About Morgana King
Maria Grazia Morgana Messina (June 4, 1930 – March 22, 2018), better known as Morgana King, was an American jazz singer and actress. She began a professional singing career at sixteen years old. In her twenties, she was singing at a Greenwich Village nightclub when she was recognized for her unique phrasing and vocal range, described as a four-octave contralto range. She was signed to a label and began recording solo albums. She recorded dozens of albums well into the late 1990s. King had her debut and breakout role in film as Mama Corleone in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). She had roles in three additional films including her last performance in A Brooklyn State of Mind in 1997. She was twice married to fellow jazz musicians, first to Tony Fruscella and later to Willie Dennis. King died on March 22, 2018, in Palm Springs, California. When she sang in a Greenwich Village nightclub in 1953, a record label executive took an interest after being impressed with the unique phrasing and multi-octave range. Three years later in 1956, her first album, For You, For Me, For Evermore, was released.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.