Cosmé McMunn (February 22, 1901 – August 22, 1980), who used the name Cosmé McMoon, was an Irish-Mexican-American pianist and composer, best known as the accompanist to notably tone-deaf soprano

Florence Foster Jenkins Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. ...

.McKinnon, George
"Scene Changes for Two Stage Groups."
''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', August 31, 1980.

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

. Retrieved August 22, 2016. Thiollet, Jean-Pierre
Piano ma non solo: l'art de l'accompagnement.
Anagramme Editions, 2012. . p. 141. ''

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

.'' Retrieved August 22, 2016.

Life and career

McMoon was born as Cosmé McMunn in 1901 in Mapimí, Mexico, the son of Maria (Valadez) and Cosme McMunn. His paternal grandparents were Irish and his mother was of Mexican descent."Deaths: Cosmé McMunn."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', August 25, 1980. Retrieved August 22, 2016. He moved with his family to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, Texas, around 1911. He moved to New York City around 1920 to further his musical studies, and likely adopted the McMoon spelling around that time.(23 March 1936)
"Cosme McMoon's Recital."
''

'', March 23, 1936. (Reporting on McMoon's "first New York recital at the Town Hall" the previous night, which had "an audience of moderate size" in attendance. States he was born in Texas and educated there.) Jenkins met McMoon sometime in the 1920s, and knowing McMoon was a concert pianist, eventually asked him to help her prepare for her performances and accompany her. (transcript from rebroadcast of interview in 1991) Apart from giving occasional piano lessons, McMoon never achieved a career in music after Jenkins' death in 1944, and instead pursued a long interest in bodybuilding and judging bodybuilding contests. He was a master chess player and was fascinated with mathematics. He resided in New York City until shortly before his death in August 1980. McMoon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and moved back to San Antonio, and died two days after arriving. His remains were cremated and his ashes rest at Sunset Memorial Park in San Antonio. McMoon never married nor had any children.Taylor, Robert (9 September 1980)
Cosme McMoon: Man of Miracles
''

Legacy

McMoon was portrayed by actor Donald Corren in ''

Souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

'', a play about Florence Foster Jenkins' career, which ran on Broadway in 2005 and has since been staged in many regional theaters.Brantley, Ben
Review of Souvenir
''

''(7 May 2010)
When Singing So Bad Wasn’t So Good
''

'' He is portrayed in a Golden Globe-nominated performance by

Simon Helberg Simon Maxwell Helberg (born December 9, 1980) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Howard Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019), for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Sup ...

in the 2016 feature film about the life of Jenkins titled ''

''. He was also one of the characters in ''Glorious!'', 2005 stage comedy by

Peter Quilter Peter Quilter is a West End and Broadway playwright whose plays have been translated into 30 languages and performed in over 40 countries. He is best known for his Broadway play ''End of the Rainbow'', which was adapted for the Oscar-winning f ...

References

External links

*
Cosme McMoon at Allmusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMoon, Cosme Accompanists 1901 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American pianists Mexican emigrants to the United States Mexican people of Irish descent American musicians of Mexican descent Texas classical music American male pianists 20th-century American male musicians Hispanic and Latino American musicians