Nelson Eddy
| Nelson Eddy | ||
 Eddy in 1935 | ||
| Background information | ||
| Born as: | Nelson Ackerman Eddy | |
| Born | Jun 29, 1901 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | |
| Died | Mar 06, 1967 - age 66 Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. | |
| Partner(s): | Jeanette MacDonald (1935-65) | |
| Spouse(s): | Ann Denitz Franklin (1939 - ) | |
| Children: | 1 Son | |
| Occupation: | Singer, Actor | |
| Years active | 1922–1967 | |
Nelson Ackerman Eddy (✦June 29, 1901 – †March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred with soprano Jeanette MacDonald. He was one of the first "crossover" stars, a superstar appealing both to shrieking bobby soxers and opera purists, and in his heyday, he was the highest-paid singer in the world.
During his 40-year career, he earned three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one each for film, recording, and radio), left his footprints in the wet concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater, earned three gold records, and was invited to sing at the third inauguration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941. He also introduced millions of young Americans to classical music and inspired many of them to pursue a musical career.
Early life
Eddy was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the only child of Caroline Isabel (née Kendrick) and William Darius Eddy. His father was a machinist and toolmaker whose drinking problem and inability to hold down a job required the family to move from town to town. Nelson grew up in Providence and Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and in New Bedford, Massachusetts. As a boy, he was a strawberry blond and quickly acquired the nickname "Bricktop". As an adult, his reddish hair prematurely whitened, so his hair photographed as blond. He came from a musical family. His Atlanta-born mother was a church soloist, and his grandmother, Caroline Netta Ackerman Kendrick, was a distinguished oratorio singer. His father occasionally moonlighted as a stagehand at the Providence Opera House, sang in the church choir, played the drums, and performed in local productions such as H.M.S. Pinafore. His father was physically abusive to Nelson and his mother, and deserted them when Nelson was 14.
Living in near poverty, Eddy was forced to drop out of school and moved with his mother to Philadelphia, where her brother, Clark Kendrick, lived. His uncle helped Eddy secure a clerical job at the Mott Iron Works, a plumbing supply company. He later worked as a reporter with the Philadelphia Press, the Evening Public Ledger, and the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. He also worked briefly as a copywriter at N.W. Ayer Advertising, but was dismissed for constantly singing on the job. Eddy never returned to school but educated himself with correspondence courses.
Career
- Wikipedia article: Nelson Eddy Career
Personal life
Eddy married Ann Denitz Franklin, former wife of noted director Sidney Franklin, on January 19, 1939. Her son, Sidney Jr., became Eddy's stepson, but Nelson and she had no children of their own. They were married for 27 years, until Nelson's death. Ann Eddy died on August 28, 1987. She is buried next to Eddy and Eddy's mother in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Relationship with Jeanette MacDonald
Despite public denials from the stars themselves of any personal relationship between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, documentation shows otherwise. In a handwritten 1935 letter by Nelson to "Dearest Jeanette", written on his letterhead, Nelson Eddy writes: "I love you and will always be devoted to you."
In the biography "Sweethearts" by Sharon Rich, the author presents MacDonald and Eddy as continuing an adulterous affair after their marriages. Rich, who was a close friend of MacDonald's older sister Blossom Rock, also knew Gene Raymond, and she documents that the relationship lasted with a few breaks until MacDonald's death. Newsreel footage from MacDonald's funeral shows Eddy as the last person exiting the chapel, circled by other celebrities, such as Lauritz Melchior, who offer him condolences.
MacDonald had a reported eight pregnancies by Eddy, the first one while they were filming Rose Marie. This was before she had an intimate relationship with Gene Raymond. Raymond was physically unable to father children, and MacDonald alluded to this fact in her unfinished autobiography, writing that she returned from her Hawaii honeymoon with Raymond with the knowledge that "The MacRaymonds had no children." Nevertheless, MacDonald had additional documented and visible pregnancies while married to Raymond, all of which ended in miscarriage.
Rich's findings also include documentation that Raymond physically and emotionally abused MacDonald and allegedly had extramarital affairs as early as their honeymoon. Raymond was arrested three times, first in January 1938, as verified by a court document, though the exact criminal charges were not made public. Raymond also was arrested in England, criminal charges unknown, during his United States Army service, for his behavior. Raymond's wedding to MacDonald was orchestrated by MGM president Louis B. Mayer. It forced MacDonald to become Raymond's beard, and Raymond’s 1938 arrest resulted in Mayer blacklisting him in Hollywood for almost two years.
Biographer E. J. Fleming also alleges that Eddy confronted Raymond about abusing MacDonald, who was visibly pregnant with Eddy's child, while filming Sweethearts. Eddy attacked him and left him for dead, but newspapers reported incorrectly that Raymond was recovering from an accidental fall.
Louis B. Mayer adamantly refused to allow MacDonald to annul her marriage and elope. The situation ended with MacDonald losing her baby at nearly 6 months. The boy was named Daniel Kendrick Eddy, and Nelson buried him (or his ashes) on private property in Ojai, California.
Other co-stars and friends verified the MacDonald/Eddy relationship.
Over the decades, MacDonald and Eddy had several private homes together. In 1938, they had a small Burbank house located at 812 S Mariposa Street. In the 1940s, Nelson leased and remodeled, for himself and MacDonald, the old cowboy bunkhouse at 1330 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills. Starting in 1947, they used 710 N. Camden Drive, which had been the home of MacDonald's mother until her death. They also alternately stayed at favorite hotels and homes owned by their celebrity friends throughout the United States, including homes owned by Lily Pons and Irene Dunne. In 1963, MacDonald and Raymond moved into two adjoining apartments on the 8th floor in the East building at the Wilshire Comstock in Westwood. Nelson Eddy had his own apartment on the 7th floor of the West building. He allowed MacDonald to decorate it, and they used it as a rendezvous spot until she was too weak to walk the few yards over to his building. (After Eddy's death, his widow Ann learned of the apartment and moved into it.)
Forbidden to marry early on by MGM studio boss Louis B. Mayer, MacDonald and Eddy performed an unofficial wedding ceremony at Lake Tahoe while filming Rose Marie. They considered that "by God's laws", they had married, although they were never able to do so legally. Each fall, they returned to Tahoe to renew their vows. As late as 1948, MacDonald's desk diary had a "Lake Tahoe" entry. After their 1943 visit, Eddy wrote a lengthy diary entry about their trip and his love for her, calling her "my wife", which he did in private to the end of her life.
Death
In March 1967, Eddy was performing at the "Sans Souci Hotel" in Miami Beach, Florida when he was stricken on stage with a cerebral hemorrhage. According to Gore Vidal, writing in Myra Breckinridge, he was singing "Dardanella" when he collapsed. His singing partner, Gale Sherwood, and his accompanist, Ted Paxson, were at his side. He died a few hours later in the early hours of March 6, 1967, at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach at the age of 65.
He is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, between his mother and his widow (who outlived him by twenty years).
External links
- Nelson Eddy at the Internet Movie Database
- Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Home Page
- Nelson Eddy: The Baritone
- Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Interactive Biography
- Photographs and literature
- Nelson Eddy Sings Kingdom Songs of Jehovah's Witnesses
- (composed 1910 by Carrie Jacobs-Bond)
- Wikipedia article: Nelson Eddy
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Note: Nelson Eddy was a volunteer at the Hollywood Canteen |
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