Who Am I? October 2019

I was born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, at the tail end of the “Roaring Twenties” to two Jewish immigrant parents. My mom, Sonia (Shirley), was a musician from Odessa and my dad, Morris, was an insurance broker who was born in Romania.

I graduated from P.S.91 and attended both Erasmus H.S. and the Manhattan Professional Children’s School. I had a high I.Q. (155!) and did well enough in school especially in math and music but my interests and ambition took me to places other than the halls of academia.

My mom was an inveterate stage mom who had visions of me becoming the Jewish Shirley Temple. She pushed me to perform professionally before the age of 4 on radio where I actually landed a job. At age 7 I was a winner on Major Bowe’s Amateur Hour on CBS. Dad hooked me up with a terrific vocal coach when I was 9 and that nice and talented lady remained my only vocal coach for the next 30 years or so.

When my dad died I took jobs in nightclubs to pay the bills and then I spent about 10 years “making my bones” singing soprano with touring opera companies. It wasn’t until age 36 that I gave performances abroad where I got to perform at Convent Garden, La Scala and the Vienna State Opera. In 1955 I sang ‘Aida’ under the conductor William Schroeder with the Philharmonic Society of Great Paterson. I got nice write-ups following my performances in both the Morning Call and the Paterson Evening News. I had to wait until I was in my mid-40’s for my Met debut but I soon made up for lost time.

For those of you who aren’t opera fans you may know me only as a talk show guest. I’m told that I have an easy manner, a warm personality, and a gift for comic timing. I don’t put on airs and I’m not above using self-deprecating humor. Happily, I am also considered to be telegenic. I’ve appeared on Johnny Carson, Dinah, Merv, and the Dick Cavett shows. I’ve guest-hosted for Johnny and won an Emmy for my own TV show. Some think of me as being a spokesperson for the arts.

I was an able administrator and fundraiser. I served for a time as Chairwoman of the Met which I helped restore to a more secure financial footing. I promoted the ideas of subtitles and sign language to make opera more understandable and accessible to new audiences.

Perhaps because of the fact that I had 2 children with disabilities I devoted a lot of my time and energy to charity work. I have served as Chairwoman of both the March of Dimes and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

I have won honorary doctorates and rewards but I am especially proud of winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Kennedy Center Honors. President Reagan invited me to sing at the White House. I even have my own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That’s me in the photo below.

(1a) Who Am I? (1b)What is my nickname and how did I get it? (2a)Who was my long-time vocal coach? (2b)What radio show did I first appear on? (3)What was my connection to the ‘Cleveland Plain Dealer’? (4a)Which cover of ‘Time’ featured me as “America’s Queen of Opera?” (4b) What TV show of mine earned me an Emmy? (5)Where is my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?