The Resume

(June 16, 1899-July 28, 1972)
Born in St. Louis, Missouri
Dramatic soprano
Best-known roles were Brunnhilde in 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' and Isolde in 'Tistan und Isolde'
Appeared at the New York Metropolitan Opera 176 times -- 168 times in Wagnerian roles
Appeared in the films 'Deep In My Heart' (1954) and 'The Ladies Man' (1961)
Appeared on Broadway in 'Pipe Dream' (1955)
Appeared in a 'Bell Telephone Hour' presentation of 'The Mikado' with Groucho Marx (1960)

Why she might be annoying:

She dropped out of high school to devote herself full time to singing.
She constantly talked about how much she wanted to sing in Italian opera, but never got around to doing it.
She agreed to be a vocal coach for President Harry S. Truman's daughter Margaret, then complained that the association had damaged her reputation in the opera world.
She left the Met after a series of clashes with manager Rudolph Bing, who objected to her performing in nightclubs and on television (1953).

Why she might not be annoying:

She was a part-owner of the St. Louis Browns.
She wrote two mystery novels, 'The Ptomaine Canary' (1950) and 'The Metropolitan Opera Murders' (1951).
She said about her dispute with Rudolf Bing, 'To assert that art can be found in the Metropolitan Opera House but not in a night club is rank snobbery.'
She formed an unlikely but successful partnership with Jimmy Durante, of whom she quipped, 'It's a pleasure to record with a great artiste whose voice sounds the same with bad needles.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• A Rose was Named in My Honor
• Appeared in Yellow Face
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 56]
• I am from St. Louis
• I Did Not Graduate High School [T-Z]
• I Died in 1972 (Ranked: 73)
• I Have a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame[R-T]
• I Own a Sports Team
• I Portrayed a Hooker
• I was Cremated
• I Write Pulp Fiction
• I'm Buried at Pierce Brothers' Westwood Memorial Park [Calif]
• I've Got a Secret - Guests [1952-67]
• Look at Me, I'm with Groucho
• Opera Singers and Composers
• Profiles 36251-36500 (Ranked: 36369)
• What's My Line - Mystery Guests [1950-1967]

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 111 Votes: 42.34% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 39 Votes: 53.85% Annoying