[Deathwatch] William Warfield , singer, 82

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Singer William Warfield Dead at 82
Tue Aug 27, 2:34 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - William Warfield, the bass-baritone who gave an
unmatched rendition of "Ol' Man River" in MGM's 1951 production of
"Show Boat" and repeated it in countless concerts thereafter, has died
at age 82, his family said on Tuesday. 

Warfield fell at his Chicago home and was being treated at a hospital
when he died on Sunday. He had performed in concert as recently as a
month ago. 

A voice teacher in Chicago in his later years, Warfield played opposite
soprano Leontyne Price -- to whom he was married from 1952 to 1972 --
in a heralded 1952 European tour of George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess."


He made his New York debut in 1950 at a time when there were few doors
open to black performers in the opera world. 

A Grammy award winner, he sold out Carnegie Hall in 1975 to mark his
25th year on stage.