![]() One of the major improvements was the addition of the Club Leviathan where “A special orchestra led by Ben Bernie will play for the club alone and other orchestras will play for the regular dancing program on the ship.”īen Bernie lost most of his fortune in the stock market crash. The headline in one of the columns in the Maissue of The New York Times proclaimed, “NIGHT CLUB ON LINER TO BE MODERNISTIC - Gayly Colored Decorations to Set Cabaret on Leviathan apart from Rest of Ship - SPECIAL ORCHESTRA HIRED.” The USS Leviathan was completely renovated for its voyage of April 22, 1930. He appeared in the Kit-Cat Club and returned to New York on November 28, 1929. In 1929, Ben Bernie went to Europe with his band. Pettis recorded five sides for Gennett with Jelly Roll Morton and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings on 17th and 18th July 1923. Levant can be seen with Ben Bernie and All The Lads in the 1925 De Forest Phonofilm “Sweet Georgia Brown” where Jack Pettis plays what may be the first jazz solo on film. ![]() He offered him a job and Levant joined the Ben Bernie Orchestra at the Roosevelt Hotel in the spring of 1925. Ben appeared as guest conductor and liked Levant’s musical abilities. The orchestra leader was Dave Bernie, one of Ben Bernie’s brothers. In early 1925, Oscar Levant was playing in a six-piece Society Orchestra at Ciro’s. Some of the musicians in Bernie’s band were saxophonist Jack Pettis, trumpeter Bill Moore, and pianist Oscar Levant. The band stayed for several years, and was replaced in 1929 by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians. In 1922 Ben organized his first band and was given a six-week contract at the opening of the Hotel Roosevelt on September 22, 1924. Back in New York, Ben Bernie teamed up with Phil Baker: they appeared in 1914-1918 as “Bernie and Baker.” From 1910 to 1914 he toured in the vaudeville circuit, first as a single, “The Eccentric Violinist,” then as a violin-accordion team, “The Fiddle-Up Boys” with Charles Krass. He studied engineering for three years in local colleges. At 15, he was teaching violin at the Mozart School of Music. He appeared at Carnegie Hall when he was 14 years old. In addition he states that he provides partial support for relatives, full support for his wife, and that he suffers of “spinal trouble.” Ben Bernie, in his draft registration card with his last name spelled Anzelovitz, gives New York, New York as his place of birth. His obituary in The New York Times tells us that he was born on Attorney Street, on the lower east side of New York City. Census for New York, Benjamin (last name, Anzelovitz) was born in Pennsylvania. Census for Bayonne, NJ, reports that Benjamin (last name spelled Anzeloert) was born in New Jersey. The family lived in Bayonne, NJ from 1897 to 1904. His parents, Julius and Anna, born in Russia, had eleven children. Ben Bernie, “The Old Maestro,” bandleader, composer (“Sweet Georgia Brown”), and radio personality, was born Benjamin Anzelevitz on May 30, 1891, probably in New York City.
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