The Washington times., 1936-11-18
DIVA
D|ES0FT THROAT
HEN0RRHAGE
Schunnann -Heink, InI
Coma Four Hours,
Expires on Coast

HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 18 QN.S.)
The golden voice Of Nine. ErneStine
Schumann-Heink, beloved con-
tralto was silent in death today.
The end came at 1921 o'clock
last night while members of the
family she loved so well, her sons
and daughters, stood at her bed
side. She had been in a coma four
hours.
A series of throat and lung
hemorrhageS, which rep eated
blood transfusions failed to relieve,
sapped the strength Of the 75-year-
old operatic and concert singer
and all hope for her recovery was
abandoned yesterday afternoon.
Three Of the diva's sons,
daughter and several grandchil-
dren comprised the group of rela-
tives at the bedside. They are
Henry Schumann-Heink, his wife
and daughters, Barbara and Kath-
crime; Mr.. and Mrs. Fedinand
Schumann-Heink; George Schu-
mann, who does not use the last
part of the hyphenated name;
Mrs. Charles Fox, Of San Diego,
the daughter and two other grand
children, Ditti and Hans Schu-
mann-Heink.
Born in 1861
Nine. Schuman-Heink was born
ErneStine RoeSsler June Is. 1861,
near Prague. Her parents sug-
gested she learn dressmaking, but
she made her operate debut in III
Trovatore" when II. She then
married the first of her three hus-
bands, Ernst Heink, and reared q
family of four.
In 1892 she married Paul Schu-
mann and had four children by
her second husband.
In 1898 made her American
debut at Chicago in "Lohengrin. ;.
Naturslized in 1905
Her American success was tre'
mendous and she promptly de-
cided to stay. After her husband
died she became a naturalized
American citizen in 1905 and
married William Rapp, jr, Chi
cago attorney. They were d.
vorced in 1914.
It was with beautiful belief in
her God, and indomitable cour'
age that Nine. Schumann-Heink
overcame heartrending emotions
during the World War
Son Joined Kaiser
When the gerat conflict first
ragged, one son felt the call of the
Fatherland, and entered the ser
vice of the Kaiser's navy. With
distinction he waged war in the
undersea service, and periShed
when his submarine was sunk by
gunfire. Another son served in
the German army throughout the
conflict.
Then America was drawn into
the maelstrom. Her youngest son
joined the colors of his adopted
country, and paid the supreme
price on the fields Of France.
Two sons had perished, but she
rose above the crushing hand of
fate, and sang with a voice deeper,
richer and more sincere than ever
before.
Invested Wisely
Another son, Arthur Schu-
mann-Heink, 40, died in 1884 at
the Marine Hospital in Baltimore.
He had been a member Of the
American Expeditionary Forces
and had two children, Arthur, jr.,
and Irma.
At the height of her career, star
in her own right, with a tremen.
dous drawing power in Europe and
the United States, it was said that
she earned $135, 900 annually from
concert work alone, while royalties
on talking machine records
brought in an additional $4,000.
Nine. Schumann-Heink's war
service endeared her to raw recruit
and hard-boiled old regular alike
in cantonments and training
camps.
HOnOred as Colonel
She was adopted" as honorary
colonel Of the Twenty-first Infan-
try at Camp Kearney, and was
the idol of every man in the
regiment.
But the thing that most Of two
generations of music lovers re-
member of the silver-haired, kindly
mother, was her voice lifted with
an inspired reverence as she sang
her two favorites Silent Night"
and the Ave Maria on Christmas