THE Mario Lanza STORY / CONSTANTINE CALLINICOS with RAY ROBINSON / Coward-McCann / Illustrated Hardcover 

ISBN-13: 9781958425466 / 978-1958425466 

ISBN-10: ‎ 195842546X

Printed in New York

Pages 267

A tragedy of success- the turbulent life of the American Caruso

He was born Alfredo Cocozza in Philadelphia’s “Little Italy” on January 31, 1921. He died Mario Lanza in Rome on October 7, 1959. For most of his adult life his face and voice were known by millions the world over, but at his death only a few knew of his long and agonizing struggle against fear, insecurity, and distrust—a struggle that led him through nightmarish excesses to eventual self-destruction.

Now Constantine Callinicos, for twelve years Mario’s friend and musical director, tells the whole heartbreaking story of “that great talent consumed by cruel appetites.” He tells of the orgies of eating that almost doubled Mario’s weight in few months; of the terrible dieting by which Mario reduced as much as fifty pounds in a few weeks; of the marathon drinking bouts that canceled concerts and delayed film production; of the fits of violence, rage, and depression that kept friends and family fearing the worst; of Mario’s desperate efforts to rehabilitate himself and realize the dream he had as a boy sitting beside the Victrola, listening for hours on end to the records of Enrico Caruso. It was to no avail, and “the American Caruso” came crashing down in ruin.

Anecdotes of Mario’s youth—warning episodes that at the time seemed no more than high-spirited pranks; his frustrating voice lessons; his kindness to “little people”; his hectic life on the concert trail; his courtship of Betty Hicks, and the depths to which their marriage descended; his discovery by Louis B. Mayer and the battle royal he made of his movie career; his difficult relationships with Edmond O’Brien, George London, Joe Pasternak, Kathryn Grayson, and Peter Lind Hayes—all these are here. Pulling no punches yet offering no service to sensationalism, THE MARIO LANZA STORY is a friend’s last tribute to a great voice and a simple, generous man who could not live with himself.

CONSTANTINE CALLINICOS WITH MARIO LANZA at Mario's first recording session, 1949
CONSTANTINE CALLINICOS was born in New York City, stud- ied music at Juilliard and in Athens. He is a conductor for RCA Victor Red Seal Records; musical director for MGM Studios in Culver City, California; musical director and conductor for the Highland Park Symphony Orchestra in Highland Park, California; musical director of the Santa Barbara Grand Opera Association, in San Francisco; conductor of the staff of the New York City Opera Company. For twelve years he was conductor, assisting artist, coach, accompanist, music adviser, and friend to Mario Lanza.
RAY ROBINSON is Senior Editor of Coronet, has written arti- cles for most of the major national magazines. He attended Columbia University and Columbia Law School and served for four years in the Air Corps.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chosho Publishing (September 8, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 267 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 195842546X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1958425466