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In 1920, Piazza was born as
Marguerite Clair Lucille Luft. Piazza's parents were Albert William Luft, Jr. (c. 1897–September 12, 1923) and Margherita (née Piazza; c. 1900–1958, later known as Margaret), who wed on January 24, 1917. Around 1927, Piazza's mother Margaret Luft wed Reuben Davis Breland,
491:"Photo: Anthem tradition at Liberty Bowl Marguerite Piazza sings the national anthem at the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 23, 1978. She started 27 Liberty Bowl football games by singing the anthem. Missouri beat LSU 20 - 15 in this one. - Memphis, TN"
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291:. In the 1960s she endured three melanoma-related operations, and in the 1970s was treated successfully for uterine cancer. In 1971, the soprano was honored by then President
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Piazza was married four times. She was widowed three times and divorced once. She had six children; one of her sons died by suicide. Marguerite Piazza died in
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NOTE: Piazza's year of birth had traditionally been given as 1926, but census records and genealogy sites later disproved that year.
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Ancestry.com records of
Marguerite Luft's parents, stepfather (subscription required; free for first 14 days)
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Special
Collections & Archives, J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans
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277:, she embarked on a career in supper and night clubs, bringing her further acclaim as an entertainer.
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As a result of that production, the soprano was invited to join the cast of the NBC television program
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Piazza was celebrated for her extensive efforts regarding various charities, especially the annual
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321:. Piazza's autobiography (co-authored with her daughter, Marguerite Bonnett),
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Public Papers of the
Presidents of the United States: Richard M. Nixon, 1971
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in 2016, becoming the first opera singer to be honored by the organization.
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174:, and was the youngest member of the company. Her first role was Nedda in
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She performed and was a noted philanthropist in her adopted hometown of
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The Devil Made Her: Opera Star
Marguerite Piazza and the Virgilians,
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Auction for the benefit of the St. Jude
Children's Research Hospital
349:, she adopted her mother's maiden name (Piazza) professionally.
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During the nineteen-fifties, Piazza was a paid spokeswoman for
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Piazza was the first Queen of the Krewe of
Virgilians during
389:"Soprano, fundraiser and Memphis icon Marguerite Piazza dies"
306:. She sang the national anthem at no fewer than twenty-seven
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Marguerite Piazza performing in
Memphis, Tennessee, in 1973
317:. On January 15, 1973, the Willis Music Company published
530:"Memphis Music Hall of Fame announces 2016 inductees"
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Death record with correct date of birth (May 6, 1920)
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Marguerite Piazza's
Christmas Carol Sing-Along Party
208:(as Amelia). She made her first appearance with the
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445:"Marguerite Piazza, Popular Singer of Opera, Dies"
114:(May 6, 1920 – August 2, 2012) was an American
240:directing and starring in the title rĂ´le, and
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375:, death-record.com; accessed March 24, 2014
224:(as Gretel), as well as the title role in
151:, where she was a student of the baritone
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295:for her courage in fighting the disease.
280:Piazza's personal papers are archived at
302:, where she was a longtime supporter of
265:in 1951, as Rosalinde von Eisenstein in
180:, and in subsequent seasons appeared in
16:American opera singer and philanthropist
655:American women television personalities
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421:"Marguerite Piazza Papers Finding Aid"
118:, entertainer and philanthropist from
588:Marguerite Piazza in an excerpt from
304:St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
261:(1950–54). She made her debut at the
147:'s College of Music. Piazza attended
143:In 1940, Piazza earned a degree from
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680:Loyola University New Orleans alumni
463:Nixon, Richard M. (1 January 1972).
645:American people of Italian descent
606:Great American Songbook Foundation
577:"Marguerite Piazza Tribute" (2012)
556:The "Mardi Gras Guide" (pamphlet).
135:whose surname Marguerite adopted.
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685:Louisiana State University alumni
650:American television personalities
469:. Best Books on. pp. 1252–.
333:). Piazza was inducted into the
675:Singers from Memphis, Tennessee
145:Loyola University of the South
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615:Loyola University New Orleans
282:Loyola University New Orleans
210:New Orleans Opera Association
88:Loyola University New Orleans
602:Marguerite Piazza Collection
323:Pagliacci Has Nothing on Me!
97:Opera singer, philanthropist
690:21st-century American women
228:. In 1950, Piazza made her
167:in her native New Orleans.
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640:American operatic sopranos
335:Memphis Music Hall of Fame
149:Louisiana State University
552:Marshall, Keith. (2013),
325:, was published in 2007 (
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665:Writers from New Orleans
660:Singers from New Orleans
611:Marguerite Piazza Papers
170:In 1944, she joined the
493:. The Commercial Appeal
391:. The Commercial Appeal
271:. Following the end of
218:(in 1945), followed by
670:Writers from Tennessee
315:Marguerite Piazza Gala
200:Theodore Komisarjevsky
226:Il segreto di Susanna
198:(as Donna Elvira, in
516:28 June 2006 at the
202:'s production), and
172:New York City Opera
547:Additional sources
443:Michael Schwirtz,
387:Bradley, Barbara.
354:Memphis, Tennessee
274:Your Show of Shows
263:Metropolitan Opera
250:Your Show of Shows
77:Memphis, Tennessee
567:Marguerite Piazza
476:978-1-62376-917-8
453:, August 7, 2012.
345:On the advice of
331:978-1-84728-394-8
221:Hänsel und Gretel
189:Der Zigeunerbaron
112:Marguerite Piazza
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289:Camel cigarettes
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268:Die Fledermaus
234:Happy as Larry
186:(as Musetta),
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308:Liberty Bowl
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259:Imogene Coca
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71:(2012-08-02)
635:2012 deaths
630:1920 births
120:New Orleans
55:New Orleans
51:May 6, 1920
624:Categories
535:2016-10-12
497:2012-08-03
395:2012-08-03
360:References
255:Sid Caesar
232:debut, in
165:Mardi Gras
130:Early life
47:1920-05-06
590:La bohème
183:La bohème
177:Pagliacci
139:Education
124:Louisiana
59:Louisiana
514:Archived
230:Broadway
102:Children
604:at the
597:YouTube
582:YouTube
300:Memphis
236:, with
116:soprano
592:(1950)
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329:
215:Martha
159:Career
424:(PDF)
571:IMDb
471:ISBN
327:ISBN
257:and
66:Died
41:Born
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580:on
569:at
212:in
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45:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
