Roy Fox

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Roy Fox (born October 25, 1901 in Denver , † March 20, 1982 in Twickenham, London ) was an American bandleader and cornet player , best known for dance bands, which he led in England in the 1930s.

Fox grew up in Hollywood and first learned to cornet. He played in the film studio of Cecil B. DeMille and at sixteen in the orchestra of Abe Lyman in Santa Monica (with Miff Mole , the clarinetist Gussie Miller and the later bandleaders Henry Halstead and Gus Arnheim ). Because of his soft approach (he had to muffle his game in the restaurant as he went from table to table), he was nicknamed The Whispering Cornetist .

In 1920 he formed his first band, with which he toured and played at Club Royale opposite the MGM studios in Culver City until they burned down in 1925. In 1925 he toured with Art Hickmans Orchestra, which then played in Florida. He was in New York for a while and then led his own band in Los Angeles again, which was also broadcast on the radio. He also worked as a studio musician in film. In 1930 he went to London with his band and played for BBC radio and recorded with Decca Records . While his band returned, he stayed in London and formed a new band that played in the Monseigneur Restaurant in Piccadilly.

While he was recovering from a lung disease in Switzerland in 1932, he left the band to his pianist Lew Stone , who took him off as a band leader on his return. Fox formed a new band that played at Café Anglais in Leicester Square. He toured with her in Belgium and Great Britain. Art Christmas , Harry Gold and Jack Nathan were members of the band . He also played several films on the soundtrack and recorded with his band. Roy Fox participated in 56 recording sessions from 1924 to 1938.

In 1938 he had to interrupt his career again due to illness. He later went to Australia, where he directed the Jay Whidden Orchestra, toured the USA with smaller bands and in 1946/47 again directed a dance band in England, with which he performed on the Isle of Man and in the Potomac Club in London. In 1952 he retired from active musical life and opened a booking agency. In 1975 his autobiography was published in London (Roy Fox - Hollywood, Mayfair and all That jazz: The Roy Fox Story, Leslie Frewin Publ.).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ With this announcement, he also recorded a short film on Warner Brothers in 1929 , IMDB
  2. ↑ Tom Lord Jazz Discography
personal data
SURNAME Fox, Roy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American band leader and cornet player
DATE OF BIRTH October 25, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Denver
DATE OF DEATH March 20, 1982
Place of death Twickenham, London