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{{short description|Spanish-Cuban musician and bandleader}}
{{Infobox Actor
{{Infobox person
| name = Xavier Cugat
|name = Xavier Cugat
| image = Xaviercugat1.jpg
|image = Xavier Cugat (Gottlieb 10661).jpg
| caption = Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra 1952 Film featurette - [[Universal Studios]]
| birthname = Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu
|birth_name = Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu
|birth_date = {{birth date|1900|01|01|df=y}}<ref name="yob">NOTE: Some sources ([http://interactive.ancestrylibrary.com/2499/31301_168482-00715/4080518?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestrylibrary.com%2f%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fgss%3dangs-c%26new%3d1%26rank%3d1%26gsfn%3dXavier%26gsfn_x%3d0%26gsln%3dCugat%26gsln_x%3d0%26MSAV%3d0%26uidh%3d57k%26pcat%3dIMG_CITIZENSHIP%26h%3d4080518%26db%3dNYNaturalizations%26indiv%3d1%26ml_rpos%3d7&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnRecord], [http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gl=allgs&gss=sfs28_ms_f-2_s&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Xavier&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Cugat&gsln_x=0&MSAV=0&msbdy=1900&catbucket=rstp&uidh=57k]) indicate 1901 as his year of birth; however, the majority of references, including his tombstone and various United States censuses, all clearly support 1900 as the correct year of birth.</ref>
| birthdate = {{birth date|1900|1|1}}
| birthplace = [[Girona]], [[Girona]], [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]]
|birth_place = [[Girona]], [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]]
| deathdate = {{death date and age|1990|10|27|1900|1|1}}
|death_date = {{death date and age|1990|10|27|1900|01|01|df=y}}
| deathplace = [[Barcelona]], [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]]
|death_place = [[Barcelona]], [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]]
|spouse = {{plainlist|
| spouse = [[Carmen Castillo]] (1929-1946)<br>Lorraine Allen (1947-1952)<br>[[Abbe Lane]] (1952-1963)<br>[[Charo]] (1966-1978)
* {{marriage|[[Rita Montaner]]|1918|1920|end=divorced}}
| occupation = singer, songwriter, actor, director. screenwriter
* {{marriage|Carmen Castillo|1929|1946|end=divorced}}
| yearsactive = 1925 - 1990
* {{marriage|Lorraine Allen|1947|1952|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Abbe Lane]]|1952|1963|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Charo]]|1966|1978|end=divorced}}
}}
}}
|occupation = {{flatlist|
*Musician
*singer
*actor
*director
*screenwriter
*bandleader
}}
|years_active = 1925–1970


|relatives = [[Francis Cugat]] (brother)
'''Xavier Cugat''', born ''Francisco d'Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deleufo'' ([[1 January]] [[1900]] &ndash; [[27 October]] [[1990]]) was a [[Catalan people|Catalan]]-[[Cuba]]n-[[United States|American]] [[bandleader]] who spent his formative years in [[Havana, Cuba]]. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a key personality in the spread of [[Latin music]] in United States [[popular music]]. He was also a brilliant cartoonist and a successful businessman. His was the resident orchestra at the [[New York]] [[Waldorf Astoria]], both before and after [[WWII]].
| website = {{URL|xaviercugat.com}}
}}
{{ external media | float = right |width=270px |audio1 = You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting his [[Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra]] performing [[Consuelo Velázquez]]'s rhumba ''[[Bésame Mucho]]'' in 1945 [https://archive.org/details/78_besame-mucho-kiss-me-much_xavier-cugat-and-his-waldorf-astoria-orchestra-del-camp_gbia0066955f/Besame+Mucho+(Kiss+Me+Much)+-+Xavier+Cugat+and+his+Waldorf-Astoria+Orchestra-restored.flac '''Listen on archive.org''']}}
'''Xavier Cugat''' ({{IPA-ca|ʃəβiˈe kuˈɣat|lang}}; 1 January 1900<ref name="yob"/> &ndash; 27 October 1990) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in [[Havana, Cuba]]. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of [[Latin music (genre)|Latin music]]. In [[New York City]], he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the [[The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel|Waldorf–Astoria]] before and after [[World War II]]. He was also a cartoonist and a restaurateur. The personal papers of Xavier Cugat are preserved in the [[Biblioteca de Catalunya]].


