cab Calloway in a European tour of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess". This "Porgy and Bess" played to sold-out houses all over Europe. It was performed to huge acclaim in Russia during the early days of the Cold War, and was the first American opera production to ever play Milan's La Scala Opera House. It wound up its tour on Broadway in 1953 (without Warfield, who was forced to drop out immediately prior because of earlier recording commitments). In contrast to the original 1935 production of the opera, it received rave reviews from the New York critics. It ran eight months on Broadway, one month less than the 1942 revival, but nevertheless rang up more performances - 305 - than any other production of "Porgy and Bess" to ever play in New York, at least until 2006. As it happened, it played at the Ziegfeld, the theatre at which the original 1927 production of "Show Boat" and its 1946 revival both played.
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Bernstein in London
1976
TV Movie documentary "A Lincoln Portrait"
That's Entertainment!
1974
performer: "Ol' Man River" 1927 - uncredited
Today
1966
TV Series performer - 1 episode
New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts
1961
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Omnibus
1955
TV Series performer - 1 episode
Show Boat
1951
performer: "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" 1927, "Ol' Man River" 1927, "Cakewalk" reprise 1927, "Finale: Ol' Man River" 1927 - uncredited
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1951
TV Series performer - 1 episode
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story
1951
Documentary performer: "Ol' Man River" partial
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Old Explorers
1990
Tugboat Captain
Porgy in Wien
1966
TV Movie
The Green Pastures
1959
TV Movie
De Lawd
Masters of the Congo Jungle
1958
Documentary
Narrator, English Language Version (voice)
The Green Pastures
1957
TV Movie
De Lawd
Show Boat
1951
Joe
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Great Performances
1998
TV Series
Himself / Porgy
The Musical Legacy of Roland Hayes
1990
TV Movie documentary
Himself
The Grammy Lifetime Achievment Award Show
1987
TV Movie
Himself
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts
1979
TV Special
Himself
Bernstein in London
1976
TV Movie documentary
Himself ("A Lincoln Portrait" narrator)
13 Stars for Channel 13
1968
TV Movie
Himself
Today
1966
TV Series
Himself
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1964
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Festival
1962
TV Series
Himself
New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts
1961
TV Series
Himself - Singing 'Old American Songs'
William Warfield
1958
TV Movie
Himself - Singer
The Jack Paar Tonight Show
1957
TV Series
Himself
Music for You
1956
TV Series
Himself
Omnibus
1955
TV Series
Himself (bass-baritone)
The Ed Sullivan Show
1955
TV Series
Himself
The George Jessel Show
1953
TV Series
Himself
Texaco Star Theatre
1951
TV Series
Himself - Opera Singer
Cavalcade of Stars
1951
TV Series
Himself - Guest Vocalist
TV Recital Hall
1951
TV Series
Himself (bass-baritone)
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1951
TV Series
Himself - Singer
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
9th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
2003
TV Special
Memorial tribute
Changing Stages
2000
TV Series documentary
Joe - from 1951 film of 'Show Boat'
That's Entertainment!
1974
Clip from 1951 version of 'Show Boat'
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story
1951
Documentary
Joe in 'Show Boat' (uncredited)
Known for movies
Bernstein in London (1976) as Himself ("A Lincoln Portrait" narrator)
$1.1 Million
