[78-L] RIP Vivienne DellaChiesa

[David Lewis]

She was a mainstay on Cincinnati TV in the 60s and 70s. However what makes her on topic is that she made those early vinyl Silvertone 78s, the red plastic records with the extra hole. I'm pretty sure I've run into one of the players designed to play those records; it was frustrating, as you couldn't play other records on them owing to the extra spindle. Anyone know more about this ridiculous technological sidelight?
 
Soprano Vivian DellaChiesa dies at 94 
Singer performed in opera, radio, TV, nightclubs 
By VARIETY STAFF 
Singer Vivian DellaChiesa, a lyric soprano who performed in opera, radio, TV and nightclubs, died Jan. 6 in Huntington, N.Y. She was 94. 
A native of Chicago, she won a radio talent contest at age 16, which was aired on the CBS radio network and helped open the door to her long singing career. 
DellaChiesa made her debut in opera with the Chicago Civic Opera in the late 1930s, and appeared on numerous radio shows. In 1947, the soprano sang Maddalena in Giordano's "Andrea Chenier" at the New York City Opera. She went on to perform for several other opera companies, including the San Francisco Opera and the New Orleans Opera where she starred in the first major opera ever televised, "Falstaff." 
In the 1960s, she began performing in supper clubs across the country including New York's Empire Room at the Waldorf Astoria, the Pump Room at Chicago's Ambassador Hotel and the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles. She was often billed with her friends Rosemary Clooney and Robert Merrill. 
Variety dubbed her "Miss Supper Club" and the 1960s, she was the first woman honored by the all-male Lamb's Club. She also guested on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The "Milton Berle Show." 
She hosted a TV show, "The Afternoon Show," on WLW in Cincinnati in the 1960s. Her sidekick was Nick Clooney, father of George Clooney and brother of her friend, Rosemary Clooney. 
DellaChiesa retired from clubs in the late 1980s and became a vocal coach, teaching voice and presentation. 
She was married to composer Alfred J. Re, who predeceased her, and is survived by three stepchildren. 
Read the full article at: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117998840.html 
  Uncle Dave Lewis uncledavelewis at hotmail.com
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