Conrad Janis

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Conrad Janis (born February 11, 1928 in New York City ) is an American actor and jazz trombonist of old-time jazz . He is a son of the art dealer Sidney Janis .

Life

Janis' father was a shirt manufacturer and his mother Harriet Janis was the co-author of Rudi Blesh's book They all played Ragtime . Janis learned the guitar early and the trombone relatively late (the inspiration for this came when he was listening to Kid Ory regularly in Los Angeles in the 1940s .) And played it alongside his acting jobs. First he played in a New Orleans Revival band with art students in San Francisco , and from the late 1940s in New York with numerous swing and New Orleans jazz musicians. a. at Herbie Nichols took. With his Tailgate Jazz Band he also recorded several albums in New York. B. at Circle (the label belonged to Rudi Blesh and his mother), like Conrad Janis and his Tailgate Jazz Band in 1951 with Danny Barker , Pops Foster , Freddy Moore in the rhythm section. He had his first Broadway role in Junior Miss in 1942 , his first film role in 1945 in the comedy Snafu , whereupon he received a 20th Century Fox contract. He received the New York Theater World Award for his role in The Brass Ring on Broadway . Another Broadway success for Janis was A visit to a small planet . Janis has appeared in numerous TV productions, including a. in the series Mork vom Ork with Robin Williams (1978-1982), the science fiction comedy series Quark (1977/78, as Otto Palindrome) and An Angel on Earth (Season 2, Episode 1). Since he often played musicians on television, he repeatedly managed to accommodate musicians from his jazz environment there. In 1994 he directed the political thriller The Death List, starring George Segal and Elliott Gould . Janis also played roles in feature films such as the Buddy Holly Story , Margie and Cable Guy with Jim Carrey .

Jani's parents had a well-known gallery for modern art in Manhattan, the Sidney Janis Gallery , in which Janis also worked on the side from 1957. In 1966 they bequeathed their extensive art collection ( Pablo Picasso , Salvador Dalí , Piet Mondrian , Jackson Pollock and others) to the Museum of Modern Art .

Since 1980 he has been the leader of the popular Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band , the majority of which are actors and filmmakers. Members included George Segal (banjo), producers Paul Maslansky and Sheldon Keller (guitar) and, on one occasion, Jack Lemmon (piano) and Dudley Moore . A documentary was shot on PBS about the band, who also made several recordings.

Janis has his own production company with MiraCon Pictures .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Janis, Conrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz trombonist and actor
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York, USA