Bess Vs Warfield

At the completion of the film, Warfield was now at a new level in the industry of music and now acting. MGM decided to give him a bonus and close his contract. William then packed his bags to return back home. In 1952, Warfield appeared as Porgy in a touring company’s production of George Gershwin’s 1935 musical Porgy and Bess. The person taking the role of Bess, was another young rising star by the name of Leontyne Price. Warfield quickly fell in love with Price, and proposed to her. Price who was still a student at Juilliard, was eight years younger than Warfield had not even begun her career. Price was just happy to be with an educated man, who had started to pave the road for her to follow. Shortly after in August they got married at …show more content…
They were also regulars performing throughout night-clubs as a duet in New York City. For many years Price didn’t have a name for herself because of her age, she was just simply known as the wife of William Warfield. In 1952, Warfield and Price decided to divorce. The two never had any children, although they always wanted to. Warfield says they were going in different paths in their professional careers, and they didn’t want to hinder each other. However, they remained very close friends throughout their careers. Early career setbacks for Mr. Warfield, were the limitations placed upon African Americans, who at that time could not aspire to an operatic career. He experienced a lot of racism, when he would go to perform away from home, he would not be allowed to stay at hotels. On an interview he did with the Buffalo News in 1980, he stated “ I walked into a restaurant and was told ‘we don’t serve blacks here’”. He also said “in the South, I knew and didn’t go. In the North, you were not told you were not wanted, but their attitude told you”. These experiences would hinder him from performing at the big venues where his Caucasian schoolmates from Eastman would get to