== Life ==
==Life and career==
Cugat was born '''Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu'''<ref name=XC>[http://www.xaviercugat.com Xavier Cugat official webpage], xaviercugat.com; accessed 8 November 2015.</ref> in [[Girona]], [[Catalonia]], Spain, in 1900 (although he would later claim to have been born in 1901).<ref name=XC/> His family emigrated to Cuba when he was three years old.<ref name="LAT Obit">{{cite news |url=https://articles.latimes.com/1990-10-28/news/mn-4894_1_bandleader-xavier-cugat |title=Bandleader Xavier Cugat, 'Rumba King,' Dies at 90 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120081926/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-10-28/news/mn-4894_1_bandleader-xavier-cugat |archive-date=November 20, 2015 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=August 23, 2019 }}</ref> He studied classical violin and worked as a violinist at the age of nine in a silent movie theater to help pay for his education. He was first chair violinist for the Teatro Nacional Symphonic Orchestra. When he was not performing, he started drawing caricatures.<ref name="Groppa2018">{{cite book|last=Groppa|first=Carlos G. |title=The Tango in the United States: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qr9HDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA119 |access-date=20 February 2019 |date=16 January 2018|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-2686-7|pages=119–}}</ref> On 6 July 1915 he and his family arrived in New York City on the [[USS Comfort (AH-3)|SS ''Havana'']]. Cugat appeared in recitals with [[Enrico Caruso]], playing violin solos.<ref name=XC/>
Cugat was born in [[Girona]], in [[Catalonia]], [[Spain]].
<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0191265/ Xavier Cugat<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> With his family, he immigrated to Cuba when he was five. He was trained as a classical violinist and played with the Orchestra of the Teatro Nacional in [[Havana]].


In the 1920s, he led a band that played often at the Coconut Grove, a club in [[Los Angeles]]. Cugat's friend, [[Charlie Chaplin]], visited the club to dance the tango, so Cugat added tangos to the band's performances.<ref name="Harris" /> Seeing how popular the dance was becoming, Cugat convinced the owner to hire South American dancers to give tango lessons. This, too, became popular, and Cugat made the dancers part of his orchestra. In 1928 he turned his act into the film ''Xavier Cugat and His Gigolos''.<ref name="Harris">{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Craig |title=Xavier Cugat |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/xavier-cugat-mn0000678494/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=21 February 2019 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.legacyrecordings.com/artists/xaviercugat/index.html Profile] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061124170535/http://www.legacyrecordings.com/artists/xaviercugat/index.html |date=November 24, 2006 }} LegacyRecordings.com; accessed 8 November 2015.</ref>
On [[6 July]] [[1915]], Cugat and his family arrived in [[New York]] as immigrant passengers on board the S.S. ''Havana''.


He worked for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' as a cartoonist. His caricatures were nationally syndicated. They appeared in ''[[Photoplay]]'' magazine beginning with the November 1927 issue, under the byline "de Bru." His older brother, [[Francis Cugat|Francis]], was an artist of some note, having painted cover art for [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]]'s novel ''[[The Great Gatsby]].''<ref name="Gatsby">{{cite book|title=Critical Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald |last1=Tate |first1=Mary Jo |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2007 |page=88 |isbn=978-0-8160-6433-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C90C_Du_lKIC&pg=PA88 |access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref>
Cugat was married four times. His first marriage was to Carmen Castillo (1929&ndash;1944); his second to [[Lorraine Allen]] (1947&ndash;1952); his third to singer [[Abbe Lane]] (1952&ndash;1964); and his fourth to [[Salsa (dance)|salsa]] dancer [[Charo]] (''María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza Rasten'', 1966&ndash;1978). His last marriage was the first in [[Caesars Palace]] on the [[Las Vegas Strip]].


In 1931, Cugat took his band to New York for the 1931 opening of the [[Waldorf Astoria New York|Waldorf–Astoria]] hotel. He replaced [[Jack Denny]] as leader of the hotel's resident band. For sixteen years, he led the [[Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra]], shuttling between New York and Los Angeles for most of the next 30 years. One of his trademark gestures was to hold a [[chihuahua (dog)|chihuahua]] while he waved his baton with the other arm.<ref name="Autobiography">{{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=Jane |title=The Girl Next Door...and How She Grew |edition=1st |year=1988 |page=[https://archive.org/details/girlnextdoorandh00powe/page/112 112] |publisher=Morrow |isbn=0-688-06757-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/girlnextdoorandh00powe/page/112 }}</ref>
Cugat died of heart failure aged 90 in [[Barcelona]]. He is buried in [[Girona]] cemetery.


