Willie Howard (April 13, 1883 – January 14, 1949) and Eugene Howard (July 7, 1880 – August 1, 1965), billed as the Howard Brothers , were Silesian -born American vaudeville performers of the first half of the 20th century. They were two of the earliest openly Jewish performers on the American stage.
45-403: "Lefkowitz" , also written as " Levkowitz " or " Lewkowicz ", is a surname of German-Jewish & Polish-Jewish origin, meaning "son of Levko". Notable people with the surname Lefkowitz include: Levkowitz After performing in amateur night competitions, the brothers began separate professional theatre careers. Soon they were appearing together in burlesque and vaudeville, where, over
90-602: A "tenor C" (C 5 , one octave above middle C). Some, if not all, of the few top Cs in the standard operatic repertoire are either optional—such as in " Che gelida manina " in Puccini's La bohème —or interpolated (added) by tradition, such as in " Di quella pira " from Verdi's Il trovatore ); however, the highest demanded note in the standard tenor operatic repertoire is D 5 , found in " Mes amis, écoutez l'histoire " from Adolphe Adam 's Le postillon de Lonjumeau and " Loin de son amie " from Fromental Halévy's La Juive ). In
135-579: A Broadway play based on Quo Vadis . Next, he was in the chorus of The Strollers , and, in 1902, he was one of the Portuguese Twins in a tour of the musical The Belle of New York . Meanwhile, Willie had his first engagement in 1897 singing in the gallery of Lyon Palace on 110th Street as a boy soprano. He was hired in 1900 as a song-plugger to sing from the balcony at Proctor's 125th Street Theatre as he distributed water to customers. He did this while attending school, and had to leave early to make
180-516: A Hurry' in which [they] did rapid doubletalk; 'Quartets from Rigoletto' [a parody], which [they] would perform with large, buxom ladies ([with Willie] stealing glances at their breasts the whole time); and 'Comes the Revolution', in which [Willie] would play a radical agitator" on a soapbox and Eugene would play a heckler. Variety magazine said of their act, "there is never a dull moment" and praised Eugene's "straighting" as well as Willie's gags. Of
225-466: A bright, steely timbre. Dramatic tenor roles in operas: The heldentenor (English: heroic tenor ) has a rich, dark, powerful and dramatic voice. As its name implies, the heldentenor vocal Fach features in the German romantic operatic repertoire. The heldentenor is the German equivalent of the tenore drammatico, however with a more baritonal quality: the typical Wagnerian protagonist. The keystone of
270-412: A few notes below the C 3 . There are many vocal shades to the lyric tenor group, repertoire should be selected according to the weight, colors, and abilities of the voice. Gilbert Duprez (1806–1896) was a historically significant lyric tenor. He was the first tenor to sing on stage the operatic high C from the chest ( ut de poitrine ) as opposed to using falsettone . He is also known for originating
315-448: A given choir. Orchestral choruses typically call for tenors with fully resonant voices, but chamber or a cappella choral music (choral music sung with no instrumental accompaniment) can rely on baritones singing in falsetto . Even so, one nearly ubiquitous facet of choral singing is the shortage of tenor voices. Most men 18 and older tend to have baritone chest voices, and because of this, many men in choirs tend to prefer singing in
360-425: A range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C 3 ) to the C one octave above middle C (C 5 ). Spinto tenor roles in operas: Also "tenore robusto", the dramatic tenor has an emotive, ringing and very powerful, clarion, heroic tenor sound. The dramatic tenor's approximate range is from the B one octave below middle C (B 2 ) to the B one octave above middle C (B 4 ) with some able to sing up to
405-881: A riot at the Garden", and George Jessel later said that Willie was "The best of all the revue comics, bar none." A review in The New York Times said: "Next to Al Jolson, Willie Howard is now the foremost of the Winter Garden entertainers." Willie appeared opposite the 19-year-old Ginger Rogers in the Gershwin musical, Girl Crazy , in 1930–1931. The brothers' Broadway shows were: Eugene retired in 1940 to manage Willie and write material for him, although he occasionally appeared with him even afterwards. After Eugene's retirement, Willie usually used Al Kelly as his sidekick. Willie performed in several more Broadway shows, touring shows for
450-647: A singer specialize in these roles for an entire career. In French opéra comique , supporting roles requiring a thin voice but good acting are sometimes described as 'trial', after the singer Antoine Trial (1737–1795), examples being in the operas of Ravel and in The Tales of Hoffmann . Tenor buffo or spieltenor roles in operas: All of Gilbert and Sullivan 's Savoy operas have at least one lead lyric tenor character. Notable operetta roles are: There are four parts in barbershop harmony : bass, baritone, lead, and tenor (lowest to highest), with "tenor" referring to
