later years, Merrill described his tenor friend as "an original, right out of the pages of a Damon Runyon story". Death [[File:Richard Tucker monument.JPG|thumb|Richard Tucker monument in Lincoln Square, Manhattan {{external media|align=center|width=230px| |audio1=Tucker with Licia Albanese and Alfredo Antonini at Lewisohn Stadium in 1959 All-Puccini program (1959) Here on WQXR] |audio2=Tucker sings "Songs From Sunny Italy" with Alfredo Antonini conducting the Columbia Concert Orchestra in 1950 [https://archive.org/details/lp_songs-from-sunny-italy_richard-tucker-alfredo-antonini-columbi/disc1/01.01.+Torna+A+Surriento+(%22Come+Back+To+Sorrento%22).mp3 Here on Archive.org]}} On January 8, 1975, Tucker died of a sudden heart attack in his dressing room in Kalamazoo, Michigan while on tour with Robert Merrill in a national series of joint concerts. His funeral was held on January 10 on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House, the only singer ever to be so honored. Legacy Shortly after his death, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation was established by his widow, sons, colleagues, and friends, "to perpetuate the memory of America's greatest tenor through projects in aid of gifted young singers". In the intervening decades, the Richard Tucker Foundation, whose annual televised concerts have been hosted by Luciano Pavarotti and others, has consistently awarded the largest vocal-music grants and scholarships. Recipients, the first of whom was Rockwell Blake, include sopranos Renée Fleming, Deborah Voigt, tenors Richard Leech, Stephen Costello, James Valenti and other opera singers of international renown. In tribute to his legacy at the Met, the city of New York designated the park adjacent to Lincoln Center as Richard Tucker Square. References Sources' External links . Richard Tucker Music Foundation Discography (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings) History of the Tenor / Richard Tucker / Sound Clips and Narration Richard Tucker Square (NYC Parks Dept) Richard Tucker in performance on Archive.org Audio examples Richard Tucker in La fanciulla del West Renata Tebaldi and Richard Tucker in a scene from Puccini's Manon Lescaut Richard Tucker in operetta , "Vesti la giubba" from Pagliacci, The Ed Sullivan Show December 1969 , "Un'auro amorosa" from Così fan tutte'' (Mozart), in English ("My love is a flower") 1913 births 1975 deaths American operatic tenors Musicians from Brooklyn Classical musicians from New York (state) Hazzans American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Jewish American classical musicians Jewish opera singers 20th-century American male opera singers 20th-century American Jews