His music career led to appearing in the films ''[[In Gay Madrid]]'' (1930), ''[[You Were Never Lovelier]]'' (1942), ''[[Bathing Beauty]]'' (1944), ''[[Week-End at the Waldorf]]'' (1945), ''[[Holiday in Mexico]]'' (1946), ''[[A Date with Judy]]'' (1948), ''[[On an Island with You]]'' (1948), and ''[[Chicago Syndicate (film)|Chicago Syndicate]]'' (1955).<ref name="Harris"/>
== Career ==
Entering the world of show business, he played with a band called “The Gigolos” during the tango craze.<ref>[http://www.legacyrecordings.com/artists/xaviercugat/index.html LegacyRecordings.com » Error Page<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Later, he went to work for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' as a cartoonist. Cugat's caricatures were later nationally syndicated. His older brother, [[Francis Cugat|Francis]], was an artist of some note, having painted the famous cover art for [[F. Scott Fitzgerald|F. Scott Fitzgerald's]] masterpiece, ''[[The Great Gatsby]]''.


Cugat owned and operated the Mexican restaurant Casa Cugat in [[West Hollywood, California|West Hollywood]]. The restaurant was frequented by Hollywood celebrities and featured two singing guitarists who would visit each table and play diners' favorite songs upon request.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Mexican Food: What Do Showbiz People Like to Eat? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/169505880/ |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles |date=March 11, 1980 |access-date=February 19, 2017 }}</ref> The restaurant began operations in the 1940s and closed in 1986.<ref>{{cite news |last=Andrews |first=Colman |date=May 18, 1986 |title=A Bogus Critic Without Reservation |url=https://articles.latimes.com/1986-05-18/entertainment/ca-20772_1_restaurant-critic |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles |access-date=19 February 2017 }}</ref>
In the late 1920s, as sound began to be used in films, he put together another tango band that had some success in early short musical films. By the early 1930s, he began appearing with his group in feature films. Cugat took his band to New York for the 1931 opening of [[Waldorf Astoria Hotel]], and he eventually replaced Jack Denny as the leader of the Hotel's resident band. One of his trademarks was to hold a small Chihuahua dog while he waved his baton with the other arm. For 16 years Cugat helmed [[The Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra]] at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.


The restaurant's exterior and a fanciful depiction of its interior can be found in scenes in the 1949 film ''[[Neptune's Daughter (1949 film)|Neptune's Daughter]]'' in which Cugat has a substantial role playing himself. A brief scene revolving around the restaurant can also be seen in the earlier 1943 film ''[[The Heat's On]]'', also starring Cugat as himself.
He shuttled between New York and Los Angeles for most of the next 30 years, alternating hotel and radio dates with movie appearances in films such as ''[[Week-End at the Waldorf]]'' (1945) and ''[[Neptune's Daughter]]'' (1949).


==Death==
In 1940, he recorded the song "[[Perfidia]]" with singer Miguelito Valdés which became a big hit. Cugat followed trends closely, making records for the conga, the [[Mambo (music)|mambo]], the [[Cha-cha-cha (dance)|cha-cha-cha]], and the [[the Twist|twist]] when each was in fashion.
[[File:TombaCugat.jpg|alt=Cugat's tomb|thumb|Xavier Cugat's tomb in Girona's old cemetery]]
Cugat spent his last years in [[Barcelona]], Catalonia, Spain, living in a suite at {{Interlanguage link|Hotel Ritz (Barcelona)|es|Hotel El Palace (Barcelona)}}. He died of [[heart failure]] at age 90 in Barcelona and was buried in his native [[Girona]]. He was posthumously inducted into the [[International Latin Music Hall of Fame]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite news|title=International Latin Music Hall of Fame Announces Inductees for 2001|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/international-latin-music-hall-of-fame-announces-inductees-for-2001-82320632.html |access-date=31 October 2015 |date=3 April 2001}}</ref>


==Marriages==
In 1944 Cugat was prominently featured in the film [[Bathing Beauty]].
Cugat was married five times. His first marriage was to [[Rita Montaner]] (1918–20), his second was to his band vocalist Carmen Castillo (1929–44), his third to actress Lorraine Allen (1947–52), his fourth to singer [[Abbe Lane]] (1952–64), and his fifth to Spanish guitarist and comic actress [[Charo]] (1966–78).


