Marguerite Piazza obit

Marguerite Piazza Has Died

 

She was not on the list.

Opera Singer. A soprano, she followed her time on the operatic stage with a long career as a television and nightclub singer. Born Marguerite Luft, she was raised in New Orleans and studied music at Loyola University prior to training at Louisiana State University (LSU) with famed baritone Pasquale Amato. Marguerite made her 1944 debut at the New York City Opera as Nedda from Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci" and while there sang several other roles including Donna Elvira in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and Musetta of Puccini's "La Boheme" as well as the now little known title lead of Gian Carlo Menotti's "Amelia Goes to the Ball". She appeared with the New Orleans Opera Association in 1945 as Lady Harriet from Flotow's "Martha" and as Gretel of Humperdinck's "Hansel und Gretel" then in the late 1940s became a popular artist with Capitol Records and began 20 years of headlining at such major night spots The Sands in Las Vegas, Los Angeles' Coconut Grove, and both the Waldorf and the Plaza in New York. She made her 1951 Metropolitan Opera bow as Rosalinde from Johann Strauss II's "Die Fledermaus" and from 1950 thru 1954 was a regular on Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows" while appearing in Camel cigarette ads. A resident of Memphis from the early 1960s on, Marguerite survived melanoma in the late 1960s and uterine cancer in the early 1970s leading her to become a traveling spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society, work for which she was honored by President Nixon. A friend of Danny Thomas, she hosted the first of 35 Marguerite Piazza Galas for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in 1975 while for 27 straight years she sang the National Anthem at the Liberty Bowl. In 2007 she published an autobiography entitled "Pagliacci Has Nothing on Me"; at her death some of her recorded legacy remained available.

In 1920, Piazza was born as Marguerite Clair Lucille Luft. Piazza's parents were Albert William Luft, Jr. (c. 1897–September 12, 1923) and Margherita (née Piazza; c. 1900–1958, later known as Margaret), who wed on January 24, 1917. Around 1927, Piazza's mother Margaret Luft wed Reuben Davis Breland, whose surname Marguerite adopted.

Piazza was the first  Queen of the Krewe of Virgilians during Mardi Gras in her native New Orleans.

In 1944, she joined the New York City Opera, and was the youngest member of the company. Her first role was Nedda in Pagliacci, and in subsequent seasons appeared in La bohème (as Musetta), Der Zigeunerbaron, Don Giovanni (as Donna Elvira, in Theodore Komisarjevsky's production), and Amelia al ballo (as Amelia). She made her first appearance with the New Orleans Opera Association in Martha (in 1945), followed by Hänsel und Gretel (as Gretel), as well as the title role in Il segreto di Susanna. In 1950, Piazza made her Broadway debut, in Happy as Larry, with Burgess Meredith directing and starring in the title rôle, and Alexander Calder designing.

Actress

Shower of Stars (1954)

Shower of Stars

7.2

TV Series

Dorothy Meadows

1955

1 episode

 

Musical Comedy Time (1950)

Musical Comedy Time

6.6

TV Series

FifiMademoiselle Modiste

1951

1 episode

 

Nash Airflyte Theatre

5.8

TV Series

1950

1 episode

 

Your Show of Shows (1950)

Your Show of Shows

8.6

TV Series

Regular Performer (1950-1953)

1950–1954

 

The Earl Wrightson Show

TV Series

Guest performer

1950

1 episode

 

Soundtrack

Your Show of Shows (1950)

Your Show of Shows

8.6

TV Series

performer: "Excerpt from 'La bohème'" (uncredited)

1950

1 episode

 

Self

Miss Teen USA

TV Special

Self - Judge

1984

 

Elvis: Love Him Tender

TV Special

Self

1978

 

McLean and Company

TV Series

Self

1971

1 episode

 

Della (1969)

Della

8.9

TV Series

Self

1970

1 episode

 

Mike Douglas in The Mike Douglas Show (1961)

The Mike Douglas Show

7.0

TV Series

Self - Soprano

1964–1970

2 episodes

 

David Frost in The David Frost Show (1969)

The David Frost Show

7.1

TV Series

Self

1969

1 episode

 

Marty Allen, Dave Barry, George Jessel, and Martha Raye in George Jessel's Here Come the Stars (1968)

George Jessel's Here Come the Stars

TV Series

Self

1968

1 episode

 

The Joey Bishop Show (1967)

The Joey Bishop Show

7.1

TV Series

Self

1968

1 episode

 

The John Gary Show (1966)

