William Tabbert (October 5, 1919 – October 19, 1974) was an American actor and singer primarily remembered as Lieutenant Joseph Cable in the original

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 ...

production of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

's musical ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

'', 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 re ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, while a bout of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

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 four-year high school located in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, Un ...

when he won a three-year scholarship sponsored by the ''

Chicago Daily Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...

'' to study

grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...

with soprano

Anna Fitziu Anna Fitziu (April 1, 1887 – April 20, 1967) was an American soprano who had a prolific international opera career during the early part of the 20th century. Her signature roles included Fiora in ''L'amore dei tre re'', Mimi in ''La bohème'', ...

. 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. 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'', ''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 '' ...

'' and '' Three to Make Ready''. 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 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 September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', ''

The Voice of Firestone ''The Voice of Firestone'' is 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''. 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 Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 75 ...

Walter Slezak Walter Slezak (; 3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian-born film and stage actor active between 1922 and 1976. He mainly appeared in German films before migrating to the United States in 1930 and performing in numerous Hollywood productio ...

and

Florence Henderson Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American singer and actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson ...

.IBDb.com Of his performance, critic

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theater critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...

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, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

Lewisohn Stadium Lewisohn Stadium was an amphitheater and athletic facility built on the campus of the City College of New York (CCNY). It opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1973. History The Doric-colonnaded amphitheater was built between Amsterdam and Conv ...

and in musical theatrical production performed across the country.

Death

Bill Tabbert died of a heart attack on October 19, 1974, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 granddaughter (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 American people of German descent American people of Swedish descent Male actors from Chicago Singers from Chicago 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers