Frank Forest
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who enjoyed success in the 1930s and 40s.
Biography
Frank Forest was born Frank Hayek in St. Paul, Minnesota on October 17, 1896. He studied pianoforte and singing and at twelve was singing as a soloist in a church choir. At seventeen he taught pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and voice. Later he went to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and became a salesman, eventually becoming a sales manager. He studied singing in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and made his operatic debut in 1928, becoming famous in operatic circles.
Forest studied agricultural engineering
Agricultural engineering
Agricultural engineering is the engineering discipline that applies engineering science and technology to agricultural production and processing...
at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, and later helped found the profitable pharmaceutical firm White Laboratories
Schering-Plough
Schering-Plough Corporation was a United States-based pharmaceutical company. It was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering as Schering AG in Germany. In 1971, the Schering Corporation merged with Plough to form Schering-Plough. On November 4, 2009 Merck & Co...
of Kenilworth, New Jersey
Kenilworth, New Jersey
Kenilworth is a Borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,914.Kenilworth was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 13, 1907, from portions of Cranford and Union Township, based on the...
. He gave up the business to follow a lifelong interest in singing. He spent twelve years performing leading tenor roles in opera houses all over Europe and acted in several films, including I'll Take Romance along with American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
and actress Grace Moore
Grace Moore
Grace Moore was an American operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee Nightingale." Her films helped to popularize opera by bringing it to a larger audience.-Early life:...
in 1937. In 1955 he started pouring his energies and money into the creation of the Empire State Festival, a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
summer opera festival. Frank Forest died on December 23, 1976 in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
and is buried at Hillside Memorial Park in Redlands, California
Redlands, California
Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...
.
Filmography
- The Big Broadcast of 1937The Big Broadcast of 1937The Big Broadcast of 1937 is a 1936 Paramount Pictures production directed by Mitchell Leisen, and is the third in the series of Big Broadcast movies. The musical comedy stars Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bob Burns, Martha Raye, Shirley Ross, Ray Milland, Benny Fields, Frank Forest and...
(1936) - Frank Rossman - Champagne Waltz (1937) - Karl Lieberlich
- I'll Take Romance (1937) - Pinkerton (from Madama ButterflyMadama ButterflyMadama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
) - Take It Big (1944) - Harvey Phillips