The Washington times., 1935-09-23
Bill HoyIe On
Casa Loma's
Party

Bill Hoyle's back stage journeys
over the weekend:
The Friday night audience at
the Fox Theater, after the last
vaudeville was treated to q
glimpse of four Washington
baton wavers.
Maestro Lampkin strobe from
the wings to introduce Moe Baer
of Club Habana, Johnny Slaugh-
ter of the willard, Bill Strick-
land, Lotus Leader, and Leon
Brusiloff, former Fox conductor,
now at the Madrillon restaurant.
Phil lured these brother music
vendors to the stage for a nod,
read a wire, from Pete Macias
of Heigh-Ho Club, sending his
regrets from New York that he
could not attend the party for
Glen Gray and the Casa Iona
Band.
Among the guests, at this
tribute to the ace radio band,
were Mr.. and Mrs. Carter Bar
ron, Mr.. and Mrs. Gene Ford,
Mr.. and Mrs. Bob Murphy with
Dick and Dotty Murphy, Phil
Bloom of the New York office of
Rockwell and O'Keefe orchestras,
Mr.. and Mrs. George Peters and
Arch Macdonald of WJSV.
The first and only time pre-
viously that this band has played
Washington was when the
Georgetown University juniors
gathered together enough shekels
to bring them into the Wardman
Park Hotel, four years ago, for
their junior prom.
The interesting fact is that this
band at that time was '"The Casa
Iona Band and not until a year
later did they decide to use Glen
Gray'S name.
1t is the only band in the conu-
try that is comparatively owned
by the members and was organ,
lied five years ago in Detroit.
Their first vaudeville engagement
in this time was when they
opened at the Met" in Boston
three weeks ago and shattered the
box office record for stage bands.
They go into the Paramount
Theater in New York city for a
two-week run, and start their
Camel program over CHS on Octo-
ber /.
Glen Gray, the president Of the
corporation and the saxophonist
in the center of the group, was
formerly a freight hustler on the
Santa Fe railroad.
And some years ago on the
same Santa Fe, dining-car chef
named Duke" Bonneu went into
the Cambridge restaurant in St.
Louis, on his "eating out" night,
and sang a number on bet with
some friends. The manager in
stead of chucking them out gave
Duke" a regular job yodeling for
the diners.
After years of vaudeville and
burlesque trouping with old-timers
like Clark and McCulloch, AL
Trahan and Joe Cook, he came
into the Cosmos Theater here %
years ago, in single act. Since
that time he has played here
numerous times and is back again
on the same stage as baggage
smasher Gray, under the name OF
Bob Murphy.
The rumor is that Bob Murphy
will ink a M. G. M. contract this
week and leave for the coast to
be seen in character parts when
the Lion roarS. Another screen
version of The Barker" may be
his first film, and Bob at one time
was a carnival Spieler. Perhaps
you remember his first movie job,
as the musical cop in Broadway
Gondolier".
Raoul and Eva Reyes. rhumba
dancerSawith the Cugat band, are
the Children of one of the leading
cigar manufacturers of Cuba.
Raoul came here first to work
for the now bankrupt Craft films.
He returned to Cuba and took his
sister from high school as a
rhumba partner to go into
Geofrett's Roney Plaza, in Miami.
Georges of the team of Georges
and Jalna, dancers with this band,
was born in Pyrgos, southern
Greece. Jalna was born in Okla
homa and is a half-blooded Indian.
They broke the dance record at
the Waldorf-Astoria with six
month run.
Don Reid, singer with the band,
went into the Waldoria-Astoria
for his first American singing job
and stayed there 10 months. Don
was formerly welterweight boxing
champ of Canada.