William Warfield

Born on 22 January 1920 in West Helena, Arkansas, and passing away on 25 August 2002 in Chicago, Illinois, William Warfield grew up in Rochester, New York. From an early age he pursued intensive vocal training and later received a degree from the Eastman School of Music. During World War II he served in military intelligence, drawing on his fluency in German, before landing a part in the touring production of Call Me Mister, the Broadway musical that had opened in 1946. Fellow cast members on that road company included Buddy Hackett, Carl Reiner, and Bob Fosse. Although he appeared in stage musicals, occasional films, television programs, and opera, Warfield devoted most of his career to the concert stage. His supple, resonant baritone lent itself to a wide range of repertory, and he became especially noted for performances of gospel music and German lieder. In 1950 he made his New York recital debut at Town Hall, after which he undertook a highly successful Australian tour. He next traveled to Hollywood to portray Joe in the 1951 film version of Jerome Kern’s Show Boat, delivering a memorable account of “Ol’ Man River.” Two years later he took the title role in a State Department-sponsored production of Porgy and Bess that played 142 performances in London, appearing opposite soprano Leontyne Price, whom he married. On television he twice portrayed De Lawd in Marc Connelly’s The Green Pastures, first in 1957 and again in 1959. Among the many honors Warfield received was a Grammy Award in the Spoken Word category for his narration of Aaron Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait in 1984. Late-career highlights included a 1995 Carnegie Hall recital benefiting the Duke Ellington Cancer Center and a 1999 national tour of African-American folk songs shared with baritones Benjamin Matthews and Robert Sims. He also maintained a strong commitment to music education, working in particular with the Schiller Institute on its National Conservatory of Music Movement.