William Warfield facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Warfield
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Portrait of William Warfield by Carl Van Vechten, 1954
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William Caesar Warfield
January 22, 1920 West Helena, Arkansas, U.S.
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| Died | August 25, 2002 (aged 82) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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| Education | Eastman School of Music (B.M. 1942, M.M. 1946) |
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| Spouse(s) | Leontyne Price |
William Caesar Warfield (born January 22, 1920 – died August 25, 2002) was an American singer and actor. He was known for his deep singing voice, called a bass-baritone, and for performing in plays, movies, and TV shows.
William Warfield was an important African American artist during the Civil Rights time. He worked with many famous artists, traveled the world representing the United States, and taught at universities. He won many awards, including a Grammy Award in 1984.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Education
William Warfield was born in West Helena, Arkansas. He was the oldest of five sons. His father was a Baptist minister. William grew up in Rochester, New York, where his father led the Mt. Vernon Church.
In 1938, when he was in high school, he won a national singing contest. This made him want to become a professional singer. He studied music at the Eastman School of Music. In 1942, he gave his graduation concert before joining the United States Army. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1942 and later a master's degree in 1946 after serving in the military.
Military Service and Special Skills
During World War II, William Warfield was one of fewer than 100 African American soldiers who were part of the Ritchie Boys. These soldiers were trained at Fort Ritchie, Maryland, to gather information. Many of them were Jewish recruits who had fled Nazi Germany and were trained to question German soldiers.
William Warfield was brought to the camp because he was very good at speaking German. He had learned the language while studying music. He also spoke French and Italian fluently. Even though he had these special language skills, he was mostly in charge of stage shows because of segregation, which meant keeping different groups of people separate.
After leaving the Army in 1946, he started his acting and singing career.
Stage and Concert Career
In 1946, William Warfield joined the touring show of Call Me Mister. He also appeared in other plays and operas. He studied with famous music teachers to improve his skills.
His first big solo concert, called a recital debut, was in New York's Town Hall in 1950. Soon after, he was invited to tour Australia and perform 35 concerts.
In 1952, Warfield performed in the famous opera Porgy and Bess during a tour of Europe. This tour was sponsored by the U.S. State Department, which handles relations with other countries. He made six tours for the State Department, more than any other American solo artist. In Porgy and Bess, he performed alongside opera star Leontyne Price. They later married, but their busy careers made it hard for them to spend time together, and they divorced in 1972. However, they did record parts of Porgy and Bess together in 1963.
Teaching and Later Career
In 1975, William Warfield became a Professor of Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He later became the head of the Voice Department there. In 1994, he moved to Northwestern University's School of Music, where he taught until he passed away.
He was the first to sing the orchestral version of Aaron Copland's Old American Songs in 1955. These are well-known traditional American songs. He also sang in two recordings of Handel's famous work, "Messiah".
Acting and Television Appearances
William Warfield was also a talented actor and could recite poetry well. He played "The Lord" in a TV production called "The Green Pastures" for Hallmark Hall of Fame.
He appeared in two Hollywood movies. His most famous movie role was as Joe in the 1951 Technicolor remake of Show Boat. In this movie, he sang the famous song "Ol' Man River". His other film was Old Explorers (1990), where he had a small, special appearance, called a cameo role, as a tugboat captain.
Warfield also appeared on TV shows like The Colgate Comedy Hour and The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1961, he was a soloist on an episode of the Young People's Concerts, led by Leonard Bernstein.
In 1984, he won a Grammy Award for "Spoken Word" for his excellent narration of Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait. This musical piece includes spoken words about Abraham Lincoln. In the 1990s, he narrated a special jazz version of music from Show Boat on the radio show Riverwalk Jazz.
From 1999 until his death in 2002, Warfield performed with two other baritone singers, Robert Sims and Benjamin Matthews, in a group called "Three Generations." They sang African-American spirituals and folk songs across the United States.
Later Years and Passing
Starting in 1962, William Warfield began to have some challenges with his singing voice. By 1966, his voice had become deeper. Even with these changes, he continued to sing and perform, finding new ways to express himself through music.
In his later years, he often narrated orchestral works, like Lincoln Portrait. He also performed in some roles that involved a style of singing that is like speaking, called sprechstimme. He continued to make stage and television appearances.
William Warfield passed away in Chicago in August 2002. He had been treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for injuries from a fall.
Organizations and Awards
William Warfield was involved in many organizations. He was very active with the National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) and served as its president for two terms. He also worked with the Schiller Institute. With vocal coach Sylvia Olden Lee, he worked to preserve the tradition of Negro spirituals, which are a type of religious folk song. They traveled the country holding singing workshops.
He was also an honorary member of the Delta Lambda chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a music fraternity. In 1976, he received the fraternity's Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award.
Legacy
The William Warfield Scholarship Fund was created in 1977. This fund helps young African American classical singers who study at the Eastman School of Music. His nephew, Thomas Warfield, leads this fund. Some famous singers who have received this scholarship include Claron McFadden and Nicole Cabell.
See also
In Spanish: William Warfield para niños
