Mel Tormé

AKA:

The Velvet Fog

Birth Name:

Melvin Howard Tormé

Birth Date:

September 13, 1925

Birth Place:

Chicago, Illinois

Death Date:

June 5, 1999

Place of Death:

UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Stroke

Cemetery Name:

Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park

Claim to Fame:

Music

Singer, actor, writer, composer, arranger, drummer and pianist Mel Tormé was extraordinarily versatile, but he will primarily be remembered as one of the supreme popular vocalists of this century, a superb song stylist equally persuasive handling tender love-songs, swinging rhythm numbers or giving a cool jazz sound to the best of popular song. As a singer, his name ranks in the top echelon along with Crosby and Sinatra, but he excelled them when it came to jazz stylings, particularly with the series of superb recordings he made with arranger Marty Paich starting in the mid-Fifties. As a composer, his best-known work, "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire . . ."), is a perennial favourite. His own autobiography, It Wasn't All Velvet, is an oblique reference to the label given him by the disc jockey Fred Robbins, "The Velvet Fog", an attempt to sum up the warm, mellow timbre that gave Torme's voice its unmistakable individuality. Sadly on August 8, 1996, a stroke ended Tormé's 65-year singing career. In February 1999, he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He died from another stroke on June 5, 1999, at the age of 73.

Mel Torme and Television Series Night Court

Mel Tormé appeared on Night Court six times primarily because the show’s star, Harry Anderson, was a massive fan of “The Velvet Fog” in real life. This admiration was written into the show, making Judge Harry Stone obsessed with Tormé, leading to multiple guest appearances and a friendship between the two. Harry Anderson and Mel Tormé became genuine friends, and Anderson later delivered a eulogy at Tormé’s funeral.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park

1218 Glendon Avenue

Los Angeles, California, 90024

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Pierce Brothers Westwood Memorial in Los Angeles, California

Grave Location:

Section B, Lot 114

Grave Location Description

As you enter the small, elite cemetery look to your immediate left for the large Armand Hammer Mausoleum. Now continue in the grass area towards the large memorial wall for singer, songwriter and all around good guy Mel Tormé’s final resting place. He is buried in the same section as John Cassavetes, Eva Gabor, Don Knotts and Joan Collins.

Grave Location GPS

34.05863458826854, -118.4412517818303

Photos:

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FAQ's

Mel Tormé was born on September 13, 1925.

Mel Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois.

Mel Tormé died on June 5, 1999.

Mel Tormé died in UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.

Mel Tormé was 73.

The cause of death was Stroke.

Mel Tormé's grave is in Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park

Videos Featuring Mel Tormé:

Mel Torme - Comin' Home Baby

Mel Torme & George Shearing - I'll Be Seeing You - 8/18/1989 - Newport Jazz Festival

Mel Torme & Ella Fitzgerald - Lady Be Good

How Mel Tormé Wrote “The Christmas Song” | Late Night with Conan O’Brien

Mel Torme on Night Court

Watch YouTube video titled Mel Torme on what it means to be a jazz singer - rare interview!

Mel Tormé