==Recordings==
Cugat did not lose sleep over artistic compromises: “I would rather play Chiquita Banana and have my swimming pool than play Bach and starve.”{{fix|link=Wikipedia:Contents|text=citation needed}}
{{ external media | float = right |width=230px |audio1 = You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting his [[Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra]] performing "[[Perfidia]]" in 1939 [https://archive.org/details/78_perfidia_xavier-cugat-and-his-waldorf-astoria-orchestra-albert-dominguez_gbia0014783a/Perfidia+-+Xavier+Cugat+and+his+Waldorf-Astoria+Orchestra.flac '''Listen on archive.org'''] |audio2 = You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra performing "Brazil (Aquareia De Brasil)" in 1941 [https://archive.org/details/78_brazil-aquareia-de-brasil_xavier-cugat-and-his-waldorf-astoria-orchestra-cugat-ch_gbia0013694a/Brazil+(Aquareia+De+Brasil)+-+Xavier+Cugat+and+his+Waldorf-Astoria+Orchestra.flac '''Listen on archive.org''']}}
Cugat recorded for [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] (1940s and 1950s, and Epic), [[RCA Victor]] (1930s and 1950s), [[Mercury Records|Mercury]] (1951–52 and the 1960s), and [[Decca Records|Decca]] (1960s). [[Dinah Shore]] made her first recordings as a vocalist with Cugat in 1939 and 1940 for RCA Victor. In 1940 his recording of "[[Perfidia]]" became a hit. Cugat followed trends closely, making records for the conga, the [[Mambo (music)|mambo]], the [[Cha-cha-cha (dance)|cha-cha-cha]], and the [[Twist (dance)|twist]] when these dances were popular. Several songs that he recorded, including "Perfidia", were used in the [[Wong Kar-wai]] films ''[[Days of Being Wild]]'' and ''[[2046 (film)|2046]].'' In 1943, "[[Aquarela do Brasil|Brazil]]" was Cugat's most successful chart hit. It spent seven weeks at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' magazine National Best Selling Retail Records chart behind [[Harry James|Harry James's]] song "[[I've Heard That Song Before]]".<ref name="billboard1943">{{cite web |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Chart |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/40s/1943/Billboard%201943-04-03.pdf |website=americanradiohistory.com |publisher=The Billboard |access-date=21 February 2019 |page=22 |date=3 April 1943}}</ref> In the 1950s he made several recordings with his wife, singer [[Abbe Lane]].


