Trivia

Father of director Larry Peerce.

Opera singer who also sang popular and stage music.

He was one of Arturo Toscanini's favorite tenors. His career lasted well into his '70s; at the age of 59, he made what was at that time considered the finest stereo recording of Sigmund Romberg's "The Student Prince", believably singing the leading role of the young "Prince Karl Franz".

One of the great voices of the Metropolitan Opera, he made his debut with the company in 1941, remaining one of the company's star tenors over the next 19 years.

Arturo Toscanini once asked him where his ancestors came from. When Peerce replied that they were from Russia and Poland, Toscanini said, "Impossible! They must have come through Italy on the way from Russia!".

Brother-in-law of fellow Metropolitan Opera tenor Richard Tucker, with whom he had a personal and professional rivalry for many years.

Made his Broadway debut in late 1971, at the age of 67, succeeding Paul Lipson in the role of "Tevye" in "Fiddler on the Roof" to uniformally excellent reviews. He had made a recording of the songs from the play for the Vanguard label four years earlier, singing the words in Yiddish.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 633-635. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.

Made a triumphant Metropolitan Opera debut on a broadcast performance of November 29, 1941, singing "Alfredo" in Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata". Although he shone in a cast that also included Jarmila Novotna and Lawrence Tibbett, it was decided not to tell the already nervous young man that the scheduled conductor, Gennaro Papi, had died suddenly, earlier that day. He found out when he saw Héctor Panizza in the pit, instead.

Ex-father-in-law of Marilyn Hassett.

Upon his death, his remains were interred at Mount Eden Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York.

A prolific recording artist, primarily for RCA Victor and Vanguard, his biggest hit as a recording artist was "Bluebird of Happiness" (RCA Victor Red Seal: 1945), in which he not only sang but contributed an elegantly sentimental verse reading in the middle of the song.