- Remained in the shadows of baritone Leonard Warren during his early years at the Met. Following Warren's sudden death onstage at the Met in 1960, Merrill became the principal baritone.
- Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 364-365. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
- He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6763 Hollywood Blvd.
- Upon his death, his remains were interred at Sharon Gardens Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York. His location plot is Temple Israel New Rochelle, Block F, Lot 12A, space 1.
- Best known for his full, effortless baritone voice.
- Had aspirations of being a baseball player; was a huge baseball fan.
- Opera singer. Debut with New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1945.
- Co-wrote, with Fred Jarvis, the novel "The Divas" in 1978. The novel, a roman a clef about the romantic comings and goings in a major opera company, sold moderately well.
- His desire to branch into movie stardom, in the 1951 film Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (1952), brought him into direct conflict with the Metropolitan Opera's autocratic General Manager, Sir Rudolf Bing. Making the film would have conflicted with some of Merrill's Met assignments. Bing felt that grand opera and the movies did not mix, having fired Met mainstays Lauritz Melchior and Helen Traubel for similar reasons earlier. When Merrill refused to budge in the matter, he was also fired. Eighteen months later, the film having failed at the box office, Merrill was reinstated only after practically begging Bing for another chance. Relations between the two men were cordial, but never really friendly, after that. Merrill retired shortly after celebrating his 30th anniversary with the Met in 1975.
- He retired from the Met in 1976 but returned to its stage in 1983, when the company marked its centennial.
- Was a lifelong Yankees fan. Beginning in 1969, he followed a tradition that lasted three decades, singing the season-opener rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Yankee Stadium.
- Earned admiration for his interpretations of dozens of operatic roles, including Escamillo in "Carmen" and Figaro in "The Barber of Seville," reportedly his favorite opera.
- Sang with popular stars ranging from Frank Sinatra to Louis Armstrong. He performed as a soloist with many of the world's great conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, and made appearances for several presidents, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.
- A lifetime baseball fan, whose recording of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played before New York Yankees home games for three decades, Merrill died while at home watching the first game of the 2004 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox.
- His lifelong passion for baseball led to his long tenure at Yankee Stadium, where he sang the national anthem on opening day for three decades. Ironically, he died peacefully at home while watching the first game of the world series between the St. Louis Cardinals and, the eventual winners, the Boston Red Sox.
- First inspired to sing as a teenager when he wandered in off the street to the Met and caught a performance of "Il Trovatore."
- First singing role model was Bing Crosby.
- While there has been dispute regarding his birth year (some claim he was born in 1919), the Social Security Death Index, his family, and his gravestone state that he was born in 1917.
- Merrill toured all over the world with his arranger and conductor, Angelo DiPippo, who wrote most of his act and performed at concert halls throughout the world.
- He was the son of tailor Abraham Miller, originally Milstein, and his wife, Lillian (née Balaban), Jewish immigrants from Pultusk, Poland, near Warsaw.
- His mother claimed to have had an operatic and concert career in Poland (a fact denied by her son in his biographies) and encouraged her son to have early voice training: he had a stutter, which wasn't apparent when singing.
- He always donated his time on the Cerebral Palsy Telethon with Dennis James.
- He wrote two books of memoirs, Once More from the Beginning (1965) and Between Acts (1976), and he co-authored a novel, The Divas (1978).
- Robert Merrill made at least 25 studio recordings of complete operas, including two Toscanini radio broadcasts.
- He always maintained a warm sense of humor and once recalled the time a young contractor was working in his New Rochelle, New York, home. Surveying the photos, posters, plaques and other music memorabilia in the Merrill home, the young man asked Merrill, "You're a singer, aren't you?" "Yes," he responded. "You sing opera, don't you?" the worker asked. "A little," replied Merrill.
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