His orchestra included [[Desi Arnaz]], [[Lina Romay (singer)|Lina Romay]], [[Abbe Lane]], [[Tito Rodriguez]], [[Yma Sumac]], [[Miguelito Valdés]],<ref name="Harris" /> Frank Berardi, Gene Lorello, George Lopez, Glenn E. Brown, Henry Greher, Isabello Marerro, James English, John Haluko, Joseph Gutierrez, Luis Castellanos, Manuel Paxtot, Oswaldo Oliveira, Otto Bolívar, Otto Garcia, Rafael Angelo, Richard Hoffman, Robert De Joseph, and Robert Jones.
== In popular culture ==
*Xavier Cugat is mentioned in ''[[A Goofy Movie]]'' where [[Goofy]] calls him the “Mambo King”.
*Xavier Cugat is mentioned frequently on ''[[I Love Lucy]]''. For example, in the episode titled “Lucy Goes to Scotland”, Lucy gives Ricky an LP, which he looks at, reads “Xavier McCugat?!” and tosses it away. Another example occurred in the episode "The Marriage License" when Lucy says to Ricky "I wouldn't marry you, even if you were Xavier Cugat!"; to which Ricky responds "Xavier Cugat?!" The jokes were meant to poke fun at the fact that both Cugat and Ricky Ricardo were Cuban bandleaders.
*Xavier Cugat is mentioned in the song "[[Joe le taxi]]", sung by [[Vanessa Paradis]], probably as an artist that Joe, the taxi driver, likes to listen to.
*Several of the songs he recorded, including "[[Perfidia]]", were used in the [[Wong Kar-wai]] films ''[[Days of Being Wild]]'' and ''[[2046 (film)|2046]]''.
*Xavier Cugat is mentioned in third scene of ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)]]''.
*Xavier Cugat is mentioned in an episode of the TV series ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]''. Hawkeye asserts that [[wikiquote:M*A*S*H_(TV_series)#Private_Finance|“The only Latin I know is Xavier Cugat.”]]
*Xavier Cugat is mentioned twice in the third season ''[[Frasier]]'' episode “[[Moon Dance (Frasier)|Moon Dance]]”.
*Xavier Cugat and [[Ben & Jerry's]] are parodied in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' when Lisa finds an ice cream flavor called “Xavier Nougat”, to which Homer replies, “No… [I don't want] nothin' made o' dead guys!” In a different episode, “[[Jazzy and the Pussycats]]”, Bart declared “Xavier Cugat” as a non sequitur reply to a question while speaking like a jazz musician.
[[Image:Xaviercugat2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|<center>Xavier Cugat Album Cover]]
*In the [[ZBS Foundation]]'s series of radio dramas ''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe]]'', Cugat is the patron saint of [[The Moles of Zeeboos]], a tango-loving race of sentient humanoid moles; also, one month of the Mole calendar is named for Cugat.
*In Tom Griffin's 1983 play ''The Boys Next Door'', Arnold continually references Cugat saying, “He thinks he's Xavier Cugat or somebody.” [See page 26, Dramatists Play Service, Inc.]
*Xavier Cugat's performance of the song "Yo Te Amo Mucho" appears in ''The Matador'' (2005), while [[Pierce Brosnan]] is watching T.V. in the hotel.
*Xavier Cugat is mentioned in [[Woody Allen]]'s ''Sleeper'' (1973), when Diane Keaton, searching for a new superlative for an object of modern art, says, “It's greater than [[Margaret Keane|Keane]]! It's Cugat!”
*Xavier Cugat is mentioned in an episode of ''[[All in the Family]]'' when the Bunker family is playing a trivia game based on bandleaders' initials. However, Archie mistakenly states Cugat's initials to be “E.C.” When corrected by Mike, Archie exclaims, "Whoever heard of anyone having an X for an initial?"
*Selected Xavier Cugat music can be heard on [[Radio Espantoso]] on ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City]]''.
*His birthdate, January 1, 1900, was considered so distinctive in Spain that he and his brothers were exempted from future [[military duty]] and his father, a [[political prisoner]], was released from [[jail]]. (Source: Text accompanying record collection ''The Great Band Era,'' published in 1966, including Cugat's title "Quiéreme Mucho".)
*In an early issue of ''[[Mad Magazine]]'', he is referred to as "Xubirant Catgut", conducting the "How're Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen [[Paris|Paree]]?)" [[Mambo (music)|Mambo]].
*He is referenced in [[Desi Arnaz]]'s autobiography as having helped give Desi his start after Desi played guitar for a few years in Cugat's orchestra. <ref> A Book Arnaz, Desi</ref>


