51 Facts About Nelson Eddy

Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs.

Nelson Eddy was one of the first "crossover" stars, a superstar appealing both to shrieking bobby soxers and opera purists, and in his heyday, he was the highest paid singer in the world.

Nelson Eddy introduced millions of young Americans to classical music and inspired many of them to pursue a musical career.

Nelson Eddy grew up in Providence and Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Nelson Eddy's Atlanta-born mother was a church soloist, and his grandmother, Caroline Netta Ackerman Kendrick, was a distinguished oratorio singer.

Nelson Eddy's uncle helped Eddy secure a clerical job at the Mott Iron Works, a plumbing supply company.

Nelson Eddy later worked as a reporter with the Philadelphia Press, the Evening Public Ledger, and the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.

Nelson Eddy never returned to school, but educated himself with correspondence courses.

Nelson Eddy developed his talent as a boy soprano in church choirs.

Nelson Eddy gave recitals for women's groups and appeared in society theatricals, usually for little or no pay.

Nelson Eddy had a job in an iron works factory and then spent ten years as a newspaper reporter.

Nelson Eddy was fired for paying more attention to music than to journalism.

In 1924, Nelson Eddy won the top prize in a competition that included a chance to appear with the Philadelphia Opera Society.

Nelson Eddy performed in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the Savoy Company, the oldest amateur theater company in the world devoted exclusively to the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in the traditional manner.

Nelson Eddy reprised the role of Strephon with Savoy in 1927, when the theater group moved their performances to the famed Academy of Music.

Nelson Eddy studied briefly with the noted teacher David Scull Bispham, a former Metropolitan Opera singer, but when Bispham died suddenly, Nelson Eddy became a student of William Vilonat.

In 1927, Nelson Eddy borrowed some money and followed his teacher to Dresden for further study in Europe, which was then considered essential for serious American singers.

Nelson Eddy was offered a job with a small German opera company.

Nelson Eddy had a home recording studio, where he studied his own performances.

Nelson Eddy performed under Leopold Stokowski as the Drum Major in the second American performance of Alban Berg's Wozzeck on November 24,1931.

Years later, when Toscanini visited the MGM lot in California, Nelson Eddy greeted him by singing a few bars of Maria Egiziaca.

Nelson Eddy continued in occasional opera roles until his film work made it difficult to schedule appearances the requisite year or two in advance.

Nelson Eddy felt strongly that audiences needed to be exposed to all kinds of music.

Nelson Eddy was "discovered" by Hollywood when he substituted at the last minute for the noted diva Lotte Lehmann at a sold-out concert in Los Angeles on February 28,1933.

Nelson Eddy scored a professional triumph with 18 curtain calls, and several film offers immediately followed.

Nelson Eddy's contract guaranteed him three months off each year to continue his concert tours.

Nelson Eddy appeared and sang one song each in Broadway to Hollywood and Dancing Lady, both in 1933, and Student Tour in 1934.

Nelson Eddy sang "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" and "I'm Falling in Love with Someone".

Nelson Eddy appeared in seven more MGM films with Jeanette MacDonald:.

Nelson Eddy signed with Universal in 1943 for a two-picture deal.

Nelson Eddy filmed her two scenes for Follow the Boys, then both stars severed ties with Universal, as Eddy was upset with how Phantom of the Opera turned out.

Nelson Eddy wrote two movie treatments for MacDonald and himself, Timothy Waits for Love and All Stars Don't Spangle.

Nelson Eddy made more than 290 recordings between 1935 and 1964, singing songs from his films, plus opera, folk songs, popular songs, Gilbert and Sullivan, and traditional arias from his concert repertoire.

Nelson Eddy recorded duets with his other screen partner, Rise Stevens, and for albums with, among others, Nadine Conner, Doretta Morrow, Eleanor Steber, and Jo Stafford.

Nelson Eddy's recordings drew rave reviews during the 1930s and 1940s, and he continued to get good reviews into the 1960s.

Nelson Eddy did his first "war effort" concert on October 19,1939, with Leopold Stokowski for Polish war relief.

Nelson Eddy had his own show on CBS and starred on The Electric Hour.

Nelson Eddy began his more than 600 radio appearances in the mid-1920s.

Nelson Eddy frequently used his radio shows to advance the careers of promising young singers.

In 1951, Nelson Eddy guest-starred on several episodes of The Alan Young Show on CBS-TV.

On November 30,1952, Nelson Eddy was Ed Sullivan's guest on Toast of the Town.

Nelson Eddy was a frequent guest on talk shows, including The Merv Griffin Show and The Tonight Show with Jack Paar.

On May 7,1955, Nelson Eddy starred in Max Liebman's 90-minute, live-TV version of Sigmund Romberg's The Desert Song on NBC-TV.

The advent of television made inroads in the once-lucrative concert circuits, and in the early 1950s, Nelson Eddy considered future career options, eventually deciding to form a nightclub act.

Nelson Eddy married Ann Denitz Franklin, former wife of noted director Sidney Franklin, on January 19,1939.

Nelson Eddy is buried next to Eddy and Eddy's mother in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

On March 5,1967, Nelson Eddy was performing at the Sans Souci Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida when he was stricken on stage with a cerebral hemorrhage.

Nelson Eddy's singing partner, Gale Sherwood, and his accompanist, Ted Paxson, were at his side.

Nelson Eddy died a few hours later in the early hours of March 6,1967, at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, aged 65.

Nelson Eddy is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, between his mother and his widow.

Nelson Eddy's meticulously annotated scores are now housed at Occidental College Special Collections in Los Angeles.