Perry Askam

Perry Askam (1898–1961) was a 20th-century American actor and baritone singer, most active in musical theatre and opera around the San Francisco area.

Askam was born in 1898 Perry was orphaned at a young age, and went to live with his maternal aunt, Elisa Haag, whom he came to view as a second mother. In 1928 he performed in The Desert Song at the Curran Theatre. This engagement led to a recording of the musical's songs "Stouthearted Men" and "Lover Come Back to Me".

Askam had a significant role in the 1930 Warner Brothers musical film Sweet Kitty Bellairs in which he sang lead in several numbers,

Askam spent two seasons with the San Francisco Opera. Askam performed the role of Count Almaviva in the 1936 production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. He had two roles for San Francisco's 1937 season, both in works by Charles Gounod, first as Mercutio in his Roméo et Juliette and then as Valentin in Faust. He joined the New York-based New Opera Company in 1941 for a performance of Mozart's then-rarely-heard Così fan tutte.

In 1945 Perry and his wife Frances moved back to Rengstorff House to look after his aunt Elise. The Crusades (1935) – Soldier