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Lawrence Tibbett

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (November 16, 1896-July 15, 1960)
    Born in Bakersfield, California
    Birth name was Lawrence Mervil Tibbet
    Baritone
    Sang lead with the New York Metropolitan Opera more than 600 times (1923-50)
    Notable roles included Tonio in ‘Pagliacci,’ Ford in ‘Falstaff,’ Iago in ‘Otello,’ Escamillo in ‘Carmen,’ Germont in ‘La Traviata’ and Scarpia in ‘Tosca’
    Appeared in the films ‘The Rogue Song’ (1930), ‘New Moon’ (1930), ‘The Cuban Love Song’ (1931), ‘Metropolitan’ (1935) and ‘Under Your Spell’ (1936)
    Appeared on Broadway in ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’ (1939-41) and ‘Fanny’ (1954-56)

Why he might be annoying:

    He added an extra ‘t’ to his last name for no apparent reason.
    He appeared in blackface in an opera based on Eugene O’Neill’s ‘The Emperor Jones.’
    During rehearsals of the opera ‘Caponsacchi,’ he accidentally stabbed Joseph Sterzini in the hand with a prop dagger; Sterzini died of complications from surgery to repair the resulting gash (1937).
    In the 1940s, his voice deteriorated, partly due to heavy drinking.
    He died in a drunken fall in his apartment, slipping on a rug and hitting his head against a TV set.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was six when his father, a deputy sheriff, was killed by a bandit.
    He was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor for his film debut in ‘The Rogue Song.’
    In its prime, his voice was powerful and remarkably flexible.
    He was the first singer to receive the gold medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1933).
    Accused of hamminess in his performances, he replied ‘The school of understatement is no more real than the school of overstatement. They are simply different sets of conventions.’
    Unlike many opera singers, who tend to be built like Pavarotti, he was described as having a ‘manly chest and Greek torso.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 155 Votes: 52.90% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 32 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 137 Votes: 62.04% Annoying