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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.
