Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 â€" October 23, 2004) was an American
operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical
theatre circuit. He received the National Medal of Arts in
1993.Merrill was born Moishe Miller, later known as Morris Miller, in
the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of
tailor Abraham Miller, originally Milstein, and his wife, Lillian
(née Balaban), Jewish immigrants from Pultusk, Poland, near Warsaw.
His paternal grandparents were Berl Milstein and Chana (née Mlawski),
both from Pultusk, Poland.His mother claimed to have had an operatic
and concert career in Poland (a fact denied by her son in his
biographies) and encouraged her son to have early voice training: he
had a stutter, which wasn't apparent when singing. Merrill was
inspired to pursue professional singing lessons when he saw the
baritone Richard Bonelli singing Count Di Luna in a performance of Il
Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera, and paid for them with money
earned as a semi-professional pitcher.In his early radio appearances
as a crooner he was sometimes billed as Merrill Miller. While singing
at bar mitzvahs and weddings and Borscht Belt resorts, he met an
agent, Moe Gale, who found him work at Radio City Music Hall and with
the NBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. With
Toscanini conducting, he eventually sang in two of the maestro's NBC
Symphony broadcasts of famous operas, La traviata (with Licia
Albanese, in 1946), and Un ballo in maschera (with Herva Nelli, in
1954). Both of those operas were recorded and later released on both
LP and CD by RCA Victor. His ranking as an important NBC performer is
evidenced by his inclusion in NBC's 1947 promotional book, NBC Parade
of Stars: As Heard Over Your Favorite NBC Station, displaying Sam
Berman's caricatures of leading NBC personalities.
operatic baritone and actor, who was also active in the musical
theatre circuit. He received the National Medal of Arts in
1993.Merrill was born Moishe Miller, later known as Morris Miller, in
the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of
tailor Abraham Miller, originally Milstein, and his wife, Lillian
(née Balaban), Jewish immigrants from Pultusk, Poland, near Warsaw.
His paternal grandparents were Berl Milstein and Chana (née Mlawski),
both from Pultusk, Poland.His mother claimed to have had an operatic
and concert career in Poland (a fact denied by her son in his
biographies) and encouraged her son to have early voice training: he
had a stutter, which wasn't apparent when singing. Merrill was
inspired to pursue professional singing lessons when he saw the
baritone Richard Bonelli singing Count Di Luna in a performance of Il
Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera, and paid for them with money
earned as a semi-professional pitcher.In his early radio appearances
as a crooner he was sometimes billed as Merrill Miller. While singing
at bar mitzvahs and weddings and Borscht Belt resorts, he met an
agent, Moe Gale, who found him work at Radio City Music Hall and with
the NBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. With
Toscanini conducting, he eventually sang in two of the maestro's NBC
Symphony broadcasts of famous operas, La traviata (with Licia
Albanese, in 1946), and Un ballo in maschera (with Herva Nelli, in
1954). Both of those operas were recorded and later released on both
LP and CD by RCA Victor. His ranking as an important NBC performer is
evidenced by his inclusion in NBC's 1947 promotional book, NBC Parade
of Stars: As Heard Over Your Favorite NBC Station, displaying Sam
Berman's caricatures of leading NBC personalities.
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