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 Stre ...

tenor of the 1920s.

Biography

Howard Marsh was born in

Bluffton, Indiana Bluffton is a city in and the county seat of Wells County, Indiana, United States. It sits on the banks of the Wabash River in the northeastern part of the state. The population was 10,308 at the 2020 census, up from 9,897 at the 2010 census ...

on August 16, 1888. He attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, where he was a member of the fraternity

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Phi Gam and sometimes written as FIJI, is a North American social fraternity with 139 active chapters and 13 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania ...

. 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 Musical theatre, musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moo ...

's operetta ''

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in a prologue and 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 (play), Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a scor ...

''. 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 director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

's ''

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

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

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

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, based in Long Branch, New Jersey, is one of New Jersey's largest community academic medical centers. It is an academic affiliate of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of Rutgers University and is a part of the larger R ...

Long Branch, New Jersey Long Branch is a beachside city in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 31,667, an increase of 948 (+3.1%) from the 2010 census count of 30,719, which in turn reflect ...

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