Russell Oberlin was born on October 11, 1928 in Akron, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Omnibus (1952), Startime (1959) and Camera Three (1955). He died on November 26, 2016 in New York City, New York, USA.
Famous countertenor, he is the descendant of pastor and philanthropist Jean-Frédéric Oberlin.
He taught for many years at Hunter College of the City University of New York.
He earned a diploma in voice from the Juilliard School in 1951.
As a child, he sang advertising jingles on the radio for a variety of products, including flour and toilet paper. At age 12, he won the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, a nationwide radio talent search.
He and English countertenor Alfred Deller helped initiate the 20th-century renaissance of the countertenor and the corresponding early-music revival. He made many recordings, and sang with early-music ensembles, as a soloist with orchestras, and in recital.