William Herman was a voice teacher in NYC who taught famous singers such as Roberta Peters, Lucille Ball, and many others. He was a client and a fan of Joe’s, and he also had a mini-studio in his voice studio with pilates apparatus. We don’t know everything he had but what we do know is that he had 3 reformers/Devanas and at least one ped-o-pul. He also famously had his students sing while using a punching bag. Images first shared February 16, 2021.
William Herman’s studio, to the right. It was 2 floors, with a piano, ped-o-pul, and punching bag on the first floor and the other apparatus upstairs.
What William Herman did that was unique with the ped-o-pul was to use two springs at the same time. He invented ways to use the Ped-o-pul that were unlike how Joe used it, one of which was to suspend the arms as a way to enhance intercostal breathing, the breathing method he taught for singing.
A newspaper article from 1958 wrote about William Herman’s techniques, stating, “It is easier to produce a great tone while the body is in vigorous tension.” It also wrote of how a Broadway star’s voice “must be very strong and very loud,” and “she and her teacher are conscientiously striving to meet this demand.”
I was completely excited to discover this photo from a vintage, original magazine depicting Mary Martin working with William Herman and using the famous “weighted shoes.” Until this photo, I had only guessed that the weighted shoes Mr. Herman used in his lessons with voice students were the ones invented by Joseph Pilates, since he also used other apparatus invented by Joe, such as the Devana and Ped-o-Pul. However this photo shows that, in fact, he was not using Joe’s weighted shoes, but rather generic weighted shoes, possibly made by York Barbell, that were common in physical culture at the time. Amazing!
With Joe’s weighted shoes, the weight was controlled by adding an iron insert into the footbed of the shoe. With other weighted shoes, such as the ones shown here, the weight was controlled by added iron plates to the sides, similar to how one would add weight to a barbell. Images first shared on April 22, 2021.
An article about Mary Martin, William Herman, and Kounovsky’s gym. Image first shared on April 22, 2021.
I am thrilled to have recently acquired an original, rare magazine copy of this photo with Mary Martin using the Ped-o-Pul at William Herman’s studio in NYC. So much more detail than in the newspaper version. Image first shared on April 22, 2021.
Example Voice Lesson
Here is an example of a voice lesson, William Herman at the piano and his student singing while using the ped-o-pul. You can see that the apparatus is being used for a specific purpose, Joe’s exercises are not being done here.
William Herman is using the Ped-o-pul to teach appoggio: to lean.
The most important feature of appoggio is that one must preserve the feeling of the balance of forces even while the expiration tension of the act of singing threatens to collapse the chest.
Roberta Peters about William Herman
“His way of teaching was very unorthodox. He was a very physical teacher. He would ask me to put the palms of my hands against the piano, feet about 3 feet away, leaning…. that’s what it was…. appoggio… and that’s what you have to feel, which is leaning. I was singing in that position as I was leaning.
Then he would have me sing bending down, so the blood rushed to the head a little bit. Also, I would lean over, when I stopped staining, when I needed a little rest. It relaxed the whole throat area.”
Images first shared on February 16, 2021.
William Herman Teaching Mary Martin inside his vocal lessons studio
Photos by Toni Frissell | To view a full collection of photos from this series, visit Elaine Ewing’s instagram page at @elaine_ewing
The Divana
These are the only known photos of a student being taught on an original Divana, taken in 1959. These are also currently the only known photos of the Divana with William Herman and his student during a vocal lessons, where he used Pilates’ apparatus in ways that Joe taught, as well as in his own ways during vocal lessons.
Here we can see Mary Marin on the short box, with arms folded as Joe taught. It appears as though she is singing while exercising, just like Elaine Malbin did in her photos with Joe Pilates during the same time period.
These photos provide excellent details of the original Divana, and even show that Herman had a vibrating exercise machine in his studio as well!
The Ped-o-Pul
Previously, we have shared a photo from this series that was published in a number of articles at the time, with Mary Martin on the Ped-o-Pul as well as Mary boxing with the Ped-o-Pul behind her. Now, we are fortunate to view the outtakes that were not chosen for publication, and here are some of the best!
The most fascinating part is the use of four total springs on the Ped-o-Pul, which we believe was a technique created by William Herman to suspend the arms during vocal lessons.
The Spine Corrector
In this series, William Herman is teaching Mary Martin on the Spine Corrector in a way that we know Joe Pilates also taught- arching back with a bar held with both hands. The Spine Corrector was a popular apparatus for singers with both Herman and Pilates. In addition to the Spine Corrector, Mary is also shown on the mat with the Spine Corrector nearby, perhaps exemplifying some of the benefits of a Spine Corrector practice.
The Mat
In this series, William Herman is teaching Mary Martin on the mat with the Spine Corrector in the background. Perhaps she is exemplifying some of the benefits of a Spine Corrector practice.
The Breathacizer
In this series, William Herman is teaching Mary Martin to use the Breathacizer during her vocal lesson while he plays the piano. These are currently the only known photos of anyone other than Joe Pilates teaching the Breathacizer or even using the Breathacizer outside of the Pilates’ Studio. Until these photos surfaced, we did not know that Herman had a Breathacizer because it was not mentioned in articles or interviews. As always, there is so much more to history than what is discussed in published articles. That is the beauty and also the endlessness of research- there is always more to learn and to be inspired by!
Images first shared July 20, 2023
Now the question is, did William Herman have a bike seat?
Here is the proof that William Herman not only had a bike seat on his ped-o-pul, but that it was not Carola who chose the bike seat.
The punching bag: prevented singers from focusing only on their tone, conditioned them to produce big tones, and strengthened their diaphragm action.
Once she could sing her songs while pummeling the bag, they became effortless on stage.
Images first shared on February 16, 2021.
An original copy of this vintage article is available for purchase. Contact Elaine Ewing.
Image first shared on February 16, 2021.
An article about Mary Martin
Another example of the ped-o-pul being used to open the ribs and lungs for singing. Images first shared on February 16, 2021.
William Herman was the voice teacher to many prominent opera singers and performers of the time, such as Robert Rounseville. Images first shared April 3, 2021.
Roberta Peters
This article appeared in Life Magazine and was about Roberta Peters. It depicted her time in the studio with Joseph Pilates as well as a voice lesson with William Herman. Images first shared on October 15, 2021. Click here for more primary source research material about William Herman and Roberta Peters.
A description of Mary’s workout at William Herman’s studio. I’m not yet sure if the “pulley machine” was the Ped-o-Pul or a non-pilates apparatus that he had. Image first shared April 3, 2021.
I was thrilled to discover that Roberta Peters actually wrote a biography in 1967 about her time and studies with William Herman. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in Herman’s original work! Interestingly, the book does not mention Pilates!
Image first shared May 11, 2023.
Also see Mary Martin, Elaine Malbin, Roberta Peters