Kenneth Lee Spencer
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Lee Spencer was an American opera singer and actor. A talented bass-baritone
, Spencer starred in a few Broadway musicals and musical films in the United States during the 1940s. Frustrated with the racial prejudice he experienced in the United States, Spencer moved to Germany in 1950 where he had a successful opera and concert career. He also appeared in a number of German films. His career was cut short when he died in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 304
.
, California
, the son of a steel worker. He took private vocal lessons while working as a gardener, and eventually caught the attention of the tenor
Roland Hayes
who helped him to get a scholarship at the Eastman School of Music
. After graduating in 1938, Spencer tried to get a performing career going but met many obstacles due to racial prejudice in the United States. In 1940 he was cast in a small role in the short lived Broadway musical John Henry
. This was followed by his professional recital debut in 1941 at New York City's Town Hall
.
During the early 1940s Spencer made his first major successes as a concert artist and a radio performer in California. This led to his being cast in significant parts in two MGM films in 1943, the musical film Cabin in the Sky
where he shared the screen with Ethel Waters
, Lena Horne
, and Louis Armstrong
, and the war movie Bataan. Spencer also sang the ballad in A Walk in the Sun (1945). He returned to Broadway to portray Joe in the critically acclaimed 1946 revival of Jerome Kern
's Show Boat
.
In 1949 Spencer's life changed after performing in Europe for the first time at the International Music Festival in Nice
. The European public responded with enthusiasm to his performance and he was soon getting offers to perform all over Europe. It was the first time that Spencer experienced a working environment and culture that was not hindered by racial prejudice. In 1950 he returned to Europe to sing in a number of radio broadcasts with the Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française
and perform in several highly lauded concerts in Berlin, including performances with the Berlin Philharmonic. Spencer was so enamored with the German public and frustrated with the meager opportunities he found as a black artist in America that he moved his family to Wuppertal
, West Germany
in late 1950.
Spencer spent the next 14 years in Germany performing in concerts, operas, and plays. He also appeared in a few German films. His ability to perform not only Spirituals and classical music, but also folk songs in their original languages (French, German, Italian, Russian, Hebrew) won him much popularity in France and post-war Germany. He made a number of recordings with Columbia Masterworks Records
during the 1950s and 1960s which consisted of classical music, spirituals, and folk songs.
Spencer died in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 304
. The plane crashed into Lake Pontchartrain
after leaving the New Orleans International Airport on 25 February 1964.
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
, Spencer starred in a few Broadway musicals and musical films in the United States during the 1940s. Frustrated with the racial prejudice he experienced in the United States, Spencer moved to Germany in 1950 where he had a successful opera and concert career. He also appeared in a number of German films. His career was cut short when he died in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 304
Eastern Air Lines Flight 304
Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 was a Douglas DC-8 flying from New Orleans International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport that crashed on February 25, 1964. All 51 passengers and 7 crew were killed...
.
Life
Spencer was born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the son of a steel worker. He took private vocal lessons while working as a gardener, and eventually caught the attention of the tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Roland Hayes
Roland Hayes
Roland Hayes was a lyric tenor and is considered the first African American male concert artist to receive wide international acclaim as well as at home...
who helped him to get a scholarship at the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
. After graduating in 1938, Spencer tried to get a performing career going but met many obstacles due to racial prejudice in the United States. In 1940 he was cast in a small role in the short lived Broadway musical John Henry
John Henry (musical)
John Henry was a 1940 original Broadway musical based on the 1931 novel John Henry by Roark Bradford. The libretto was written by Bradford, with music composed by Jacques Wolfe....
. This was followed by his professional recital debut in 1941 at New York City's Town Hall
The Town Hall
The Town Hall is a performance space, located at 123 West 43rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, in New York City. It seats approximately 1,500 people.-History:...
.
During the early 1940s Spencer made his first major successes as a concert artist and a radio performer in California. This led to his being cast in significant parts in two MGM films in 1943, the musical film Cabin in the Sky
Cabin in the Sky
Cabin in the Sky is a 1943 American musical film with music by Vernon Duke, lyrics by John La Touche, and a musical book by Lynn Root. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 25, 1940. It closed on March 8, 1941 after a total of 156 performances...
where he shared the screen with Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
, Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, and the war movie Bataan. Spencer also sang the ballad in A Walk in the Sun (1945). He returned to Broadway to portray Joe in the critically acclaimed 1946 revival of Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
's Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
.
In 1949 Spencer's life changed after performing in Europe for the first time at the International Music Festival in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
. The European public responded with enthusiasm to his performance and he was soon getting offers to perform all over Europe. It was the first time that Spencer experienced a working environment and culture that was not hindered by racial prejudice. In 1950 he returned to Europe to sing in a number of radio broadcasts with the Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française was the French national public broadcasting organization established on 9 February 1949 to replace the post-war "Radiodiffusion Française" , which had been founded in 1945...
and perform in several highly lauded concerts in Berlin, including performances with the Berlin Philharmonic. Spencer was so enamored with the German public and frustrated with the meager opportunities he found as a black artist in America that he moved his family to Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...
, West Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in late 1950.
Spencer spent the next 14 years in Germany performing in concerts, operas, and plays. He also appeared in a few German films. His ability to perform not only Spirituals and classical music, but also folk songs in their original languages (French, German, Italian, Russian, Hebrew) won him much popularity in France and post-war Germany. He made a number of recordings with Columbia Masterworks Records
Columbia Masterworks Records
Columbia Masterworks Records was a record label started in 1927 by Columbia Records.It was intended for releases of classical music and artists, as opposed to popular music, which bore the regular Columbia logo. Masterworks Records' first release, in 1927, was a complete performance of the...
during the 1950s and 1960s which consisted of classical music, spirituals, and folk songs.
Spencer died in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 304
Eastern Air Lines Flight 304
Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 was a Douglas DC-8 flying from New Orleans International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport that crashed on February 25, 1964. All 51 passengers and 7 crew were killed...
. The plane crashed into Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
after leaving the New Orleans International Airport on 25 February 1964.