US Edition
Morgana King, jazz singer and Godfather actress, dead at 87
Morgana King, the American jazz singer and actress best known for playing the wife of Marlon Brando's character in the Godfather films, has died aged 87.
King passed away on March 22, but her death went unreported until this week, when her friend John Hoglund wrote a tribute to her on Facebook. "She was one of the most revered and unique jazz singers of the last century," Hoglund wrote. "We were good friends for over 30 years."
Speaking to the Washington Post, the coroner's office for Riverside County, California, confirmed the cause of death as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Born in New York to Sicilian parents, King won a scholarship to the Metropolitan School of Music and began singing professionally from the age of 16.
King released three albums with Frank Sinatra's Reprise record label, and was nominated for the best new artist award at the 1965 Grammys, losing out to The Beatles. As a singer, she was best known for her operatic version of the Broadway tune A Taste of Honey.
Her powerful voice also helped her to land her best-remembered film role, as Carmela Corleone in 1972's The Godfather, in which she sang the bawdy Neapolitan song C'è la luna mezzo mare in the film's wedding reception scene.
In a 1971 interview, she revealed her unusual way of preparing for the audition. "I've been a singer for 26 years. I act when I sing," she said. "So you could say I've been rehearsing for this part all my life.
"I read The Godfather two years ago and knew I had to be a part of it. I went to my hypnotist to program and condition myself for becoming a member of the cast. It worked!"
She reprised the role of Carmela in 1974's The Godfather Part II, and later appeared in the US soap opera All My Children.