Nelson Eddy

Nelson Eddy (born Nelson Ackerman Eddy on 1901‑06‑29 in Providence, Rhode Island) was an American baritone singer and film star whose career spanned more than four decades. He began his professional life working in an iron works and as a newspaper reporter before his vocal talent was discovered in a Philadelphia society theatrical in 1922, leading to a prize‑winning competition in 1924 that launched his opera appearances with the Philadelphia Civic Opera Company. By the late 1920s he had mastered a repertoire of over twenty‑eight operatic roles, ranging from Amonasro in Aida to Papageno in The Magic Flute, and he performed with the Savoy Company in Gilbert and Sullivan productions, earning a reputation as a versatile stage performer. Eddy’s break into Hollywood came in 1933 when he substituted for Lotte Lehmann at a Los Angeles concert, receiving eighteen curtain calls and immediate film offers; he signed with MGM and made his screen debut opposite Jeanette MacDonald in the 1935 hit Naughty Marietta, whose song “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life” became a gold record and cemented his status as a crossover star. Over the next decade he appeared in nineteen musical films, including classics such as Rose Marie, Maytime, The Girl of the Golden West and The Chocolate Soldier, often pairing his rich baritone with MacDonald’s soprano in duets that delighted both opera aficionados and teenage fans. In addition to his film work he maintained a thriving concert career, recorded more than 290 sides for RCA Victor and Columbia, and earned three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for film, recording and radio. Eddy also contributed to the war effort during World II, giving concerts for troops, serving as an air‑raid warden, and even conducting spy work thanks to his fluency in German. He married former actress Ann Denitz Franklin in 1939; the couple had no children. Nelson Eddy’s life ended abruptly on 1967‑03‑06 when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while performing in Miami Beach, but his recordings, films and the legacy of a true baritone‑pop crossover continue to influence singers and movie lovers today.