Gladys Swarthout
Encyclopedia
Gladys Swarthout was an American mezzo-soprano
opera singer.
. Much to her surprise, she ended up with a contract, though at the time she didn't know a single operatic role. By her debut a few months later, she had memorized 23 parts and participated in over half of the season's operas. She sang for the Ravinia Opera Company of Chicago for three seasons. In 1929, she made her debut with the New York Metropolitan Opera Company, where she was a participant for several decades. She regularly worked eight hours a day with vocal coaches, and would spend an hour or more singing duets with her husband. She also advocated inflating balloons and blowing bubbles to strengthen the chest.
She starred in five films for Paramount Pictures
, including Rose of the Rancho
, Romance in the Dark
, Give Us This Night
and Ambush. For the movie Champagne Waltz with Fred MacMurray
, she sang her songs in five languages, including French, German, Italian, and Spanish for the foreign versions of the films. Swarthout also performed on a number of opera shows on television. In one of her final public singing performances, she did a concert in January 1951 at the Met. She continued to make public appearances, including an appearance on What's My Line?
in 1951. The Railroad Hour presented Martha on February 22, 1954. She was often heard on radio programs, including those of General Motors, RCA-Magic Key, Camel Caravan, the Ford Symphony and the Prudential Family Hour. In a 1942 article, Time Magazine reported that she had earned $1,250,000 in her lifetime. One of her signature songs on the radio was Bless this House featured in advertising and commonly found framed in many homes throughout America. Shortly after World War II Swarthout recorded "Just Awearyin' for You" (w. 1894 by Frank Lebby Stanton
, m. 1901 by Carrie Jacobs-Bond
).
She received an honorary Doctor of Music degree, and is the only woman to have sung for the entire assembled Congress of the United States. She also sang for the Diplomatic Corps, Supreme Court and the President on the occasion of the 150th Session of Congress.
. She was the first wife of TV anchorman Mike Wallace
.
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
opera singer.
Career
While studying at the Bush Conservatory of Music in Chicago, a group of friends arranged an audition for her with the Chicago Civic Opera CompanyChicago Civic Opera
The Civic Opera Company was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theater from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financial difficulties brought on in part by the Great Depression.-...
. Much to her surprise, she ended up with a contract, though at the time she didn't know a single operatic role. By her debut a few months later, she had memorized 23 parts and participated in over half of the season's operas. She sang for the Ravinia Opera Company of Chicago for three seasons. In 1929, she made her debut with the New York Metropolitan Opera Company, where she was a participant for several decades. She regularly worked eight hours a day with vocal coaches, and would spend an hour or more singing duets with her husband. She also advocated inflating balloons and blowing bubbles to strengthen the chest.
She starred in five films for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, including Rose of the Rancho
Rose of the Rancho
Rose of the Rancho is a 1914 Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film cost $16,988 to make, and grossed $87,028.-Plot:Esra Kincaid takes land by force and, having taken the Espinoza land, his sights are set on the Castro rancho...
, Romance in the Dark
Romance in the Dark
Romance in the Dark is a 1938 film directed by H. C. Potter and starring Gladys Swarthout, John Boles, John Barrymore, and Claire Dodd....
, Give Us This Night
Give us this night
After being introduced to the world of opera, a fisherman falls for a woman whose guardian is a noted composer . They met when the fisherman evaded the police by seeking refuge in the village church. While there they are each captivated by hearing the other singing mass...
and Ambush. For the movie Champagne Waltz with Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
, she sang her songs in five languages, including French, German, Italian, and Spanish for the foreign versions of the films. Swarthout also performed on a number of opera shows on television. In one of her final public singing performances, she did a concert in January 1951 at the Met. She continued to make public appearances, including an appearance on What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
in 1951. The Railroad Hour presented Martha on February 22, 1954. She was often heard on radio programs, including those of General Motors, RCA-Magic Key, Camel Caravan, the Ford Symphony and the Prudential Family Hour. In a 1942 article, Time Magazine reported that she had earned $1,250,000 in her lifetime. One of her signature songs on the radio was Bless this House featured in advertising and commonly found framed in many homes throughout America. Shortly after World War II Swarthout recorded "Just Awearyin' for You" (w. 1894 by Frank Lebby Stanton
Frank Lebby Stanton
Frank Lebby Stanton—born February 22, 1857 in Charleston, South Carolina, died January 7, 1927 in Atlanta, Georgia, and frequently credited as Frank L. Stanton, Frank Stanton or F. L...
, m. 1901 by Carrie Jacobs-Bond
Carrie Jacobs-Bond
Carrie Minetta Jacobs-Bond was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter who composed some 175 pieces of popular sheet music from the 1890s through the early 1940s....
).
She received an honorary Doctor of Music degree, and is the only woman to have sung for the entire assembled Congress of the United States. She also sang for the Diplomatic Corps, Supreme Court and the President on the occasion of the 150th Session of Congress.
Relationships
Swarthout first married Harry Kern of Chicago, an older man who was general credit manager for the Hart-Schaffner Marx Company, but she still retained her maiden name for her singing appearances. Kern died in 1931. Swarthout later married Frank M. Chapman, Jr. (1931); the two had first met in an opera house in Naples two years earlier. In addition to their common interest in singing, they enjoyed collecting French furniture, many examples of which can be seen in their photographs together. She once said, "Our marriage started as a romantic adventure. We intend to keep it that way." She collected silver and they had several dogs. It was also Chapman's second marriage. His daughter Patricia Chapman used the stage name of Buff CobbBuff Cobb
Buff Cobb was an American actress and, with then-husband Mike Wallace, host of one of television's first talk shows.-Early life and career:...
. She was the first wife of TV anchorman Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
.
Later life
In 1956, Swarthout was diagnosed with a mitral heart valve problem. She eventually decided to undergo open heart surgery; she was on the operating table for six hours. Later, she began a campaign to ensure that parents knew the dangers of unsuspected rheumatic fever. In 1958, Dr. Paul Dudley White presented her with the American Heart Association's very first "Heart-of-the-Year" Award, to be given annually to a distinguished American whose faith and courage in meeting the personal challenge of heart disease have inspired new hope for hearts. She wrote about her decision in When the Song Left My Heart, an article in the October 1958 Everywoman's Family Circle. As she went into retirement, she and Frank bought a villa in Italy, La Ragnaia, near Florence, where they lived together until Chapman's death. She died on July 7, 1969, aged 68, in Florence from the previously diagnosed heart disease.Further reading
- "When the Song Left My Heart", article in Everywoman's Family Circle magazine, October 1958 by Gladys Swarthout.