Enzo Stuarti

Enzo Stuarti (born Lorenzo Scapone; March 3, 1919 – December 16, 2005) was an Italian American tenor and musical theater performer. After performing on Broadway under the stage names Larry Laurence and Larry Stuart, he changed his name again and began a recording career in which he released several successful albums. He made regular stage and television appearances, and was featured in commercials for Ragú spaghetti sauce.

Early life Enzo Stuarti was born Lorenzo Scapone in Rome, Italy. His parents fled Italy for the United States when Benito Mussolini came to power; but he was left behind with an aunt who placed him in the Monte Cassino Abbey, where he was raised by monks. He joined his family in Newark, New Jersey in 1934, where he finished school and worked with his father, a baker by trade.

In 1940, Stuarti joined the United States Merchant Marine and was assigned aboard the Liberty ship SS Charles Pratt, a Panamanian-based tanker. On December 21, 1940, the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat. He survived the attack and after his service in the Merchant Marine, he returned to Italy for voice training in order to pursue his ambition of singing professionally. He studied for a time at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. followed by Nellie Bly. Then in 1946, he was cast in the role of Passepartout in the Cole PorterOrson Welles musical Around the World. The production was not considered a success; it closed after 75 performances. Additional Broadway credits included As the Girls Go, Two on the Aisle, Me and Juliet, and By the Beautiful Sea. During this time he was performing under the stage names "Larry Laurence" (sometimes spelled "Lawrence") and "Larry Stuart". This album was repeatedly re-released on several different labels under various titles. was a genuine operatic artist though, Enzo Stuarti was vocally most comfortable with the popular, semi-classical repertoire, supported with vocal amplification.

He released over 30 recordings for several labels, including Jubilee, Epic, Columbia, Roulette, Diplomat, and Spin-O-Rama. During the 1960s and into the early 1970s, he was a frequent guest on televisions shows such as The Tonight Show and appeared in a series of commercials for Ragú spaghetti sauce, where his catchphrase was "That's A'Nice!"