Bill Ronayne was just 7 when he became a fan of Mario Lanza, the tenor who was born in South Philadelphia in 1921 and made the cover of Time in 1951, when he starred in “The Great Caruso.” That fandom continues – even more so – today, with Ronayne semiretired and devoted to Lanza as president of the Mario Lanza Institute and Museum in Philadelphia, which looks forward in supporting the education of young opera singers and looks backward in maintaining the legacy of the singer.

“He’s still a force to be reckoned with. His star is shining bright,” Ronayne said of Lanza, who died in Italy in 1959. He influenced singers from Roy Orbison to Elvis Presley (“Elvis was a major-league fan, and if you go into the Graceland media room, you’ll see the last record that he ever listened to was a Mario Lanza record, still on the turntable, with the jacket propped up: ‘I’ll Walk With God: Songs of Devotion and Love.’ ”) and from opera star Renee Fleming to future winners of institute scholarships.