== Notes ==
==Discography==
* ''The Lady in Red'' ([[RCA Victor]], 1935)<ref>"The Lady in Red" by Xavier Cugat and His Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra, Written by Mort Dixon and Allie Wrubel, Recorded April 1, 1935, and released April 24, 1935, on Victor 25012-A, 78 RPM single{{snd}}[https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/203070 SecondHandSongs]</ref>
{{reflist|2}}
{{ external media |width=230px |audio1 = You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting his [[Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra]] performing [[Cole Porter]]'s "[[Begin the Beguine]]" in 1951 [https://archive.org/details/78_begin-the-beguine_xavier-cugat-and-his-waldorf-astoria-orchestra-cole-porter_gbia0066955a/Begin+the+Beguine+-+Xavier+Cugat+and+his+Waldorf-Astoria+Orchestra-restored.flac '''Listen on archive.org''']|audio2= Xaviar Cugot sonducting a [[Big band remote]] broadcast of the [[samba]] "Tico Tico in 1945<br> [https://archive.org/details/BigBandRemotes/Remote-XavierCugat_1945-01-26_Tico_Tico.mp3 '''Listen on archive.org]}}
* ''One, Two, Three, Kick – Congas'' (Victor, 1941)
* ''Xavier Cugat's Mexico'' (Columbia, 1944)
* ''Cugat's Favorite Rhumbas'' ([[Columbia Records|Columbia]], 1945)
* ''In Santiago, Chile'' (Tain't Chilly At All) (Columbia], 1948)
* ''Siesta'' (Columbia, 1948)
* ''Tropical Bouquets'' (Columbia, 1949)
* ''Relaxing with Cugat'' (Columbia, 1952)
* ''Dancetime with Cugat'' (RCA Victor, 1953)
* ''Cugat's Favorite Rhumbas'' (Columbia, 1954)
* ''Ole!'' (Columbia, 1955)
* ''Mambo at the Waldorf'' (Columbia, 1955)
* ''Cha Cha Cha'' (Columbia, 1955)
* ''Cugatango!'' (10" record) (Columbia, 1956)
* ''Bread, Love and Cha Cha Cha'' (Columbia, 1957)
* ''Waltzes but by Cugat!'' (Columbia, 1957)
* ''Mambo! (Music for Latin Lovers)'' ([[Mercury Records|Mercury]], 1957)
* ''The King Plays Some Aces'' (RCA Victor, 1958)
* ''Cugat Calvalcade'' (Columbia, 1958)
* ''Cugat in Spain'' (RCA Victor, 1959)
* ''That Latin Beat!'' (RCA Victor, 1959)
* ''Chile Con Cugie'' (RCA Victor, 1959)
* ''The Latin Rhythms of Xavier Cugat'' ([[Harmony Records|Harmony]], 1960)
* ''Cugat in France, Spain, and Italy'' (RCA Victor, 1960)
* ''The Best of Cugat'' (Mercury, 1961)
* ''Viva Cugat!'' (Mercury, 1961)
* ''Twist with Cugat'' (Mercury, 1962)
* ''Cugat Plays Continental Hits'' (Mercury, 1962)
* ''Most Popular Movie Hits As Styled By Cugat'' (Mercury, 1962)
* ''Cugat Plays Continental Hits'' (Mercury, 1962)
* ''Cugi's Cocktails'' (Mercury, 1963)
* ''Cugat's Golden Goodies'' (Mercury, 1963)
* ''Cugi's Cocktails'' (Mercury, 1963)
* ''Cugat Caricatures'' (Mercury, 1964)
* ''Plays the Music of Ernesto Lecuona'' (Mercury, 1964)
* ''Midnight Roses'' ([[Decca Records|Decca]], 1968)
* ''The Cugat Touch'' (Springboard, 1976)


==References==
== External links ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{imdb name|0191265}}

==External links==
* [http://www.bnc.cat/eng/Collections/Search-the-collections/Cugat-Xavier Personal papers of Xavier Cugat], Biblioteca de Catalunya; accessed 8 November 2015
* [http://www.xaviercugat.com About Xavier Cugat],
* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104154 Xavier Cugat recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cugat, Xavier}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cugat, Xavier}}
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:Spanish-Americans]]
[[Category:People from Girona]]
[[Category:Spanish musicians]]
[[Category:Spanish emigrants to Cuba]]
[[Category:Catalan musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Spanish musicians]]
[[Category:Catalan Americans]]
[[Category:20th-century violinists]]
[[Category:American cartoonists]]
[[Category:American people of Catalan descent]]
[[Category:Big band bandleaders]]
[[Category:Musicians from Catalonia]]
[[Category:Cuban emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Cuban musicians]]
[[Category:Cuban musicians]]
[[Category:Cuban-American entertainers]]
[[Category:Cuban people of Catalan descent]]
[[Category:Deaths from cardiovascular disease]]
[[Category:Hollywood Walk of Fame]]
[[Category:Latin jazz bandleaders]]
[[Category:Latin jazz bandleaders]]
[[Category:Latin jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Latin jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Latin jazz violinists]]
[[Category:Latin jazz violinists]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:Rhumba musicians]]
[[Category:People from Barcelona]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists|Cugat, Xavier]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists]]
[[Category:RCA Victor artists]]

[[Category:Los Angeles Times people]]
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Latest revision as of 15:20, 26 December 2023

Xavier Cugat
Born
Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu

(1900-01-01)1 January 1900[1]
Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Died27 October 1990(1990-10-27) (aged 90)
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • actor
  • director
  • screenwriter
  • bandleader
Years active1925–1970
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1918; div. 1920)​
Carmen Castillo
​
​
(m. 1929; div. 1946)​
Lorraine Allen
​
​
(m. 1947; div. 1952)​
​
​
(m. 1952; div. 1963)​
​
​
(m. 1966; div. 1978)​
RelativesFrancis Cugat (brother)
Websitexaviercugat.com
External audio
audio icon You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra performing Consuelo Velázquez's rhumba Bésame Mucho in 1945 Listen on archive.org

Xavier Cugat (Catalan: [ʃəβiˈe kuˈɣat]; 1 January 1900[1] – 27 October 1990) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City, he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the Waldorf–Astoria before and after World War II. He was also a cartoonist and a restaurateur. The personal papers of Xavier Cugat are preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya.

