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Harry James‌

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1916-03-15

Popularity

star3.5

Harry James

Albany, Georgia, USA

Harry James

Albany, Georgia, USA

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1916-03-15

Popularity

star3.5

Biography

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.

Movie Credits

The Ladies Man

The Ladies Man‌
star6.4
calendar 1961

Springtime in the Rockies

Springtime in the Rockies‌
star6.7
calendar 1942

Hollywood Hotel

Hollywood Hotel‌
star5.4
calendar 1938

Showbiz Goes to War

Showbiz Goes to War‌
star10.0
calendar 1982

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall‌
star5.2
calendar 1947

Do You Love Me

Do You Love Me‌
star4.3
calendar 1946

If I'm Lucky

If I'm Lucky‌
star6.5
calendar 1946

Swing Fever

Swing Fever‌
star5.0
calendar 1943

I'll Get By

I'll Get By‌
star5.5
calendar 1950

The Shining Future

The Shining Future‌
star4.0
calendar 1944

Two Girls and a Sailor

Two Girls and a Sailor‌
star5.7
calendar 1944

Bathing Beauty

Bathing Beauty‌
star5.8
calendar 1944

Outlaw Queen

Outlaw Queen‌
star0.0
calendar 1957

Best Foot Forward

Best Foot Forward‌
star6.0
calendar 1943

The Opposite Sex

The Opposite Sex‌
star5.2
calendar 1956

Private Buckaroo

Private Buckaroo‌
star4.9
calendar 1942

Too Many Girls

Too Many Girls‌
star5.7
calendar 1940

Syncopation

Syncopation‌
star6.8
calendar 1942

On Our Merry Way

On Our Merry Way‌
star5.5
calendar 1948

The Sting II

The Sting II‌
star4.6
calendar 1983

That's Entertainment! III

That's Entertainment! III‌
star6.9
calendar 1994

How to Marry a Millionaire

How to Marry a Millionaire‌
star6.8
calendar 1953

The All-Star Bond Rally

The All-Star Bond Rally‌
star5.0
calendar 1945

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II‌
star6.8
calendar 1976

This Is Bob Hope...

This Is Bob Hope...‌
star8.0
calendar 2017

L'empreinte rouge

L'empreinte rouge‌
star0.0
calendar 1937

Swing Fever

Swing Fever‌
star5.0
calendar 1943

Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years

Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years‌
star0.0
calendar 1979

The Benny Goodman Story

The Benny Goodman Story‌
star6.4
calendar 1956

Tv Credits

The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour

The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour‌
star8.8
calendar 1957

The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show‌
star6.5
calendar 1948

Cavalcade of Bands

Cavalcade of Bands‌
star0.0
calendar 1950

The Hollywood Palace

The Hollywood Palace‌
star4.5
calendar 1964

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show‌
star4.0
calendar 1956

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson‌
star7.4
calendar 1962

The Mike Douglas Show

The Mike Douglas Show‌
star4.8
calendar 1961

The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show‌
star6.5
calendar 1948

What's My Line?

What's My Line?‌
star6.6
calendar 1950