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Harry James

Bandleader / Songwriter | * 03/15/1916 († 67, 07/05/1983) | Albany, Georgia (United States of America (USA))
Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but shortly after he reorganized and was active again with his band from then until his death in 1983. He was especially known among musicians for his technical proficiency as well as his tone, and was influential on new trumpet players from the late 1930s into the 1940s. He was also an actor in a number of films that usually featured his band. ()

Harry James was born in a rundown hotel next to the city jail in Albany, Georgia. His mother and father were members of a circus - she as a trapeze artist and he a band leader - with the Mighty Haag Circus. At seven, they settled in Beaumont, Texas where Harry learned yo play drums. By twelve, he was playing trumpet in the Christy Brothers circus band. In 1936 James joined Ben Pollack's band, soon leaving to lead the brass section of Benny Goodman's band. He even once applied to Lawrence Welk's band but was turned down because they said he played too loud and it was not Welk's style. After three years with Goodman, he wanted to leave, and with Goodman's backing, he formed the Music Makers. In 1943 he married pinup queen Betty Grable, his second of four wives. He had earlier married and divorced Louise Tobin, a singer. Grable kept appearing in movies and Harry kept playing while they raised horses. He made his debut in Philadelphia at the Ben Franklin Hotel and soon was a nationwide favorite of dance lovers and jazz addicts, rocking the rafters at the Hollywood Paladium, Chicago's famous College Inn at the Hotel Sherman, Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook in Cedar Cove, NJ, and then onto New York City. It was the Lincoln Hotel in NYC that the Music Makers called home, but James also starred at the Paramount Theater in the spring of 1943, with thousands of teenagers flocking to see him. His version of You Made Me Love You was a big hit and a favorite of many through the war years. James was a great discoverer of talent, finding Frank Sinatra working as a waiter in a New Jersey restaurant and giving him a job singing in his band. Dick Haymes, Kitty Kallen, Connie Haines and Helen Forrest can all thank James for giving them their first real break. In 1963 his band was featured at Disneyland, still known as the Music Makers. He played his last gig at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on June 26, 1983, just a few days before dying of lymphatic cancer.

Photo of Harry James
Most frequent genres for this person: Music | Comedies | Romance / Love

Known for these Movies & Shows

Awards & Nominations for Harry James

Star On Hollywood Walk of Fame
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Movies with Harry James as Actor(28)

as Self (archive footage)2017 This Is Bob Hope...
as (archive footage)1994 That's Entertainment! III
as Band Leader1983 The Sting II
as (archive footage)1982 Showbiz Goes to War
as (archive footage)1976 That's Entertainment, Part II
as himself1961 The Ladies Man
as Rick Mason1957 Outlaw Queen
as himself1956 The Opposite Sex
as Radio Trumpeter (uncredited)1953 How to Marry a Millionaire
as himself1950 I'll Get By
as himself1948 On Our Merry Way
as himself1947 Carnegie Hall
as Barry Clayton1946 Do You Love Me
as Earl Gordon1946 If I'm Lucky
as himself1944 The Shining Future
as himself1944 Bathing Beauty
as himself1944 Two Girls and a Sailor
as himself1943 Best Foot Forward
as himself1943 Swing Fever
as Harry James (uncredited)1943 Swing Fever
as himself1942 Private Buckaroo
as himself1942 Syncopation
as Orchestra Leader1940 Too Many Girls
as Le maire1937 L'empreinte rouge
as Benny Goodman Trumpeter (uncredited)1937 Hollywood Hotel

TV Shows/Series with Harry James as Actor(7)

as himself1964 The Hollywood Palace
as Self - Mystery Guest1950 What's My Line?
as himself1948 The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self (archive footage)1948 The Ed Sullivan Show

Movies with Harry James as Crew(1)

Sound/Music Consultant1950 Young Man with a Horn

Full Name: Harry James
Born: Wednesday, 03/15 1916 (March) in Albany, Georgia (United States of America (USA))
Died: Tuesday, 07/05 1983 (July) in Las Vegas (aged: 67)
Zodiac sign: Pisces (Chinese zodiac sign: Dragon)
Languages: English (EN, native language)
Educated at: Beaumont High School
Member of: Harry James and His Orchestra
Record Label: Brunswick Records, Capitol Records, Columbia Records, Dot Records, Philips Records
Spouses (current/former): Betty Grable
Other names for Harry James (nicknames, foreign languages etc.):
"Harry Haag James"
Harry James frequently works together with these people:
Red Buttons (9x, Actor)
Polly Bergen (9x, Actress)
Jackie Gleason (8x, Actor)
Art Carney (8x, Actor)
Mickey Rooney (7x, Actor)
Peggy Lee (7x, Actress)
Van Johnson (7x, Actor)
Red Skelton (7x, Actor)
Desi Arnaz (7x, Actor)
Louis Armstrong (7x, Actor)
Ethel Merman (7x, Actress)
Count Basie (7x, Actor)
WatchPlayStream ID: PEOPLE:1355658, Added: 09/03/2019, Last updated: 03/22/2024