Robert Merrill

Robert Merrill, born Moishe Miller on June 4, 1917, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, was an American operatic baritone, actor, and musical theatre performer. He died on October 23, 2004, at his home in New Rochelle, New York. His father, Abraham Miller, originally Milstein, was a tailor, and both his parents were Jewish immigrants from Pultusk, Poland, near Warsaw. His mother, Lillian, née Balaban, encouraged her son toward early voice training; Merrill had a stutter that did not manifest when he sang. His decision to pursue professional vocal study was sparked by witnessing baritone Richard Bonelli perform the role of Count Di Luna in Verdi's Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera. He financed those lessons through earnings as a semi-professional pitcher.

In his earliest radio appearances as a crooner, Merrill was sometimes billed as Merrill Miller. While performing at bar mitzvahs, weddings, and Borscht Belt resorts, he connected with agent Moe Gale, who secured him engagements at Radio City Music Hall and with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. With Toscanini conducting, Merrill participated in two NBC Symphony broadcasts of complete operas: La traviata with Licia Albanese in 1946, and Un ballo in maschera with Herva Nelli in 1954, both of which were recorded and released by RCA Victor on LP and later on CD. His standing as a prominent NBC personality was reflected by his inclusion in the network's 1947 promotional publication, NBC Parade of Stars.

Merrill made his operatic debut in 1944 in Verdi's Aida at Newark, New Jersey, alongside tenor Giovanni Martinelli. The following year, after continuing vocal studies under Samuel Margolis, he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air and made his Met debut as Germont in La traviata in 1945. That same year he recorded a 78 rpm album with Jeanette MacDonald featuring selections from the operetta Up in Central Park, on which the two sang duets together. In 1951, he recorded a series of operatic duets with Swedish tenor Jussi Björling for RCA Victor, among them a celebrated account of "Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles. Also in 1951, he appeared on a widely noted RCA Victor recording of Bizet's Carmen with Risë Stevens and Jan Peerce, conducted by Fritz Reiner. The following year, Merrill, Björling, and Victoria de los Ángeles recorded Puccini's La bohème for RCA Victor under Sir Thomas Beecham, and in 1953 the same trio, joined by Zinka Milanov, recorded the complete Pagliacci and Cavalleria rusticana.

His appearance in the musical comedy film Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick in 1952 precipitated a conflict with Met general manager Sir Rudolf Bing and a brief departure from the company in 1951. Following the on-stage death of baritone Leonard Warren in 1960, Merrill became the Met's principal baritone, a position he later shared with Cornell MacNeil. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he performed Italian operatic arias under conductor Alfredo Antonini at the open-air Italian Night concert series at Lewisohn Stadium in New York City. Merrill retired from the Metropolitan Opera in 1976, after a career spanning more than three decades with the company.

On Broadway, Merrill appeared in Fiddler on the Roof in 1969. His connection to the show's signature song extended beyond the stage: in 1977, he appeared on the television special Sinatra and Friends, where he performed "If I Were a Rich Man" as a solo and joined Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in "The Oldest Established Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York." He also continued performing in nightclubs, recitals, and on radio and television throughout his later career. In 1973, he and tenor Richard Tucker presented a joint concert at Carnegie Hall, an event Merrill later recalled as a precedent that contributed to the eventual emergence of the Three Tenors concerts. For many years he also led High Holiday services, frequently at Borscht Belt hotels, on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

Merrill became closely associated with Yankee Stadium, where he first sang the national anthem to open the 1967 baseball season. The tradition of his returning for Opening Day and special occasions continued for years, and he sang at Old Timer's Days wearing a pinstriped Yankee uniform bearing the number "1½" on the back. He performed at the pre-game ceremony honoring catcher Thurman Munson at Yankee Stadium on August 3, 1979, the day after Munson's death in a plane crash, and sang at one World Series game each year the Yankees played the Fall Classic at the stadium beginning in 1976. A recorded version of his national anthem performance continued to be used at Yankee Stadium at Old Timer's Day, and in 2021 the Yankees replaced a live organ version of "God Bless America" with Merrill's recording. He also appeared opposite Adam Sandler in a scene performing the anthem in the 2003 film Anger Management.

Among the honors Merrill received, he was awarded the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit on February 16, 1981, a distinction first given in 1964 to individuals who have made significant contributions to the world of music. In 1993, he received the National Medal of Arts. In 1996, at a reception at Lincoln Center, the AGMA Relief Fund presented him with the Lawrence Tibbett Award in recognition of fifty years of professional achievement and dedication to colleagues.

In his personal life, Merrill married soprano Roberta Peters in 1952; the marriage ended in divorce shortly afterward. He had two children with his second wife, Marion Machno, a pianist. He was a member of the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, and enjoyed golf. Merrill wrote two memoirs, Once More from the Beginning in 1965 and Between Acts in 1976, and co-authored a novel, The Divas, in 1978. He toured internationally with his arranger and conductor Angelo DiPippo, who wrote most of his concert act.