Ben Bernie

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.