The John Gary Show

7.0

TV Series

Self

1967

1 episode

 

Merv Griffin in The Merv Griffin Show (1962)

The Merv Griffin Show

6.6

TV Series

Self - Guest

1962–1967

4 episodes

 

Pat Boone in Pat Boone in Hollywood (1967)

Pat Boone in Hollywood

TV Series

Self

1967

1 episode

 

Dream Girl of '67 (1966)

Dream Girl of '67

5.9

TV Series

Self - Fashion Hostess

1967

10 episodes

 

Gypsy (1965)

Gypsy

7.7

TV Series

Self

1967

1 episode

 

The Woody Woodbury Show (1967)

The Woody Woodbury Show

8.0

TV Series

Self

1967

1 episode

 

The Pat Boone Show (1966)

The Pat Boone Show

6.1

TV Series

Self - singer

1966

2 episodes

 

Lucille Ball and Art Linkletter in House Party (1952)

House Party

6.9

TV Series

Self

1966

1 episode

 

Dean Martin in The Dean Martin Show (1965)

The Dean Martin Show

8.1

TV Series

Self

1966

1 episode

 

Danny Kaye in The Danny Kaye Show (1963)

The Danny Kaye Show

7.8

TV Series

Self

1965

1 episode

 

Virginia Graham in Girl Talk (1963)

Girl Talk

2.8

TV Series

Self

1965

1 episode

 

What's This Song? (1964)

What's This Song?

5.7

TV Series

Self

1965

1 episode

 

That Regis Philbin Show (1964)

That Regis Philbin Show

8.0

TV Series

Self

1964

1 episode

 

Johnny Carson in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

8.5

TV Series

Self - Guest

1964

1 episode

 

Jack Paar in The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar (1957)

The Jack Paar Program

8.3

TV Series

Self

1962–1964

2 episodes

 

The Keefe Brasselle Show

6.3

TV Series

Self - Guest

1963

1 episode

 

Hi Noon

TV Series

Self - Guest

1963

1 episode

 

Jack Paar in The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar (1957)

The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar

8.3

TV Series

Self

1961

5 episodes

 

The Garry Moore Show (1958)

The Garry Moore Show

6.9

TV Series

Self

1958

1 episode

 

Saturday Spectacular (1956)

Saturday Spectacular

5.4

TV Series

Self - Star

1958

1 episode

 

"Pantomime Quiz' Alan Young, Connie Hines c. 1958

Pantomime Quiz

7.9

TV Series

Self

1958

1 episode

 

Bruce Forsyth, Frankie Howerd, Des O'Connor, Jimmy Tarbuck, and Norman Wisdom in Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium (1955)

Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium

7.3

TV Series

Self

1958

1 episode

 

The Guy Mitchell Show

TV Series

Self

1957

1 episode

 

The Jonathan Winters Show (1956)

The Jonathan Winters Show

8.1

TV Series

Self

1956

1 episode

 

The George Gobel Show (1954)

The George Gobel Show

7.2

TV Series

Self

1956

1 episode

 

Grand Ole Opry (1953)

Grand Ole Opry

8.6

TV Series

Self

1956

1 episode

 

I've Got a Secret (1952)

I've Got a Secret

7.9

TV Series

Self - Guest Star

1956

1 episode

 

The Milton Berle Show (1948)

The Milton Berle Show

7.5

TV Series

Self - Opera Singer

1953–1955

3 episodes

 

The Jimmy Durante Show (1954)

The Jimmy Durante Show

7.6

TV Series

Self - Opera Singer

1955

1 episode

 

Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)

The Ed Sullivan Show

7.9

TV Series

Self

1955

1 episode

 

Stage Show (1954)

Stage Show

6.0

TV Series

Self

1954

1 episode

 

Your Show of Shows (1950)

Your Show of Shows

8.6

TV Series

Self - singerSelf - Guest VocalistSelf - Vocalist ...

1950–1954

25 episodes

 

The Dave Garroway Show (1953)

The Dave Garroway Show

TV Series

Self

1954

1 episode

 

Who Said That?

5.2

TV Series

Self - First Person

1953

1 episode

 

Coke Time (1953)

Coke Time

7.2

TV Series

Self

1953

1 episode

 

Roll Up Your Sleeves

TV Special

Self

1952

 

The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue (1949)

The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue

4.6

TV Series

Self

1951

1 episode

 

Treasury Bond Drive

TV Special

Self

1950

 

The Jacques Fray Music Room

TV Series

Self - singerSelf - Singer

1949

2 episodes