William Warfield was an American concert bass-baritone singer and actor. He made his concert recital debut in 1950 at New York's Town Hall and sang Ol' Man River in the 1951 film Show Boat and later released albums including Copland Conducts Copland with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. ln 1995, he performed in a recital at Carnegie Hall to support the Duke Ellington Cancer Center.