Alfred Arnold Cocozza.
Born Philadelphia, 31 January 1921.
Died Rome, 7 October 1959.
American tenor and film actor.
Mario Lanza's parents were boh of Italian birth, his mother's maiden name being Maria Lanza.
He starred in several Hollywood films, perhaps the most famous being The Great Caruso. Several famous tenors of more recent generations attested to the inspiring influence his recordings had on them. These included Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras and Joseph Calleja.
Mario Lanza is remembered still for his film career and his recordings. He rarely sang in opera, and never in the UK. In Britain he made two concert tours only a few months before his death.
When he left school, he moved pianos for a living. He served three years in the military from 1942, and it is said he could not read music until he was 25. He sang at the Hollywood Bowl in 1947, coming to the attention of Louis B. Mayer, of MGM, who shortly afterwards signed him on a seven year contract. At this point he adapted his mother's name - Maria Lanza - to become the name under which he found fame and fortune.
His first film was That Midnight Kiss (1949), followed by The Toast of New Orleans (1950) which included 'Be My Love', which became his first million selling hit. Next came The Great Caruso (1951), which was the top-grossing film of that year. Because You're Mine followed and then, after a protracted battle concerning The Student Prince, he was dismissed by MGM. Lawsuits followed.
He and his family moved to Rome, and he started to make films again, combining this with concert tours.
In November 1957, he appeared in the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium singing 'Because You're Mine', 'E lucevan le stelle' and 'The Loveliest Night of the Year'. A week later, he sang the same programme on Sunday Night at the London Palladium, a nationally famous television programme of the day. That visit included a single Scottish performance, in Glasgow.
Victor Hochhauser organised a UK tour early in 1958, in the course of which Lanza performed three times in Scotland - St Andrews Hall, Glasgow (7 Jan), Usher Hall, Edinburgh (25 Mar), and Caird Hall, Dundee (27 Mar). Other UK performances were given at the Royal Albert Hall (twice) and in Sheffield, Newcastle, Leicester, Belle Vue Manchester, Brighton, Bradford, Belfast and Leicester.
By February he was described as being ill in Rome (Times Feb 14: p3) and the performance in Birmingham scheduled for Friday March 21 was cancelled due to bronchitis. However he did perform in Edinburgh and Dundee as scheduled. The Scottish newspapers do not seem to have reviewed the concerts in any detail, being more interested in the events as a news item.
Not much more than a year later, Lanza was undergoing hospital treatment in Rome when he suffered a heart attack and died. He was only thirty-eight.
His memory is kept alive by active fan clubs and there is a museum in Philadelphia devoted to him, his recordings and his legacy.
For further information see their website www.mario-lanza-institute.org
For a biography, see "Singing to the Gods" by Derek Mannering
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