
Paul Whiteman
Born
March 28, 1890
Died
December 29, 1967 (77 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Paul Whiteman began his musical career as a viola player for the San Francisco Symphony. He enlisted in the Navy during World War I, and his musical abilities resulted in the Navy putting him in charge of his own band. After the war he moved to New York in 1920, where he recorded his first hit, Whispering/The Japanese Sandman. It sold more than two million copies, making Whiteman was an instant star. In 1924 he introduced the George Gershwin classic Rhapsody in Blue, which became the band's signature song. Whiteman had the foresight to hire some of the best jazz musicians of the era, including Red Nichols, Frankie Trumbauer, Tommy Dorsey and Bix Beiderbecke. Bing Crosby got his start with Whiteman in 1929, in a trio called the Rhythm Boys. Whiteman's band continued its run into the 1930s, but toward the end of the decade their popularity began to wane, and in the early 1940s Whiteman took a job as musical director for the American Broadcasting Co., a position he kept into the '60s. He would put together his band every so often during that period, and in the early 1960s they even managed to secure engagements in Las Vegas, after which Whiteman retired.
Date of Birth 28 March 1890, Denver, Colorado, USA
Date of Death 29 December 1967, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, USA (heart attack)
Known For
The Big Party
Self · (1 episode)
1959
America's Greatest Bands
(14 episodes)
1955

The Golden Twenties
Self (archive footage)
1950
The Lambertville Story
Paul Whiteman
1949

The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (1 episode)
1948

The Fabulous Dorseys
Paul Whiteman
1947

Rhapsody in Blue
Paul Whiteman
1945

Atlantic City
Himself
1944

Birth of the Blues
Self (archive footage)
1941

Strike Up the Band
Paul Whiteman
1940

Hollywood Hotel
Producer at Callahan's Drive In (uncredited)
1938

Thanks a Million
Himself - Bandleader
1935

I Know Everybody and Everybody's Racket
Self / Orchestra Leader (as Paul Whiteman and Orchestra)
1933

Broadway Gossip No.2
1932

My Pal Paul
Himself
1930

King of Jazz
Paul Whiteman
1930
The Voice of Hollywood No. 3
Himself
1930

London
1927