Photo Gallery – Paul Whiteman
Bela Lugosi and Paul Whiteman, Hollywood, 1929 – S.B.
This photograph was taken at Universal studio during the filming of “The King of Jazz”. At that time, Bela Lugosi was filming “Dracula”. Both films were released in 1930. In June 1929, Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra went to Los Angeles to film “The King of Jazz”. Except for the regular broadcast for Old Gold over station KMTR and occasional engagements, the musicians had not much to do except hang around, which they did for about two months. By the end of August 1930, Paul Whiteman, who could not agree on a script with the officials at Universal, decided to take the orchestra back East. This turn of events is most unfortunate because what could have been an extended appearance by Bix in a film (Bix can be seen playing his cornet for a few seconds in a Fox Movietone Newsreel of May 12, 1928), was not to be. It seems pretty clear that the summer of 1929 contributed enormously to the deterioration of Bix’s health. On June 2, 1929, Don Murray died in Los Angeles from a dreadful accident (fracture of the skull while under the influence of alcohol). The band arrived in Los Angeles on June 6 and, surely, soon after, Bix must have learned of the accident. Bix and Don had been close friends since 1922 (note that in many photographs of the Jean Goldkette Orchestra, Bix and Don are next to each other), and the news of Don’s death must have affected Bix deeply. The two months of relative inactivity did not help either. With not much to do and living in a relatively inaccessible location (Bix and Boyce Cullen had rented a house in Laurel Canyon), Bix must have done a lot of drinking. Thus, the decline in his health must have accelerated considerably. This is not idle speculation: there is ample evidence that upon his return to New York, Bix’s health was seriously compromised. On September 13, 1929, during his last recording session with Paul Whiteman, Bix could complete only the first record cut on that day – “Waiting at the End of the Road” – and collapsed immediately after that. On September 15, he left New York for Davenport and spent about a month at home. On October 14, Bix entered the Keeley Institute in Dwight, Illinois.
It was at about this time that Paul Whiteman returned to Hollywood to film “The King Of Jazz”. But Bix was not to accompany him.
Photograph of Paul Whiteman, 1926 – N.D
This photograph was taken in 1926. Don Rayno’s biography of Paul Whiteman has a photo of Whiteman with violin, sitting down, evidently taken on the same day. The dedication in the corner is to Sammy Lewis, a trombone player with the Whiteman band from November 1920 to August 1923.
Advertisement for the Appearance of The Collegians at the Crystal Palace – E.B.
The Big Bands Data Base [http://nfo.net/.WWW/may.htm] provides the following information about the Collegians. ” Newell “Spiegle” Willcox’s career began just after World War I, when he started playing in Syracuse, NY. In 1922, he was playing with “The Big Four” in Ithaca, NY. (actually an Octet). Paul Whiteman discovered the band and renamed them “The Collegians”. Spiegle joined the Whiteman band and had his first recording with Whiteman. (“That Red-Head Gal” -New York, March 23, 1923, Victor 19049.) Spiegle stayed with the Whiteman organization until early 1925, when he left Whiteman and returned to Cortland, NY, re-joining his coal family’s firm briefly. In the summer of 1925, he was a member of a local band playing in a dance hall in Auburn’s (NY) Owasco Lake area. He became friendly with a member of the Jean Goldkette Orchestra, trumpet player Fred “Fuzzy” Farrar, who was then vacationing in the area. Farrar mentioned that Tommy Dorsey was quitting the Goldkette band and a replacement was needed. In October 1925, Spiegle joined the Jean Goldkette Victor Recording Orchestra. In May 1926, Bix Beiderbecke and Frank Trumbauer joined Goldkette’s band. In 1927, Goldkette disbanded his Victor Recording band, and Spiegle again returned to his family’s coal business, this time remaining there for several decades.”
Enrico Borsetti writes, “Seated: STUB WASHBURN- alto sax; BOB CAUSER-drums and leader; JIMMY LYNCH-piano. Standing, from left: CHARLIE DEAN-banjo; NEWELL “Spiegle” WILLCOX-trombone; RED EWALD-violin; ROY JOHNSTON-trumpet; FREDDIE BALLINGER-tenor sax, piano, trombone. We all know Spiegle Willcox career, Bob Causer leading swing bands through the later 30s, Roy Johnston with Ray Miller/Gene Fosdick & His Hoosiers/California Ramblers, but what became of the others?
