Biography
From Wikipedia
Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 23, 1943), born Bernard
Anzelevitz, was an American jazz violinist and radio personality, often
introduced as The Old Maestro. He was noted for his showmanship and memorable
bits of snappy dialogue.
Bernie was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. By the age of 15 he
was teaching violin, but this experience apparently diminished his interest in
the violin for a time. He returned to music doing vaudeville, appearing with
Phil Baker as Baker and Bernie, but he met with little success until 1922 when
he joined his first orchestra. Later, he had his own band, "The
Lads," seen in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound short, Ben Bernie and
All the Lads (1924–25), featuring pianist Oscar Levant. He toured with Maurice
Chevalier and also toured in Europe.
Bernie's orchestra recorded throughout the 1920s and 1930s;
Vocalion (1922–25), Brunswick (1925–33), Columbia (1933), Decca (1936), and ARC
(Vocalion and OKeh) (1939–40). In 1923 Bernie and the Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra
recorded Who's Sorry Now. In 1925 Ben Bernie and his orchestra did the first
recording of Sweet Georgia Brown. Bernie was the co-composer of this jazz
standard, which became the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Bernie was a freemason, member of Keystone Lodge № 235, New
York City.
He died from a pulmonary embolism in October 1943, aged 52.
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