From the obituary (penned by Margalit Fox)of Arthur Lessac, legendary voice coach, who died earlier this month at 101: a tough way of dealing with a tough beginning.

Mr. Lessac was born in Haifa, at the time in Palestine, on Sept. 9, 1909. His original surname is unknown: throughout his adult life, he neither used nor mentioned it. He had no wish, his family said, to utter the name of the parents who had left him to his own devices when he was very young

At 2, he sailed with his birth parents to the United States. Their marriage soon dissolved, and they put him in the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society Orphan Asylum in Pleasantville, N.Y., where he would spend most of his childhood.

At about 12, working for the summer as a delicatessen delivery boy in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, he befriended a family on his route, who were named Lessac. They took him in for a while, and with their blessing, he took their name.

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 18th, 2011 at 8:00 pm.