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An operatic baritone who sang 789 performances across 21 roles at the Metropolitan Opera over three decades, becoming the company's principal baritone after Leonard Warren's death in 1960. Merrill built his reputation on Verdi — Rigoletto, Germont, Amonasro — and recorded widely, including with tenor Jussi Björling. Born Moishe Miller in Brooklyn to Polish-Jewish immigrants, he overcame a childhood stutter through singing; he later became known well beyond the opera house for performing the national anthem at Yankee Stadium, a tradition that continued for years after his death. He received the National Medal of Arts in 1993.