William Tabbert (October 5, 1919 – October 18, 1974) was an American actor and singer primarily remembered as Lieutenant Joseph Cable in the original Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical '' South Pacific'', where he introduced the songs " Younger Than Springtime" and "

You've Got to Be Carefully Taught "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" (sometimes "You've Got to Be Taught" or "Carefully Taught") is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. ''South Pacific'' received scrutiny for its commentary regarding rel ...

Early life

Tabbert was born on October 5, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois,Social Security Death Index the second son of William Frank and Edith Victoria (née Johnson) Tabbert. His father was the son of German immigrants and supported his family working as a railroad engineer. His mother was the daughter of Swedish immigrants who had settled in Minnesota during the 1880s.1900-1910-1920-1930 US Census records By 1930, though both their parents were still alive, William and his older brother Spencer were residents of Lawrence Hall, a Chicago institution that sheltered homeless and orphaned boys. Spencer would go on to serve in the army during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, while a bout of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

ended William's brief military service.

Career

Tabbert's road to Broadway began during his senior year at Chicago's

Hirsch Metropolitan High School Emil G. Hirsch Metropolitan High School (formerly known as Emil G. Hirsch Metropolitan High School of Communications) is a public 4–year high school located in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, Unit ...

when he won a three-year scholarship sponsored by the '' Chicago Daily Tribune'' to study grand opera with soprano Anna Fitziu. During his high school years Tabbert was active as a baritone singer at school events and as a contestant in several community talent contests. After his graduation in 1939 Tabbert supported himself as he studied music by performing small parts with the

Chicago Civic Opera The Civic Opera Company (1922–1931) was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theatre from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financia ...

Company and singing at local area night spots.''The New York Times'', October 22, 1974 In 1941 Tabbert married dancer Evelyn Rainey and began to think about expanding his career. The war intervened though, forcing him to put his plans on hold until after being discharged from the army and recovering his health. Broadway during the war, like most other war era industries, was suffering a manpower shortage which, starting in 1943, opened the door for Tabbert to appear in musicals like, '' What's Up?'', ''

Follow the Girls ''Follow the Girls'' is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton, Eddie Davis and Fred Thompson and music and lyrics by Dan Shapiro, Milton Pascal, and Phil Charig. A major wartime hit in both New York City and London, its thin plot about a burlesque ...

'', ''Seven Lively Arts'', ''

Billion Dollar Baby ''Billion Dollar Baby'' is a musical with the book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and the score by Morton Gould. Comden and Green were fresh from their success with '' On the Town'', and the production team was something of an ''On ...

'' and ''

Three to Make Ready 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...

''. After the success of the long running ''South Pacific'', Tabbert returned to singing at night clubs and appeared regularly on radio and television shows such as ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'', ''

The Voice of Firestone ''The Voice of Firestone'' was a radio and television program of classical music. The show featured leading singers in selections from opera and operetta. Originally titled ''The Firestone Hour'', it was first broadcast on the NBC Radio network ...

'' and ''

Armstrong Circle Theater ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with ''The U.S. Steel Hour''. It fini ...

''. In 1954 he hosted the Bill Tabbert Show for ABC television and that same year made his final Broadway appearance in '' Fanny'' with Ezio Pinza, Walter Slezak and Florence Henderson.IBDb.com Of his performance, critic Brooks Atkinson wrote: "Mr. Tabbert pours his familiar vitality into a sort of sea spiritual called "Restless Heart" and a song of despair entitled "Fanny". Tabbert was a regular performer at summer evening concerts held at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

's Lewisohn Stadium and in musical theatrical production performed across the country.

Death

Bill Tabbert died of a massive brain hemorrhage on October 18, 1974, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

while rehearsing for an upcoming show. He was only fifty-five and was survived by his wife (Evelyn Rainey Tabbert), 2 sons (William "Billy" Tabbert and Christopher Tabbert), daughter (Caprice Tabbert), father (William Frank Tabbert), brother (Spencer Tabbert) and grand-daughter (Christina Renee). His mother (Edith Tabbert) had passed away two years earlier.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tabbert, William 1919 births 1974 deaths American male stage actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singers Male actors from Chicago Singers from Chicago American people of German descent American people of Swedish descent 20th-century American male singers