495-557: A young actor in New York, he used to go see Willie and laugh so loudly, Howard began to play to him. According to columnist Bob Thomas, who wrote a biography of Brando, "...[Brando] always cited the old Broadway comic to categorize low comedy." Willie Howard made several recordings: Willie had been suffering a liver ailment for six weeks and became ill during a Philadelphia tryout for the Broadway-bound show Along Fifth Avenue . He died
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#1732855243069540-438: Is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types . It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below middle C to the G above middle C (i.e. B 2 to G 4 ) in choral music, and from the second B flat below middle C to the C above middle C (B ♭ 2 to C 5 ) in operatic music, but
585-524: Is yet another distinct tenor type. In Mozart singing, the most important element is the instrumental approach of the vocal sound which implies: flawless and slender emission of sound, perfect intonation, legato, diction and phrasing, capability to cope with the dynamic requirements of the score, beauty of timbre, secure line of singing through perfect support and absolute breath control, musical intelligence, body discipline, elegance, nobility, agility and, most importantly, ability for dramatic expressiveness within
630-484: The tenore di grazia , the leggero tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a lyric coloratura . This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of fioritura . The typical leggero tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C 3 to E 5 , with a few being able to sing up to F 5 or higher in full voice . In some cases, the chest register of the leggero tenor may extend below C 3 . Voices of this type are utilized frequently in
675-583: The Soundies movie jukeboxes, were three-minute shorts filmed in New York. Most were comic songs (like "Tyrone Shapiro, the Bronx caballero") but some were spoken-comedy routines including two with Pierre Ginsbairge: How to See a French Doctor and How to Go to a French Restaurant . Comes the Revolution was revived, with Al Kelly standing in for Eugene Howard. Marlon Brando was a huge fan of Willie Howard. He told Lawrence Grobel in his 1979 Playboy interview that, as
720-427: The alto and soprano . Men's chorus usually denotes an ensemble of TTBB in which the first tenor is the highest voice. Whilst certain choral music does require the first tenors to ascend the full tenor range, the majority of choral music places the tenors in the range from approximately B 2 up to A 4 . The requirements of the tenor voice in choral music are also tied to the style of music most often performed by
765-624: The baritone ), and rapid-fire comedy crosstalk. Diminutive, wild-haired, slumping Willie often portrayed a troublesome servant, such as a waiter or a bellhop, while well-fed, well-dressed Eugene, the straight man, played a self-satisfied authority figure, such as a manager, businessman or a customer. Willie assayed foreign accents, such as Spanish, Scottish, French, Russian, and Chinese, but always laced with his Yiddish dialect, and also did impressions of popular vocalists, such as George Jessel , Al Jolson , Gallagher and Shean , and Eddie Cantor . Their most famous comic routines "included 'French Taught in
810-400: The leggero repertoire, the highest note is F 5 (Arturo in "Credeasi, misera" from Bellini 's I puritani ), therefore, very few tenors have this role in their repertoire without transposition (given the raising of concert pitch since its composition), or resorting to falsetto . In SATB four-part mixed chorus, the tenor is the second lowest vocal range, above the bass and below
855-404: The 15th century it came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, which often proceeded in longer note values and carried a borrowed Cantus firmus melody. Until the late 16th-century introduction of the contratenor singers, the tenor was usually the lowest voice, assuming the role of providing a foundation. It was also in
900-411: The 18th century that "tenor" came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. Thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked 'tenor' indicated the part's role, and not the required voice type; indeed, even as late as the eighteenth century, partbooks labelled 'tenor' might contain parts for a range of voice types. The vocal range of the tenor is the highest of the male voice types . Within opera ,
945-615: The 3:15 pm show. He soon was engaged to do the same during out-of-town performances of The Little Duchess (1901), but he was dismissed after the opening night, as his voice had begun to change. To compensate for the temporary loss of his singing voice, he began doing impersonations and started using the stage name Willie Howard. At one point in that formative year of 1901, he considered taking up boxing and appeared briefly as "Kid Lefko." He attended Cooper Union college. Eugene and Willie then performed briefly with their middle brother, later known as Sam Howard, as Harry Lee (Eugene) and
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#1732855243069990-415: The C one octave above middle C (C 5 ). Many successful dramatic tenors though have historically avoided the coveted high C in performance. Their lower range tends to extend into the baritone tessitura or, a few notes below the C 3 , even down to A♭ 2 . Some dramatic tenors have a rich and dark tonal colour to their voice (such as the mature Enrico Caruso ) while others (like Francesco Tamagno ) possess