Life and career[edit]

Cugat was born Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu[2] in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1900 (although he would later claim to have been born in 1901).[2] His family emigrated to Cuba when he was three years old.[3] He studied classical violin and worked as a violinist at the age of nine in a silent movie theater to help pay for his education. He was first chair violinist for the Teatro Nacional Symphonic Orchestra. When he was not performing, he started drawing caricatures.[4] On 6 July 1915 he and his family arrived in New York City on the SS Havana. Cugat appeared in recitals with Enrico Caruso, playing violin solos.[2]

In the 1920s, he led a band that played often at the Coconut Grove, a club in Los Angeles. Cugat's friend, Charlie Chaplin, visited the club to dance the tango, so Cugat added tangos to the band's performances.[5] Seeing how popular the dance was becoming, Cugat convinced the owner to hire South American dancers to give tango lessons. This, too, became popular, and Cugat made the dancers part of his orchestra. In 1928 he turned his act into the film Xavier Cugat and His Gigolos.[5][6]

He worked for the Los Angeles Times as a cartoonist. His caricatures were nationally syndicated. They appeared in Photoplay magazine beginning with the November 1927 issue, under the byline "de Bru." His older brother, Francis, was an artist of some note, having painted cover art for F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby.[7]

In 1931, Cugat took his band to New York for the 1931 opening of the Waldorf–Astoria hotel. He replaced Jack Denny as leader of the hotel's resident band. For sixteen years, he led the Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra, shuttling between New York and Los Angeles for most of the next 30 years. One of his trademark gestures was to hold a chihuahua while he waved his baton with the other arm.[8]

His music career led to appearing in the films In Gay Madrid (1930), You Were Never Lovelier (1942), Bathing Beauty (1944), Week-End at the Waldorf (1945), Holiday in Mexico (1946), A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948), and Chicago Syndicate (1955).[5]

Cugat owned and operated the Mexican restaurant Casa Cugat in West Hollywood. The restaurant was frequented by Hollywood celebrities and featured two singing guitarists who would visit each table and play diners' favorite songs upon request.[9] The restaurant began operations in the 1940s and closed in 1986.[10]

The restaurant's exterior and a fanciful depiction of its interior can be found in scenes in the 1949 film Neptune's Daughter in which Cugat has a substantial role playing himself. A brief scene revolving around the restaurant can also be seen in the earlier 1943 film The Heat's On, also starring Cugat as himself.

Death[edit]

Cugat's tomb
Xavier Cugat's tomb in Girona's old cemetery

Cugat spent his last years in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, living in a suite at Hotel Ritz (Barcelona) [es]. He died of heart failure at age 90 in Barcelona and was buried in his native Girona. He was posthumously inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2001.[11]

Marriages[edit]

Cugat was married five times. His first marriage was to Rita Montaner (1918–20), his second was to his band vocalist Carmen Castillo (1929–44), his third to actress Lorraine Allen (1947–52), his fourth to singer Abbe Lane (1952–64), and his fifth to Spanish guitarist and comic actress Charo (1966–78).

Recordings[edit]

External audio
audio icon You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra performing "Perfidia" in 1939 Listen on archive.org
audio icon You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra performing "Brazil (Aquareia De Brasil)" in 1941 Listen on archive.org

Cugat recorded for Columbia (1940s and 1950s, and Epic), RCA Victor (1930s and 1950s), Mercury (1951–52 and the 1960s), and Decca (1960s). Dinah Shore made her first recordings as a vocalist with Cugat in 1939 and 1940 for RCA Victor. In 1940 his recording of "Perfidia" became a hit. Cugat followed trends closely, making records for the conga, the mambo, the cha-cha-cha, and the twist when these dances were popular. Several songs that he recorded, including "Perfidia", were used in the Wong Kar-wai films Days of Being Wild and 2046. In 1943, "Brazil" was Cugat's most successful chart hit. It spent seven weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard magazine National Best Selling Retail Records chart behind Harry James's song "I've Heard That Song Before".[12] In the 1950s he made several recordings with his wife, singer Abbe Lane.

