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Pete Condoli has died


flat5

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Has any site posted an obit yet, other than the RIP on the Candoli site?

Not that I've seen...I threw a quick RIP post up on the Night Lights site yesterday afternoon after seeing the news here. I'd wager Doug Ramsey will have something up at Rifftides within the next day or two--maybe from Ted Gioia at his new site as well. I think a lot of jazz writers are focused on the IAJE this week.

Edit: Just ran a Technorati blog search and the only thing it turned up so far was the Night Lights post from yesterday. I'll be sure to post any more obits or pieces that I see here in this thread.

Edited by ghost of miles
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Lord have mercy --- before Edie Adams, Pete was married to Betty Hutton! (No wonder I thought of Harry James and Betty Grable.) The gory details follow. I particularly like the fact that Pete and Betty "planned a six-month honeymoon," that they were divorced twice, that Betty charged in one of the divorce proceedings that Pete "never took her out to dinner," and that Betty said in an interview that the secret of her marriage's success (??) was: "My husband and I don't spend the night together."

Betty Hutton's Fourth Marriage

Betty's fourth marriage was to Pete Candoli. After a rocky start, Betty thought her marriage to Pete was going well until she heard on the radio that it wasn't.

Born:

Elizabeth "Betty" June Thornburg: February 26, 1921 in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Walter Joseph "Pete" Candoli: June 28, 1923 in Mishawaka, Indiana.

Died:

Betty: March 11, 2007 in her apartment in Palm Springs, California at the age of 86 from complications from colon cancer.

Betty's funeral was on March 14, 2007 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California.

Wedding Date:

After being friends for 12 years, Pete and Betty were married on December 24, 1960 at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Las Vegas, Nevada. The wedding ceremony was performed by the Rev.Richard L. Sowers. Betty was 39, and Pete was 37 when they married.

Honeymoon:

Pete and Betty planned a six-month honeymoon in Europe.

Marriage Issues and Divorce:

In April 1961, Betty announced in London that she was getting an annulment. They separated August 10, 1966. Betty and Pete were divorced twice. The first time was in Juarez, Mexico in September 1966. Deciding she wanted a U.S. divorce, Betty filed for divorce on March 23, 1967 charging Pete with causing her mental and physical suffering. Betty testified that Pete was jealous of her as a performer, argued with her in front of others, and never took her out to dinner. Their divorce was final in California on June 18, 1967.

Pete's Other Marriages:

Prior to his marriage to Betty, Pete was married to actress Vicky Lane from 1953 to August 1958. Pete and Vicky had one child, Tara Claire Candoli.

After his divorce from Betty, Pete married actress Edie Adams in June 1972 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California. Edie and Pete divorced in 1989.

Children:

Betty and Pete had one daughter.

Carolyn Candoli: Born in 1962.

Occupations:

Betty: Actress, comedian, singer, dancer. In later life she worked as a cook and housekeeper at a catholic rectory in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Pete: Jazz trumpet player, composer, and actor.

Quotes About the Marriage of Betty Hutton and Pete Candoli:

Betty after marrying Pete: "I should have done this a long time ago."

Source: The Ada Evening News, December 26, 1960.

Betty on the secret of the success of her fourth marriage: "My husband and I don't spend the night together. He goes home at night to his own pad. Pete likes to write music at night and he can't stand the baby making noise. And I can't stand the scrambling for the bathroom in the morning. Besides I like the whole bed to myself. Pete and I weren't getting along. We separated for a while. We tried this to make it work and it has. He comes to breakfast. I see him as much as any wife sees her husband except at night."

Source: Press-Telegram, December 19, 1969.

Betty about learning that her marriage to Pete was over: "That's the thing that cracked me. I thought we were happy. But one night when I was getting ready for bed, I turned on Rona Barrett and she said Pete Candoli is engaged to Edie Adams. Then I took a whole bottle of pills and said the hell with it."

Source: Chicago Daily Herald, September 15, 1980.

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Here's the text of the LA Times obit, as the LA Times will take it down in a few days.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...home-obituaries

Pete Candoli, 84: jazz trumpeter

Known for his high-register work, the musician played with such big names as Dorsey, Herman, Kenton and Beneke.

By Jon Thurber, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

January 16, 2008

Pete Candoli, one of the top high-note lead trumpeters in jazz who performed with some of the leading figures of the big-band era, has died. He was 84.

Candoli, whose brother Conte was also an acclaimed trumpeter, died Friday of prostate cancer at his home in Studio City, according to Sheryl Deauville, his life partner of 22 years.

From a childhood in Mishawaka, Ind., Candoli forged a six-decade career and was featured in bands led by Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Tex Beneke and Les Brown.

While with Herman's First Herd during World War II, Candoli became known for his high-register work and even wore a Superman costume while performing the specialty number "Superman With a Horn."

He moved to the West Coast in the early 1950s and established himself as an excellent studio musician. He can be heard on two of Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" albums and was sometimes seen playing in the background on the television show.

According to his website, Pete Candoli also arranged and conducted for Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee. Frank Sinatra would often fly him to Las Vegas for gigs.

When they weren't working in the studio or with "The Tonight Show" band for Johnny Carson, the Candoli brothers were a popular attraction at Southern California clubs, concert halls and festivals, often leading their own band.

A gifted showman, Pete Candoli perfected an impression of Louis Armstrong that became near-legendary. "The first time I did my version of Louis was when I was touring in Japan with Benny Carter and a bunch of all-stars," Candoli told jazz writer Don Heckman some years ago.

"At that time the biggest thing in Japan other than the national anthem was [Armstrong's recording of] 'When You're Smiling.' So when somebody found out I could sing like Louis -- that was it, I had to do it at every concert."

Candoli was born June 28, 1923. He and his brother, who was four years younger, were encouraged to take up music by their factory-worker father, who wanted a better life for his sons. Their father performed in an Italian marching band in Mishawaka, which is adjacent to South Bend, and the boys grew up in a house full of instruments, including the trombone and saxophone.

A prodigy, Pete was mostly self-taught on the trumpet. He got his union card before he was a teenager and was playing gigs, including Polish weddings, around his hometown, Deauville said.

He began playing with Sonny Dunham's orchestra in 1941 and went on to work with a long string of other name bands, including Herman's First Herd. While with that group, he recommended his brother Conte for a job, and Herman ended up hiring him.

In the 1970s, Candoli established a nightclub act with his wife, singer Edie Adams. He sang, danced, played trumpet and directed the orchestra.

His marriage to Adams and an earlier marriage to singer-actress Betty Hutton ended in divorce. Conte died in 2001 at the age of 74.

In addition to Deauville, Candoli is survived by daughters Tara Clair and Carolyn, two grandchildren and a sister, Gloria Henke of Mishawaka.

The funeral is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles.

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