Dorothy Caruso

Dorothy Park Benjamin Caruso (August 6, 1893 – December 16, 1955) was an American socialite and the wife of the Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso.

Dorothy and Enrico Caruso, 1918

Life

Born Dorothy Park Benjamin on August 6, 1893 in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, she was the daughter of Park Benjamin, a wealthy lawyer and author, and Ida Crane; Dorothy had four siblings: two sisters, and two brothers.

Caruso's wedding party on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City, 20 August 1918. Left to right: Bruno Zirato (Caruso's secretary), Dorothy Caruso, Enrico Caruso, Mrs. J. S. Keith.

On August 20, 1918, Benjamin married Enrico Caruso, with whom she had a daughter, Gloria Caruso (1919-1999); After the death of Enrico Caruso on August 2, 1921,[1] Dorothy married Captain Ernest Augustus Ingram (1892–1954) in 1923.[2][3] They had a daughter, Jacqueline, born in September, 1924,[4] and were divorced in 1925.[5] She then married Charles Adam Holder (1872–1955) in Paris in 1933. They too, were divorced in 1940. She reverted to the surname 'Caruso' following the dissolution of both marriages.[6][7]

Dorothy Caruso died of cancer in Baltimore, Maryland on December 16, 1955 at the age of 62. She was interred in Druid Ridge Cemetery, Baltimore County, Maryland.[8]

Books

Dorothy Caruso wrote two biographies of her husband: Wings Of Song: The Story Of Caruso published in 1928, and Enrico Caruso: His Life and Death published in 1945. The latter book was a bestseller and the basis for the screenplay of the 1951 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture The Great Caruso, starring Mario Lanza in the title rôle. Dorothy Caruso was portrayed in the film by Ann Blyth.[9][10]

Her autobiography, Dorothy Caruso: A Personal History, was published in 1952.

References
  1. "Caruso love letters reveal passion behind a life of epic operatic drama". 23 May 2005. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  2. [U.P.] (28 June 1933). Caruso Widow And Dr. Holder To Wed In Paris. New York: Daily News. Accessed May 2018.
  3. "15 Nov 1925, Sun • Page 9". The Atlanta Constitution: 9. 15 November 1925. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  4. "25 Sep 1927, Sun • Page 27". The Ogden Standard-Examiner: 27. 25 September 1927. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. "18 Oct 1927, Tue • Page 10". News-Journal: 10. 18 October 1927. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  6. "06 Jul 1933, Thu • Main Edition • Page 10". The Courier-News: 10. 6 July 1933. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  7. "June 30, 1933". The Lewiston Daily Sun. 1933.
  8. "16 Dec 1955, Fri • Page 50". The Evening Sun: 50. 16 December 1955. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  9. Caruso, Dorothy; Goddard, Torrance (1928). Wings of Song: The Story of Caruso. Minton, Balch.
  10. Gevinson, Alan (1997). Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Feature Films, 1911-1960. University of California Press. p. 412. ISBN 9780520209640.
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