Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Morgana King is an American singer and actress. She is a noted jazz singer, who is regarded as a "musician's singer." The musical œuvre of her stylized vocal artistry spans a period of more than four decades and has an "appeal that bridges generations, tastes and life styles".
A sometime actress, she played Carmela Corleone, the wife of crime boss Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974).
Early life
King was born Maria Grazia Morgana Messina in Pleasantville, New York. Her parents were of Sicilian descent "from Fiumefreddo di Sicilia, Province of Catania, Sicily." Her mother and father were the only members of their respective families to immigrate to the United States. The name DeBerardini(s) has been misidentified with her birth name. The name, DeBerardini(s), is actually from her second marriage to jazz trombonist Willie Dennis (William DeBerardinis (1926–1965)).
She grew up in New York City with five siblings in an artistically talented family. Her father, who owned a coal and ice business, played the piano and guitar by ear. One of her sisters performed in the Italian theatre. The family experienced a difficult financial period when her "mother was widowed" early.
Around the age of thirteen, she studied acting from a member of the Shubert theatre family. It was during this period that her vocal gift was recognized when she was overheard singing the aria "I'll See You Again" from Noël Coward's operetta Bitter Sweet. At age 16 she developed a love for big bands. This began her strong determination to become a singer and a scholarship to the Metropolitan School of Music soon followed.
Singing debut
Her professional singing career began at age sixteen as Morgana King. When she sang in a Greenwich Village nightclub in 1953, a record label executive took interest after being impressed with the unique phrasing and multi-octave range. Three years later in 1956, her first album, and the only album with record label EmArcy Records, For You, For Me, For Evermore was released. That same year, the song "Frankie and Johnny" appeared on The Young Ones of Jazz (Mercury Records).
Film debut
"I studied acting before I ever sang." —Morgana King
In the first appearance of Leonard G. Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz (1960), Morgana King stated that her ambition was "… to become a dramatic actress." Nine years later in 1969, she began her acting career in the film production of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in the role of Carmela Corleone, wife of Don Vito Corleone. She also appeared as herself in the television documentary The Godfather: Behind the Scenes (1971).
In The Godfather she sang the song "Eh, Cumpari!". She reprised that role in The Godfather: Part II (1974), also directed by Coppola, in which she originally refused to be in the coffin for the wake scene, but later relented, allowing an establishing shot of her face.
Career
Singing
King's vocal talent established her as one of the premier performers. She headlined clubs, concert halls and hotels, and toured throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia and South America; e.g.: Basin Street; bla-bla café; Blue Note; Blue Room at the Supper Club; Café Leon; Club Bali; Cotton Club; Fat Tuesday's; Jilly's; Joe Howard's Place; Kenny's Castaways; Lainie's Room; Les Mouches; Lush Life; Mr. Sam's; Rainbow Grill; Reno Sweeney; Scullers; Sniffen Court; Sweet Basil; The Metropole; Town Hall; the Waterbury Hotels; and Trude Heller’s.
A few of the venue performances during her active career: the March 1956 Easter Jazz Festival at Town Hall in New York City; she opened Trude Heller’s in July 1957 and returned throughout her career for anniversary performances; also in 1957, along with seven female jazz instrumentalists, she performed at the Jazz Female concert held at Carnegie Recital Hall in November; the Schaefer Music Festival in June 1976; A Tribute to Billie Holiday at the Hollywood Bowl in July 1979; the AIDS Research – Benefit Bash in 1983, the Benefit for the Theater Off Park in May 1988; the 2nd annual WPBX Jazz Festival at the Fine Arts Theater in August 1989.
While performing in Lisbon, Portugal, she was interviewed by the television show host Henrique Mendes at the television station RTP (the sole television station at that time)." By the 1970s, King (a non-smoker and non-drinker) became selective with the performing environment over concern for her voice and sang only one show a night.
Musicians
A limited list of artists who performed and/or recorded with Morgana King over the years of her career are Ben Aronov, Ronnie Bedford, Ed Caccavale (drums), Clifford Carter, Don Costa, Eddie Daniels, Sue Evans, Larry Fallon, Sammy Figueroa, John Kaye (percussion), Helen Keane, Art Koenig, Steve LaSpina, Scott Lee, Jay Leonhart, Ray Mantilla, Bill Mays, Charles McCracken, Ted Nash, Adam Nussbaum, Warren Odze, Joe Puma, Don Rebic, Jack Wilkins, Joe Williams (bass), and Torrie Zito.