1035-567: The Howard Brothers. They wrote a sketch that they toured widely, early on, called "The Porter and the Salesman". After a few years together, the brothers were earning high fees on the Orpheum circuit, and young Willie became the acknowledged leader of the act. The brothers generally played wisecracking caricatures, using Jewish dialect humor, opera parodies (with Eugene as the tenor and Willie as
1080-534: The Lee Brothers, playing in restaurants and museums. Eugene and Willie, in 1902, along with a friend, Thomas Potter Dunne, formed an act called "The Messenger Boys Trio". One sketch that they wrote was called "The Messenger Boy and the Thespian"; even after Dunne left the act, Willie and Eugene continued to perform this routine. Eugene and Willie built their reputation in vaudeville over the next decade, often billed as
1125-603: The Shuberts and Mike Todd , and in night clubs. Willie's last Broadway shows were: The Howard Brothers also made several short films together, including Between the Acts at the Opera (1926, one of the earliest Vitaphone talking pictures), The Music Makers (1929), and I'm Telling You (1931). When Educational Pictures transferred its activities to its New York studio in 1937, its star comedian Buster Keaton declined to relocate from
1170-609: The Spinto Fach is the Jugendlicher Heldentenor and encompasses many of the Dramatic tenor roles as well as some Wagner roles such as Lohengrin and Stolzing. The difference is often the depth and metal in the voice where some lyric tenors age or push their way into singing as a Spinto giving them a lighter tone and a Jugendlicher Heldentenor tends to be either a young heldentenor or true lyric spinto. Spinto tenors have
1215-496: The ability to create distinct voices for his characters. This voice specializes in smaller comic roles. The range of the tenor buffo is from the C one octave below middle C (C 3 ) to the C one octave above middle C (C 5 ). The tessitura of these parts ranges from lower than other tenor roles to very high and broad. These parts are often played by younger tenors who have not yet reached their full vocal potential or older tenors who are beyond their prime singing years. Only rarely will
1260-404: The actor realize that his lines are funny and laugh at them, ever so little, himself, and his audience immediately will freeze up. Consequently, in my impersonations, for example, I seriously study the person I wish to imitate and rehearse the impersonation many times in the serious vein, before I even attempt to give it a humorous twist. Then I try to insert the humor while still in the character of
1305-399: The bass section (though true basses are even rarer than tenors). Many baritones sing tenor even if they are not able to cover the full range in only their chest voice, and sometimes contraltos sing the tenor part. In men's choruses that consist of four male vocal parts (TTBB; tenor 1, tenor 2, bass 1, bass 2), tenors will often sing both in chest voice and falsetto, extending the vocal range of
1350-612: The brothers continued to be in great demand on the vaudeville circuit and made a few (mostly short) films. In the 1940s, Willie continued to star in revues and musicals and to perform in vaudeville and night clubs. Isidore and Wilhelm Levkowitz were born in Neustadt in the German part of Silesia to Leopold Levkowitz and his second wife, Pauline ( née Glass), two of six children (three boys and three girls). The family immigrated to New York City and settled in Harlem about 1886. Their father
1395-424: The brothers' approach to their work, Willie said: [A]ll fun-making must be well grounded and serious in its conception, and it is this basic seriousness of fun that leads to the best laugh production, which, after all, is the final test of all humor, on stage or off. In proof of this, you will notice that any good comedian always maintains a serious expression on his face, no matter how funny his lines may be; for let
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1440-435: The choir. Within the tenor voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories: leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, and tenor buffo or spieltenor. There is considerable overlap between the various categories of role and of voice-type; some tenor singers have begun with lyric voices but have transformed with time into spinto or even dramatic tenors. Also known as
1485-509: The course of a decade, they established their reputation. The brothers were hired by the Shubert family in 1912 to perform in a series of successful revues on Broadway over the next decade called The Passing Show . These were followed by another popular series of Broadway revues in the 1920s and 1930s called George White's Scandals . They appeared in a few additional Broadway musicals, notably Girl Crazy . In between these Broadway seasons,
1530-754: The day before the show opened in New York, in 1949, at the age of 65. He was survived by his widow Emily ( née Miles). They had no children. He is buried in Paramus, New Jersey , in Cedar Park Cemetery, Emerson . Eugene, who had been living in Jackson Heights, Queens , died in 1965 at Park West Hospital, in New York City, aged 84. He was predeceased by his wife, Maud ( née Fisher) of London, whom he had married in 1910, who died in 1964. Notes Bibliography Further reading Tenor A tenor
