Born Lawrence Mervil Tibbet in Bakersfield, CA. The son of a sheriff who was killed in a battle with cattle rustlers, he helped support the family while attending high school in Los Angeles. He also took voice lessons and began a professional singing career that led to a contract with the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1923. He soon gained a reputation as one of the world's finest baritones. He remained with the Met for 28 years. In the early 30s he starred in a number of early sound musical films. THE ROGUE SONG was his film debut, making him the only actor to receive a Best Actor nomination for his first screen appearance. His other films were NEW MOON (also 1930), THE PRODIGAL and THE CUBAN LOVE SONG (both 1931), METROPOLITAN (1935) and UNDER YOUR SPELL (1936).    Nominated for Actor 1929-30: THE ROGUE SONG 1 nomination