His orchestra included Desi Arnaz, Lina Romay, Abbe Lane, Tito Rodriguez, Yma Sumac, Miguelito Valdés,[5] Frank Berardi, Gene Lorello, George Lopez, Glenn E. Brown, Henry Greher, Isabello Marerro, James English, John Haluko, Joseph Gutierrez, Luis Castellanos, Manuel Paxtot, Oswaldo Oliveira, Otto Bolívar, Otto Garcia, Rafael Angelo, Richard Hoffman, Robert De Joseph, and Robert Jones.

Discography[edit]

External audio
audio icon You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra performing Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine" in 1951 Listen on archive.org
audio icon Xaviar Cugot sonducting a Big band remote broadcast of the samba "Tico Tico in 1945
Listen on archive.org
  • One, Two, Three, Kick – Congas (Victor, 1941)
  • Xavier Cugat's Mexico (Columbia, 1944)
  • Cugat's Favorite Rhumbas (Columbia, 1945)
  • In Santiago, Chile (Tain't Chilly At All) (Columbia], 1948)
  • Siesta (Columbia, 1948)
  • Tropical Bouquets (Columbia, 1949)
  • Relaxing with Cugat (Columbia, 1952)
  • Dancetime with Cugat (RCA Victor, 1953)
  • Cugat's Favorite Rhumbas (Columbia, 1954)
  • Ole! (Columbia, 1955)
  • Mambo at the Waldorf (Columbia, 1955)
  • Cha Cha Cha (Columbia, 1955)
  • Cugatango! (10" record) (Columbia, 1956)
  • Bread, Love and Cha Cha Cha (Columbia, 1957)
  • Waltzes but by Cugat! (Columbia, 1957)
  • Mambo! (Music for Latin Lovers) (Mercury, 1957)
  • The King Plays Some Aces (RCA Victor, 1958)
  • Cugat Calvalcade (Columbia, 1958)
  • Cugat in Spain (RCA Victor, 1959)
  • That Latin Beat! (RCA Victor, 1959)
  • Chile Con Cugie (RCA Victor, 1959)
  • The Latin Rhythms of Xavier Cugat (Harmony, 1960)
  • Cugat in France, Spain, and Italy (RCA Victor, 1960)
  • The Best of Cugat (Mercury, 1961)
  • Viva Cugat! (Mercury, 1961)
  • Twist with Cugat (Mercury, 1962)
  • Cugat Plays Continental Hits (Mercury, 1962)
  • Most Popular Movie Hits As Styled By Cugat (Mercury, 1962)
  • Cugat Plays Continental Hits (Mercury, 1962)
  • Cugi's Cocktails (Mercury, 1963)
  • Cugat's Golden Goodies (Mercury, 1963)
  • Cugi's Cocktails (Mercury, 1963)
  • Cugat Caricatures (Mercury, 1964)
  • Plays the Music of Ernesto Lecuona (Mercury, 1964)
  • Midnight Roses (Decca, 1968)
  • The Cugat Touch (Springboard, 1976)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b NOTE: Some sources ([1], [2]) indicate 1901 as his year of birth; however, the majority of references, including his tombstone and various United States censuses, all clearly support 1900 as the correct year of birth.
  2. ^ a b c Xavier Cugat official webpage, xaviercugat.com; accessed 8 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Bandleader Xavier Cugat, 'Rumba King,' Dies at 90". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  4. ^ Groppa, Carlos G. (16 January 2018). The Tango in the United States: A History. McFarland. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-0-7864-2686-7. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d Harris, Craig. "Xavier Cugat". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  6. ^ Profile Archived November 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine LegacyRecordings.com; accessed 8 November 2015.
  7. ^ Tate, Mary Jo (2007). Critical Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Infobase Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-8160-6433-5. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  8. ^ Powell, Jane (1988). The Girl Next Door...and How She Grew (1st ed.). Morrow. p. 112. ISBN 0-688-06757-3.
  9. ^ "Mexican Food: What Do Showbiz People Like to Eat?". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. March 11, 1980. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  10. ^ Andrews, Colman (May 18, 1986). "A Bogus Critic Without Reservation". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  11. ^ "International Latin Music Hall of Fame Announces Inductees for 2001". 3 April 2001. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  12. ^ "The Billboard Music Popularity Chart" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. The Billboard. 3 April 1943. p. 22. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  13. ^ "The Lady in Red" by Xavier Cugat and His Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra, Written by Mort Dixon and Allie Wrubel, Recorded April 1, 1935, and released April 24, 1935, on Victor 25012-A, 78 RPM single – SecondHandSongs

External links[edit]

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