Perry Askam (1898–1961) was a 20th-century American actor and baritone singer, most active in musical theatre and opera around the San Francisco area.
Askam was born in 1898[1] to Oliver and Helena Askam. Helena was the daughter of ferryman and land magnate Henry Rengstorff.[2] Perry was orphaned at a young age, and went to live with his maternal aunt, Elisa Haag, whom he came to view as a second mother.[2] A little later Elisa and Perry moved into Rengstorff House with Perry's grandmother Christina Rengstorff, widow of Henry.[2] On this expansive property Perry worked the ranch, working with cattle and in the grain fields while attending local school.[2] He then attended the Santa Clara University, studying music.[2]
Askam joined the French army during World War I, and when the United States entered on the side of the Allies, he transferred to the American Ambulance Corps.[2] At war's end, he relocated to New York and appeared in Broadway performances.[2]
Askam had a significant role in the 1930 Warner Brothers musical film Sweet Kitty Bellairs in which he sang lead in several numbers,[1] not surprising in that he was the only professional singer in the cast.[6]
Askam spent two seasons with the San Francisco Opera.[7] Askam performed the role of Count Almaviva in the 1936 production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.[8] He had two roles for San Francisco's 1937 season, both in works by Charles Gounod, first as Mercutio in his Roméo et Juliette and then as Valentin in Faust.[9] He joined the New York-based New Opera Company in 1941 for a performance of Mozart's then-rarely-heard Così fan tutte.[10]
In 1945 Perry and his wife Frances moved back to Rengstorff House to look after his aunt Elise.[2] He made regular concert appearances with the San Francisco Symphony.[2] Perry lived at his ancestral home until 1959.[2] He died in 1961.[1]
^ abcdefghijButler, Phyllis Filiberti (1991). Old Santa Clara Valley: A Guide to Historic Buildings from Palo Alto to Gilroy. San Carlos, California: Wide World Publishing. p. 38. ISBN0-933174-81-0.
^ ab"Desert Song at Curran". Pacific Coast Music Review. Vol. 56, no. 10. San Francisco, California. March 20, 1928 – via archive.org.
^Bradley, Edwin M. (1996). The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 196. ISBN0-7864-2029-4.
^Bloomfield, Arthur (1972). 50 Years of the San Francisco Opera. San Francisco: San Francisco Book Company. p. 430. ISBN0-913374-00-8.
^Bloomfield, Arthur (1972). 50 Years of the San Francisco Opera. San Francisco: San Francisco Book Company. p. 331. ISBN0-913374-00-8.
^Bloomfield, Arthur (1972). 50 Years of the San Francisco Opera. San Francisco: San Francisco Book Company. pp. 333–334. ISBN0-913374-00-8.
^Villamil, Victoria Etnier (2004). From Johnson's Kids to Lemonade Opera: The American Classical Singer Comes of Age. Boston: Northeastern University Press. pp. 103, 298. ISBN1-55553-635-2.
