Horace Heidt

Career

From 1932 to 1953, Heidt was a popular radio bandleader on NBC and CBS in various formats. He began on the NBC Blue Network in 1932 with Shell Oil's Ship of Joy and Answers by the Dancers. In the late 1930s on CBS he did Captain Dobbsie's Ship of Joy and Horace Heidt's Alemite Brigadiers, then returned to NBC for 1937–39 broadcasts, when the band featured guitarist Alvino Rey and The King Sisters. In 1936, he conducted an ensemble of eight harmonica players at the Drake Hotel in Chicago.

Singer Matt Dennis started with Heidt's band, and Art Carney served as the band's singing comedian. The band's recordings were highly successful: "Gone with the Wind" reached No. 1 in 1937, "Ti-Pi-Tin" hit No. 1 in 1938, and "The Man with the Mandolin" ranked No. 2 in 1939. He and his band played on the NBC Pot o' Gold radio show from 1939 to 1941. The 1941 film of the same title, produced by James Roosevelt and directed by George Marshall, starred James Stewart and Paulette Goddard and featured Heidt portraying himself with his band; Carney appears in some musical numbers.

From 1940 to 1944 he did Tums Treasure Chest, followed by 1943–45 shows on the Blue Network. Lucky Strike sponsored The American Way on CBS in 1953. Its first winner was accordionist Dick Contino; other discoveries included Dean Jones, Johnny Carson, Marlene Willis, Florence Henderson, Al Hirt, Dominic Frontiere, Richard Keith, Johnny Standley, Ralph Sigwald, Conley Graves, Dick Kerr, and Doodles Weaver.

Legacy

Heidt has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for radio at 1631 Vine Street and a second star for television at 6628 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2001, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. He developed an early apartment complex in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, called Horace Heidt's Magnolia Estates, a 10-acre community with apartments, swimming pools, a clubhouse, and a golf course, where many band members eventually retired.