1575-501: The heldentenor's repertoire is arguably Wagner's Siegfried , an extremely demanding role requiring a wide vocal range and great power, plus tremendous stamina and acting ability. Often the heldentenor is a baritone who has transitioned to this Fach or tenors who have been misidentified as baritones. Therefore, the heldentenor voice might or might not have facility up to high B or C. The repertoire, however, rarely calls for such high notes. Heldentenor roles in operas: A Mozart tenor
1620-402: The highest part. The tenor generally sings in falsetto voice, corresponding roughly to the countertenor in classical music, and harmonizes above the lead, who sings the melody. The barbershop tenor range is Middle C to A one octave above Middle C, though it is written an octave lower. The "lead" in barbershop music is equivalent to the normal tenor range. In bluegrass music , the melody line
1665-462: The lowest note in the standard tenor repertoire is widely defined to be B ♭ 2 . However, the role of Rodrigo di Dhu (written for Andrea Nozzari ) in Rossini's rarely performed La donna del lago is defined as a tenor but requires an A ♭ 2 . Within more frequently performed repertoire, Mime and Herod both call for an A 2 . A few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for
1710-399: The narrow borders imposed by the strict Mozartian style. The German Mozart tenor tradition goes back to the end of the 1920s, when Mozart tenors started making use of Caruso's technique (a tenor who rarely sang Mozart) to achieve and improve the required dynamics and dramatic expressiveness. Mozart tenor roles in operas: A Tenor buffo or spieltenor is a tenor with good acting ability, and
1755-489: The operas of Rossini , Donizetti , Bellini and in music dating from the Baroque period. Leggero tenor roles in operas: The lyric tenor is a warm graceful voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy and can be heard over an orchestra. Lyric tenors have a range from approximately the C one octave below middle C (C 3 ) to the D one octave above middle C (D 5 ). Similarly, their lower range may extend
1800-639: The person I am portraying. Thus, the basis of actuality is given to the impersonation. Beginning in 1912, in between their vaudeville bookings, the brothers performed in Broadway shows, especially revues, including the Shuberts' series The Passing Show at the Winter Garden Theatre and later the George White's Scandals series. An early review in Variety magazine commented: "The Howards never fail to become
1845-505: The range can extend at either end. Subtypes of tenor include the leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, and tenor buffo or spieltenor . The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word tenere , which means "to hold". As noted in the "Tenor" article at Grove Music Online : In polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the [tenor was the] structurally fundamental (or 'holding') voice, vocal or instrumental; by
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1890-487: The role of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor . Lyric tenor roles in operas: The spinto tenor has the brightness and height of a lyric tenor, but with a heavier vocal weight enabling the voice to be "pushed" to dramatic climaxes with less strain than the lighter-voice counterparts. Spinto tenors have a darker timbre than a lyric tenor, without having a vocal color as dark as many (not all) dramatic tenors. The German equivalent of
1935-406: The stage. In his earliest attempts at performing, he billed himself as "Harry Lee, phenomenal boy tenor". His first professional theatre job, in 1900, was in the chorus of a Broadway musical, A Million Dollars . Upon being hired and hearing his name, the manager suggested that "Eugene Howard" would be a more suitable name, and Isidore adopted it permanently. Later that year, he had a small role in
1980-517: The west coast, leaving Educational without a name comedian for the new season. The New York-based Willie Howard was signed, and he made several short comedies in which he appeared as the hapless Frenchman Pierre Ginsbairge, complete with beret, mustache, and goatee. This ridiculous characterization was received enthusiastically by trade critics and theater owners. The financially troubled studio suspended operations in mid-1938 and closed in early 1939. Willie's final film appearances, produced in 1941 for
2025-575: Was a Jewish cantor , who taught his sons to sing, hoping that they would follow his profession. However, both boys became intrigued by performing. The brothers, especially Willie, performed at amateur night shows at local burlesque houses. Their father was disappointed with their performing activity. He wanted Eugene to be a doctor and worried about Willie because he misbehaved in school. Their father changed his attitude when he saw them achieve success and even asked them for advice on how to get into show business. Eugene studied business but decided to go on
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