John McCormack
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article concerns the Irish tenor. For the U.S. political leader, see John William McCormack.
John McCormack (14 June 1884 - 16 September 1945), was a world-famous Irish tenor in the fields of opera and popular music, and renowned for his flawless diction and superb breath control.
John Francis McCormack was born in Athlone, Ireland, the fourth of eleven children of Andrew and Hannah Watson on 14 June 1884, and was baptised in St. Mary's Church, Athlone on 23 June 1884. His father was employed in Athlone Woollen Mills.
John received his early education from the Marist Brothers in Athlone, and later attended Summerhill College, Sligo. In 1903 he won the coveted gold medal in the Dublin Feis Ceoil and it was this event which set him on his climb to success. John married Lily Foley in 1906 and the couple had two children, Cyril and Gwen.
Fundraising enabled his voice to be trained under Sabbatini in Italy. In 1907 John McCormack made his first important operatic appearance at Covent Garden in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. By 1912 he began to turn his attention to the concert stage, where his voice quality and charisma ensured that he became the greatest lyric tenor of his day.
He made numerous recordings, the first on phonograph cylinder in 1904. His most commercially successful series of records were those for the Victor Talking Machine Company in the 1910s and 1920s. He also regularly broadcast on the radio and appeared in a number of sound films.
McCormack was the first artist to record the World War One hit song It's a Long Way to Tipperary, in 1914. In addition to deeply felt sentimental airs, he presented an openly political face: his recording of The Wearing of the Green, a song about the Irish rebellion of 1798, gave encouragement to the 20th century movement for Irish Home Rule Bill and endorsed the Irish Nationalist estrangement from England that surfaced during the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916.
In 1917 McCormack became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
McCormack bought Runyon Canyon in Hollywood in 1930 from Carman Runyon. McCormack fell in love with the estate while there filming 'Song 0' My Heart' (1929), an early all-talking, all-singing picture. McCormack's used his salary for this movit to purchase the estate and built a mansion he called 'San Patrizio', after Saint Patrick. McCormack and his wife lived in the mansion until they returned to England in 1938. Remains of terraced gardens and buildings can be seen still below the Vista gates.
McCormack toured often, and in his absence the mansion was often rented out to celebrities such as Janet Gaynor and Charles Boyer. The McCormacks made many friends in Hollywood, among them Will Rogers, John Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, C. E. Toberman and the Dohenys. After his farewell tour of America in 1937, the McCormacks deeded the estate back to Carman Runyon expecting to return to the estate at a later date. World War II intervened and McCormack did not return. George Huntington Hartford II, heir to the $80 million A&P Grocery fortune, bought the property in 1942, moving into the mansion and renaming the estate 'The Pines'.
He was much honoured and decorated for his services to the world of music. His greatest honour came in 1928, when he received the title Count from Pope Pius XI in recognition of his work for Catholic charities. Although he often came to be referred to as "Count John McCormack" in his professional life, this title was officially recognised within only the Catholic Church.
To many people the highlight of McCormack's Irish career was his singing of César Franck's "Panis Angelicus" to the thousands who thronged Dublin's Phoenix Park for the 1932 Eucharistic Congress.
McCormack retired in 1944, and died the following year at his home in Glena, Booterstown, Dublin. He is buried in Deansgrange Cemetery.
[edit] Bibliography
The Great Irish Tenor: John McCormack, by Gordon T Ledbetter, Town House, 2003. ISBN 1-86059-178-7