Recording
Her repertoire contains more than two hundred songs on more than thirty albums. Most of her recordings and re-issues have not remained in the catalogs. There are limited CDs, audio tracks, mp3 downloads and lyrics available on the Internet along with a limited list of available LPs from businesses that offer re-mastering services for vinyl-to-CD. In 1964, she received a Grammy Award nomination in 1964 for Best New Artist.
The UCLA Music Library's Jimmy Van Heusen papers include a letter dated September 5, 1965 that pertains to "songs… to be given to Morgana King." She recorded three songs by Van Heusen: "Here's That Rainy Day" (on It's a Quiet Thing, 1965), "Like Someone in Love" (on Stardust, 1986; and Another Time, Another Space, 1992) and "Imagination" (on Looking Through The Eyes Of Love, 1998).
Film
Morgana King appeared in five films, including The Godfather Parts I and II (1972 and 1974).
Television
Beginning with The Andy Williams Show and The Hollywood Palace in 1964. For more than a decade she performed on television talk and variety shows including The Mike Douglas Show, The Dean Martin Show and The David Frost Show.
Retirement
King announced her retirement from performing during an engagement at the Cotton Club in Chicago on Friday, December 10, 1993, and added that her recording would not be affected by the decision. She continued to perform after that date at the Ballroom, Maxim's, Mirage Night Club (a benefit jazz session), and Roosevelt Hotel's Cinegrill. Her last film appearance was in A Brooklyn State of Mind (1987).
Personal life
Relationships and family
Morgana King married twice. Her first marriage (when she was 17) was to jazz trumpeter Tony Fruscella (1927–1969), which ended in divorce after nine years (due to his substance abuse); they had a daughter, Graysan (1950–2008). During their marriage, the couple frequently had "Sunday dinner with Charlie Parker and his family." His self-titled album, Tony Fruscella displays his early works.
Her second marriage, in 1961, was to jazz trombonist Willie Dennis (né William DeBerardinis; 1926–1965). She met him during an off-night visit to the Birdland Jazz Club where she went to hear Sam Donahue’s group. He had performed with Gerry Mulligan and Charles Mingus and recorded the 1953 album release ‘Four Trombones’ on Mingus' record label, Debut Records. He had toured extensively with Benny Goodman, Woody Herman and Buddy Rich. His skills and prior experience helped her to compose her album With a Taste of Honey, which garnered critical acclaim for her. The album is the initial source of aligning her style with the bossa nova. She traveled to Brazil with him to experience this "new" music style when he toured with Buddy Rich in 1960. She said the experience was "an introduction to myself." Their close collaboration was suddenly shattered in 1965 with his death from an automobile accident in New York's Central Park. Her album It's a Quiet Thing (Reprise, 1965) is a memorial to him. A solo legacy of Willie Dennis can be heard in "Blueport" on Gerry Mulligan's album Live at the Village Vanguard (Verve Records).
After the death of Willie Dennis, she relocated and lived for twenty-one years in Malibu, California. She accepted Frank Sinatra's offer to record three albums on his record label Reprise Records (It's A Quiet Thing (1965), Wild Is Love (1966) and Gemini Changes (1967)). She also sold real estate and focused on establishing an acting career.
Influence
King's voice is notable for its four-octave range. She continued to pursue new forms of expression and presentation by exploring current music trends, which can be heard and read from the list of songs and composers on more than thirty albums. She ventured into new creative areas throughout her career all the while keeping contact with her musical point of origin in jazz. Her distinctive sound has its criticism and detractors.
In literature, the Library of Jazz Standards by Ronny Schiff (2002) recognizes Morgana King as one of the performers who made famous the songs "Imagination" (Van Heusen, Burke), "Like Someone in Love" (Van Heusen, Burke) and "Will You Be Mine" (Adair, Dennis). Also, there is the occasional mention of her in fiction.
She is credited with composition of the songs "Moe's Blues", which was recorded by Beverly Kenney on Beverly Kenney Sings for Johnny Smith (1955), and "Simply Eloquent" with Monte Oliver, which appears on an album of the same title, initially released in 1986 by Muse Records. In 1991, she produced a set of seminars called Morgana King Fine Arts Series. The seminars brought together small groups for recurring meetings every few months. They were held at select venues that included Lincoln Center. One of the functions of the series was to familiarize participants more extensively with performance methodologies. There was also a panel available to critique the performances.
Her signature song is "A Taste Of Honey", originally released on the album With A Taste of Honey (Mainstream Records, 1964). Her most re-issued songs are "My Funny Valentine", from Everything Must Change (Muse, 1978), and the title track of For You, For Me, For Evermore (EmArcy Records, 1956).
