Nelson Eddy
was a remarkable singer who acted well enough to be remembered for that
almost as often as his superlative voice is remembered. A stunning
clear and versatile baritone, he began his singing career as an operatic
baritone in Philadephia when he was twenty-one (1922), augmenting that
as a concert singer. It was as a concert singer in 1933, when he
substituted at the last minute after the illness famous soprano and brought
the house down, that he was discovered by Hollywood. Under contract
to MGM, they failed to make proper use of his remarkable talent until teaming
him up with Jeanette MacDonald in 1935's Naughty Marietta.
The film was a stunning success, much needed for MGM and for Jeanette,
and was instrumental in bringing the musical back into vogue. With
and without Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy went on to star in fourteen
more operettas and lent his remarkable voice to Disney for a memorable
segment in Make Mine Music.
For a complete list of his films, click Nelson's Filmography. I could go on and on and often have as I have not only seen ALL of the films in question multiple times but have also a large number of his recordings for my very own. The sound of his voice is magical and his screen presence nearly always charming.
After films petered out for him about 1948, Nelson Eddy continued with his radio work and concerts for a few more years. Then, in 1953, he started up with a new career: a nightclub act. He took his considerable sense of humor, his accompanist of 20+ years, a young beauty with a lovely voice, and his own considerable singing talents and became a nightclub headliner, traveling all over the world to great success until his untimely death in 1967, collapsing on stage.
For me and many others, he left a legacy of charming, touching, humorous films and a seemingly unending collection of music from film, radio, and recordings.
Now, if you want to know more about the man, I strongly suggest you check out Eleanor Dugan's excellent site (who kindly gave me permission to use some of her photographs as well):
The Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy Website
If you note any differences between what I wrote and what she has on her website, kindly assume I'm wrong.
Also, if you're interested in finding any of his music, the best collection of commercially available tapes and CDs (yes! there are several still out there--see the CD Discography) are at:
Collector's Choice Music - just search for Nelson Eddy
If you want to find a movie, you may have more trouble. Turner Classic Movies plays most of the MGM ones (usually 1 or 2 a month) and AMC occasionally plays Knickerbocker Holiday, Phantom of the Opera and Northwest Outpost. Click here for the current month's choices (from an online source) There are still a couple available on tape or laser disc, but the tapes are being discontinued. To purchase a tape, I recommend checking out
and for buying ANYTHING on laserdisc, I recommend
If you are interested in joining a fan club, the one I most recommend is the Nelson Eddy Appreciation Society.
They aren't on-line, but they can be reached at:
NEAS
C/O Perry Pickering
1106 McAdoo Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21207
There are a number of pretty good hard-to-find books on Nelson Eddy. An excellent bibliography can be found on Eleanor Dugan's website above. In my opinion, the two books written or co-written by Sharon Rich are to be avoided, but that is only my opinion.