Howard Warren Marsh (August 16, 1888 – August 7, 1969) was a leading

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

tenor of the 1920s.

Biography

Howard Marsh was born in Bluffton, Indiana on August 16, 1888. He attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, where he was a member of the fraternity

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...

. He created the role of Baron Franz Schober (not Franz Schubert) in Sigmund Romberg's operetta drawn from Schubert's life and music, '' Blossom Time'', in 1921, and that of Prince Karl Franz in the original 1924 production of

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly '' The Student Prince'' (1924), '' The Desert Song'' (1926) and '' The New Moon'' (1928). E ...

's operetta ''

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play '' Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a score with some of Romberg's most enduri ...

''. Marsh also played Gaylord Ravenal in the original 1927 Broadway production of

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) 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 ...

and

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

's ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

''. He played Ravenal only in the original production of ''

'', not in any of the revivals, and never appeared in films or on television. Despite appearing in three musical theatre smash hits over a span of seven years, Marsh made his last appearance in a new show in 1930, '' The Well of Romance'', opposite his ''

'' co-star,

Norma Terris Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid *Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

. After that, he appeared in major roles on Broadway in 1930's revivals of some

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

operettas. He made no recordings of the songs that he sang either in ''The Student Prince'' or ''Show Boat'', but he did record some of those Gilbert and Sullivan selections. None of his recordings has appeared on CD as yet. He died at

Monmouth Medical Center Monmouth Medical Center, in Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey, is one of New Jersey's largest community academic medical centers and is an academic affiliate of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of Rutgers University, and is a part of ...

in Long Branch, New Jersey on August 7, 1969.

References

External links

* American tenors 1888 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers Purdue University alumni {{US-singer-stub