Jack Cathcart
John "Jack" Wylie Cathcart, Jr. (* 3 November 1912 in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana; † 24 December 1989 in Las Vegas) was an American trumpeter, pianist, orchestra leader and arranger.
Life
Jack Cathcart came from a musical family. He was the oldest of four brothers, all of whom played different instruments. Orchestra leader Joe Sanders discovered Cathcart when he was playing in a band at Indiana University. From then on, Cathcart worked as a trumpet player and arranger with Sanders and his orchestra.[1] He also appeared with the Artie Shaw Band, and arranged music for several well-known American orchestras such as Kay Kyser, Alvino Rey and Dave Rose.[2] In 1940, he appeared in the movie Second Chorus with Artie Shaw and his orchestra. During the Second World War he served at Camp Roberts[3] and was a member of a Big band, which he eventually took over as musical director.[4] In 1941 he married Mary Jane "Suzanne" Gumm[5], a sister of Judy Garland. Together with her third sister, Virginia, they had performed as The Gumm Sisters (later The Garland Sisters[6]) in the 1920s and 1930s and become a popular Vaudeville act[7]
From late 1947 on, Jack Cathcart was pianist and arranger with the American follow-up group of the Comedian Harmonists, which Erich Collin had founded. Collin, second Tenor with the original Comedian Harmonists, was Jewish and had emigrated to the United States in 1941. The group toured several European countries including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Italy, and produced three records in Basel in February 1949. Shortly afterwards the group dissolved, probably due to differences between original members Collin and Frommermann on one side and the American singers on the other.[8]
In 1950 Cathcart founded Jack Cathcart's Continentals. Members of the group were Fred Bixler, Ben Thomas Cruz, Bob Carson, Jay Moffet and Ed Millard.[9] Fred Bixler had also been a member of Erich Collin's ensemble.
In October 1950, Billboard Magazine published a short review about a performance of the group in Chicago.[10] In 1951 the group performed at the California State Fair in Sacramento.[11]
From 1952 on Cathcart worked as an arranger for his sister-in-law Judy Garland. For example he was the musical director in her performance on Ford Star Jubilee - The Judy Garland Special on 24 September 1955 and worked on her film A Star is born[12] as well as the December 1955 episode Gold Records[13] of the television series Shower of Stars. In September 1956 he conducted the orchestra during her shows at the Palace Theatre on Broadway[14]. He also worked as musical director for her successful album Miss Show Business.[15] From 1959 on Cathcart worked as an orchestra leader at the Riviera Hotel[16] in Las Vegas.[17]
Cathcart died on 24 December 1989 and was buried at Palm Downtown Cemetery in Las Vegas.[18]
Family
He was the brother of jazz trumpeter Dick Cathcart. Another brother, James Edward "Jimmy" Cathcart (1916-1970) played violin and guitar with Lawrence Welk, and the second youngest brother, Thomas Matthew Cathcart (1920-2010) was a drummer with Alvino Rey.[19]
In 1941, Cathcart married Mary Jane Gumm († 1964). In 1963 they divorced[20] and he later married Barbara Steinle. He had two children from his second marriage. Mary Jane Gumm Cathcart died in 1964.[21][22]
References
- ↑ "Sander's Gang will visit city". The Indianapolis Times: 15. 1936-11-12.
- ↑ "David Rose & His Orchestra". Discogs (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2020-12-06.
- ↑ "Members of Infantry Band secure promotions as reward for duties". The Dispatch. 1941-07-18.
- ↑ "Jack Cathcart Will Conduct 1956 State Fair Orchestra". Sacramento Bee: 21. 1956-07-28.
- ↑ "Judy Garland's Sister To Wed". Oroville Mercury Register: 6. 1941-09-20.
- ↑ "Gumm Sisters Shorts – The Judy Room". Retrieved 2020-12-05.
- ↑ Lobosco, David (2016-06-10). "A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: JUDY GARLAND AND THE GUMM SISTERS". A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
- ↑ Fechner, Eberhard (2003). Comedian Harmonists. Sechs Lebensläufe. Munich: Heyne. pp. 322ff. ISBN 3-453-87315-7. Search this book on
- ↑ "Professional Talent Will Perform At Benefit". The Spokesman-Review: 32. 1951-09-16.
- ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1950-10-14). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Search this book on
- ↑ "Continentals Are Added For Fair Shows". Sacramento Bee: 22. 1951-09-08.
- ↑ "A STAR IS BORN (1954)". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
- ↑ Levy, Ralph (1955-12-15), Gold Records (Adventure, Drama, Family, Musical), Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, The Andrews Sisters, Gene Austin, Jack Benny, CBS, Desilu Productions, retrieved 2020-12-06
- ↑ "Inside Playbill Gallery". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ↑ "Judy Garland Discography: Miss Show Business". www.thejudyroom.com. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
- ↑ McKay, Janis L. (2016-04-12). Played Out on the Strip: The Rise and Fall of Las Vegas Casino Bands. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-1-943859-03-0. Search this book on
- ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1966-08-27). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Search this book on
- ↑ "John Wylie "Jack" Cathcart (1912-1989) - Find A..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
- ↑ "Ancestry - Sign In". www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
- ↑ "Gets Divorce". Napa Valley Register: 3. 1963-02-02.
- ↑ "Suzanne Gumm Cathcart (1915-1964) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
- ↑ "Mrs Sue Cathcart, 48, Judy Garland's Sister (Published 1964)". The New York Times. 1964-05-29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
External Links
Profile and photos on Ancestry
Biography (in German) on comedian-harmonists.net
Photo with Joe Sanders Orchestra at the Kansas City Public Library, digital archive
Photo with Mary Jane Gumm
Audio and Video
Sabre Dance: Jack Cathcart and his Continentals on Dailymotion
Ford Gold Star Jubilee: Judy Garland Special September 24,1955 on YouTube
Shower of Stars - Gold Records, December 1955 on Archive.org
Judy Garland and Jack Cathcart, "Carolina In The Morning", 1955 on YouTube
The Donkey Serenade, Comedian Harmonists, American Group on YouTube
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