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For the few of you who can recall such radio shows as "Portia Faces Life," "Dick Tracy," "Mr. District Attorney" or "Counter Spy," then you heard the mellifluous voice of Maurice Ellis. The more fortunate among you saw Ellis onstage in "Hot Mikado" or in such films as "Lost Boundaries" with Mel Ferrer.
Ellis, widely known as the man with "The perfect voice," died last Saturday at 97. He lived in Harlem with his niece, Sylvia Alston.
"He lived with me for many years," said Alston, as she and her friends Helen Banks and Lucille Gibbs reminisced and watched snatches of film showcasing some memorable moments in Ellis' phenomenal career. "Maurice loved to entertain people. He was a very good pianist, with a splendid singing voice. While he liked jazz, classical music was his preference."
But it was on the stage where Ellis found his true metier, particularly his performance in the 1936 production of "Macbeth" directed by Orson Welles at the...