Announcement of Paul Whiteman Orchestra’s Engagement in the Ambassador Theatre in St. Louis, 1927 – S.B
St. Louis, Missouri, located at the intersection of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, downstream from Davenport, Iowa, turned out to be a very important city in Bix’s life. After his phenomenal success with the Wolverine Orchestra, Bix’s career floundered. His first experience with Jean Goldkette was short and ill-fated. From December 1924 to September 1925, Bix starts college and drops out, spends some time in New York sitting with the California Ramblers, and joins briefly the Charley Straight, Nat Natoli, and Island Lake bands. Sometime in June 1925, Trumbauer got in touch with Bix for a possible engagement at the Arcadia Ballroom in St. Louis. Things worked out nicely, and Bix arrived in St. Louis in August 1925 and started rehearsing with the Frank Trumbauer’s orchestra for a September 8 opening. From August 1925 to May 1926, with the exception of a brief visit to Davenport and an appearance of the band in Carbondale, Illinois, Tram’s hometown, Bix spends all his time in St. Louis playing steadily with the Trumbauer orchestra in the Arcadia Ballroom. This is the longest period of time that Bix has spent in one place since December of 1923. It is in St. Louis that Bix meets Ruth Shaffner. The steady rehearsals and performances and his close relationship with Ruth very likely result in Bix leading a relatively ordered life. This, in turn, contributes to a marked improvement in Bix’s cornet technique and ability to read music. For a year and a half, Bix was silent as far as recordings were concerned. Bix’s only recording session in 1925 took place on January 26 – the Jugglers session. Bix’s first recording session in 1926 took place on October 12 with the newly reconstituted Jean Goldkette Victor recording orchestra. What a difference 16 months make! Bix’s tone is clearer, sharper, stronger.
Bix left St. Louis on May 7, 1926, and did not return until October 29, 1927. This is two days after Bix and Tram joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, after their short-lived association with Adrian Rollini’s New Yorkers.
The image associated with this text is an ad in a St. Louis newspaper (St. Louis Dispatch?) for Paul Whiteman’s one-week engagement at the Ambassador Hotel. The “potato head” caricature is used in the ad, and the “Paul Rhythm Boys” are the only musicians specifically mentioned.
Ad for Columbia Records and Paul Whiteman’s Concert In Carnegie Hall, October 6, 1928 – S.B.
In the Fall of 1928, Paul Whiteman and his orchestra made an extended concert tour. The concert started with performances at Carnegie Hall on October 7 and ended on December 9 in Boston. In between those dates, concerts were presented in Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Canada (Toronto). Bix suffered a breakdown on November 30, 1928, in Cleveland and did not complete the tour with the rest of the orchestra. Bix’s whereabouts were unknown until February 3, 1929. There is speculation that during this period, Bix recorded Cradle of Love with Ray Miller and his orchestra. The concert in Carnegie Hall was one of the highlights of Bix’s career: he performed his composition “In A Mist”. For a detailed account of the concert, go to http://ms.cc.sunysb.edu/~alhaim/recordingsinamist.htm#Bix’sPublicperformance
Full Page Ad for Engagement of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra at Castle Farm, Cincinnati, Ohio – D.B.
The Jean Goldkette Orchestra closed at Roseland on September 18, 1927, and was dissolved. Bix and several of the Goldkette musicians joined the newly formed band organized by Adrian Rollini at the New Yorker Club. The band was, unfortunately, very short-lived. By October 27, 1927, Bix and Tram joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra at the Indiana Theater in Indianapolis. Two weeks earlier, the orchestra was in Cincinnati for an appearance at Castle Farm, October 16-October 21, 1927. The image is a full-page ad in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. I thank Dave Bartholomew for kindly sending me a scan of the ad.
Ad for Whiteman’s Recording of Felix the Cat – A.H.
This ad appeared in The Talking Machine World in 1928.
Sheet Music for “When” – F.H.
This song, written by Razaf, Schafer, and Johnson, was recorded by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra on March 12, 1928. The vocals were by the sweet trio consisting of Jack Fulton, Charles Gaylord, and Austin Young and two of the members of the Rhythm Boys, Al Rinker and Harry Barris. Bix had two six-bar solos.
Announcement of the June 7-13, 1929 Engagement of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in San Francisco’s Pantage Theatre – S.B.
