Ezio Pinza Biography

Fast Facts

• Won a Tony Award for Best Actor in 1950 for his role in "South Pacific․"
• Left his imprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater in 1953
• Served in the military for four years during World War I
• Started his opera career in his native Italy in 1914
• His romantic lead role in the Broadway musical comedy "South Pacific" helped him transition into popular music
• Sang opposite such celebrated singers as Amelita Galli-Curci, Rosa Ponselle, Elisabeth Rethberg, Giovanni Martinelli, Beniamino Gigli, Lawrence Tibbett, Giusepe De Luca and Salvatore Baccaloni
• A Metropolitan Opera basso, he gained acclaim in opera houses on either side of the Atlantic
• All the water fountains at the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center are dedicated to him
• Never learned to sight-read musical scores, but would listen to his part played on a piano, then sing it accurately
• Appeared on the cover of "Life" magazine in September 1950