Mario Lanza

Italian-American singer and actor, a great vocal phenomenon, the first recording artist to ever sell more than two million albums. All together, he sang a total of just three opera performances during his lifetime. His best remembered song is "Be My Love." In 1949, Lanza made a movie debut in "That Midnight Kiss." One of the biggest pop stars of the '50s, he later played the role of Caruso.

The son of immigrants, Lanza had little formal voice training. He was discovered at an audition in Philadelphia and cast in a single performance of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at Tanglewood on 7 August 1942. After an army stint during WW II, he teamed up with George London and Frances Yeend to form the Bel Canto Trio. When MGM chief Louis B. Mayer heard Lanza sing at the Hollywood Bowl, he promptly signed him to a seven-year contract. Except for two performances of "Madame Butterfly" in New Orleans, the opera world never hear from him again.

Lanza fought with weight problems all of his career. During filming, he went on crash diets, only to later regain his loss and more.

He died on 7 October 1959, aged 38, of a binge of eating and drinking after a performance in Rome. Officially his death was deemed from a heart attack, but suspicion persisted that he met his end at the hands of Lucky Luciano because of a business dispute.