On May 24, 1929, the Paul Whiteman Orchestra boarded the Old Gold special train at Pennsylvania Station, New York, with Los Angeles as its final destination to film the King of Jazz at Universal Studios. On its way to Los Angeles, the train stopped in various cities for concerts and/or radio broadcasts. It was a brutal schedule with stops at Philadelphia, PA, May 24; Pittsburgh, PA, May 25; Fort Wayne, IN, May 27; Chicago, IL, May 28; Springfield, IL, May 29; Indianapolis, IN; St. Louis, MO, May 31; Kansas City, MO, June 1; Omaha, NE and Lincoln, NE, June 2; Denver, June 3; Salt Lake City, UT, June 5; San Francisco, CA, June 7, where the orchestra stayed for about a week. The train arrived in Los Angeles on June 15. According to accounts from Ruth Schaffner (she met Bix in St. Louis on May 31) and Fritz Spurrier (he met Bix in Los Angeles on June 16), Bix was already looking “weak”, “pale,” and “nervous”. Certainly, the brutal schedule did not help. This is the beginning of the summer that I refer to in the text that accompanies the Bela Lugosi-Paul Whiteman photograph. Bix learned of Don Murray’s death and spent a relatively idle summer in relative isolation in a house in Laurel Canyon. This is the summer that resulted in the precipitous deterioration of Bix’s health.
Signed Photograph of Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, probably 1928 – A.H.
This photo was up for auction on eBay in late 1999. I was not the highest bidder, but I grabbed the image. If the high bidder sees this image and is offended, I will remove the image. I do not know the year this photo was taken, nor do I know who Link is. However, I think it is from 1928 because it looks like other promotional photos in conjunction with the tour of Fall 1928. Jean-Paul Lion identifies the musicians as follows. From left to right, standing: Wilbur Hall, Rube Crozier, Bill Rank, Bix Beiderbecke, Charles Margulis, Harry Goldfield, and George Marsh. Sitting from left to right: Izzy Friedman, unidentified.
Signed Photograph of Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra – A.H.
This photo was up for auction on eBay in late 1999. I was not the highest bidder, but I grabbed the image. If the high bidder sees this image and is offended, I will remove the image. This photo is the same, except for the dedication by Wilbur Hall, as the one in p.429 of Evans and Evans’ “Bix: The Leon Bix Beiderbecke Story”.
Signed Photograph of Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, February 1929 – M.S.
On February 6, 1929, the Whiteman orchestra re-opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre. The orchestra was part of the “Ziegfield Midnight Frolics.” At this time, Bix was recuperating in Davenport after a bout of pneumonia. Therefore, the four trumpet players seen in the photo are Charlie Margulis, Harry Goldfield, Eddie Pinder, and Andy Secrest.
Warning: this is a 400KB image. Be patient. It is worth waiting for: the images are very clear.
Paul Whiteman In Sailor Suit From the Film “King of Jazz” – A.H.
On June 15, 1929, the Paul Whiteman orchestra arrived in Los Angeles to film “The King of Jazz”. For three months, except for the weekly Old Gold broadcasts, the musicians hung around while Whiteman discussed with Universal the script for the film. By August 28, 1929, Whiteman decided to take his orchestra back east and wait for an acceptable script. When Paul Whiteman returned to Los Angeles to film “The King of Jazz” in October of 1929, Bix was convalescing at the Keeley Institute in Dwight, Illinois. Thus, the great opportunity to have a lengthy sound film of Bix was lost forever.
Cover of January 4, 1928 issue of Variety – A.H.
It was customary for orchestra leaders to have new year wishes in the year-end issues of Variety. The January 4, 1928 issue has Paul Whiteman’s “Happy New Year” wishes on the cover. This also happens to be the 22nd anniversary number of Variety. Mugshots of 34 musicians, including Bix, are depicted on the page.
Paul Whiteman Souvenir Program – R.R.
The concert presented in Carnegie Hall on October 7, 1928, was the first in the Fall tour of Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra. The tour included the concert on November 11, 1928, in the City Auditorium of Ponca City, Oklahoma. The image is from the souvenir program sold at the Ponca City Concert. There is some question as to whether Bix played in the concert. According to Irving Friedman (Bix: The Bix Beiderbecke Story, by Philip R. and Linda K.Evans, p. 416), Bix missed the train from Tulsa to Ponca City. However, he sent a telegram (received by Paul Whiteman on the train) announcing that he would arrive by plane. Some members of the band went to the airfield in Ponca City, and, indeed, Bix arrived on time for the concert. But apparently, Bix and the pilot had been drinking during the flight. Bix went backstage and slept through the concert.
Ad for Paul Whiteman’s Spring 1924 Concert Tour – E.B.
Following the great success of the “Experiment in Modern Music Concert” at New York’s Aeolian Hall on February 24, 1924, where George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue for piano and orchestra was given its world premiere, Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra left New York for their Spring 1924 concert tour. The concert tour started with a performance on May 12, 1924, in Aeolian Hall. The program was the same as for the original February 24 concert, except that Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” was deleted. The tour continued to Rochester, New York, on May 15, and from there on to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Indianapolis, and St. Louis. The orchestra played in thirteen cities in the US as well as in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. The ad is from the May 5, 1924 issue of “Musical America.”
Another Signed Photo of Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, probably 1928 – F. H.
Frank Hagenbuch sent me an image of this photograph of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Frank wonders if the second musician from the left is Bix Beiderbecke. I believe that the unknown musician is the same as the guy in the middle of the previous photograph of the Paul Whiteman orchestra.
Paul Whiteman in Hollywood with the Laemmles, Father and Son, 1929 – S.C.
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, including Bix, arrived in Los Angeles, California, on June 15, 1929. The purpose of the trip to Los Angeles was to make the film “The King of Jazz” for Universal Studios. Weeks went by, but no agreement about a script could be reached.
July and most of August passed, but Universal could not come up with a script that was acceptable to Whiteman. On August 28, 1928, Paul Whiteman decided to take the band back home to New York, but agreed with Universal that when a satisfactory script became available, the band would return to Hollywood. Bix’s health had deteriorated during the long, hot summer in Los Angeles, and on September 13, 1929, after the successful recording of take 8 of “Waiting the End of the Road”, Bix collapsed.
He went home to Davenport on September 15 on a leave of absence at full salary. In October, Whiteman reached an agreement with Universal, and the band left New York. When the orchestra arrived in Los Angeles, Bix was not with them: he was a patient at Keeley Institute, Dwight, Illinois. The filming of “The King of Jazz” began and was completed in March 1930, alas, without Bix. The producer of the film was Carl Laemmle, Jr., the son of Carl Laemmle, who had started Universal Pictures in the 1910s. The photograph is from p. 8 of “Cinelandia y Films”, October 1929, published in Spanish in Los Angeles, California. I am grateful to Sergio for the scan. The caption for the photograph reads:
In the struggle to reach the supremacy that every enterprise desires in this age of talkies and musicals, the Universal Company does not fall behind. They have engaged, at a fabulous salary, the king of “jazz” orchestra leaders, the famous Paul Whiteman. In the photograph, we can see Whiteman in front of a radio microphone, next to Carl Laemmle (father and son), owners of Universal Studios.
Photograph of Paul Whiteman and Maurice Ravel – E.B.
This photo is included in Pops, Paul Whiteman, King of Jazz” by Thomas A. DeLong. The caption reads:
On a 1928 visit to the United States, composer Maurice Ravel meets one of his favorite American conductors.
Ravel was in Liederkranz Hall on March 12, 1928, when the Paul Whiteman Orchestra with Bix recorded “When.” Following the recording, the orchestra played “Metropolis” and “Suite of Serenades” for Ravel. Roy Bargy stated that Ravel:
Was politely interested but not overly enthusiastic about either composition. but seemed to appreciate the musicianship of the players. Tommy Satterfield was the only one with nerve enough to ask for Ravel’s autograph, which he got on a score of one of his copositions. Several of us attended one of Ravel’s concerts at Carnegie Hal,l and Bix was with us.
Ad for Showing of “King of Jazz” Film in Davenport – R.J.
This ad appeared in the November 22, 1930 issue of “The Daily Times” in Davenport. Iowa. The film opened on Sunday, November 23, 1930, and, according to Esten Spurrier, Bix saw the film at the opening.
Complete Souvenir Program for Fall 1928 Concert Tour – M.S.
On October 7, 1928, Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra gave a concert in Carnegie Hall. That was the beginning of the Fall 1928 Concert Tour. The orchestra presented 61 concerts in 62 days. They were in 27 states and in Canada. Bix had a breakdown on November 30, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio.
The band went on, without Bix, on the tour. The program was essentially the same in all the appearances. Mike Schultz kindly scanned every page of the souvenir program, made the scans available to me, and gave me permission to upload them to the Bixography website. I am grateful to him.
Download PDF: DOWNLOAD
Dodge Brothers Victory Six Radio Hour – S.H.
On Jan 4, 1928, the NBC Network broadcast a special coast-to-coast radio program. The program, The Dodge Victory Six Radio Hour, was sponsored by Dodge Brothers, Inc. This marked the introduction of the “Victory Six Automobile.”
An image of an ad for the car
The program featured Will Rogers in Hollywood, Fred and Dorothy Stone in Chicago, and the Paul Whiteman orchestra, with Bix, in New York. The band played a piece of “Rhapsody In Blue,” “Among My Souvenirs,” and “Changes.” According to Evans and Evans, Bix soloed in “Changes.”
An ad for the program
I thank Steve Hester for the scan of the program.