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{{Short description|Ukrainian-American musician (1890–1970)}}
[[File:Phil Spitalny.jpg|220px|right]]
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Phil Spitalny
| image = Phil Spitalny.jpg
| background = non_performing_personnel
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1890|11|7}},
| birth_place = [[Tetiiv]], [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Ukraine]])
| death_date = {{death date and age|1970|10|11 |1890|11|7|mf=yes}}
| death_place = [[Miami Beach, Florida|Miami Beach]], Florida, U.S.
| genre = [[Jazz]]
| occupation = Musician, bandleader, composer
}}


'''Phil Spitalny''' (November 7, 1890, [[Tetiev]], [[Ukraine]] (territory of [[Russian Empire]]) – October 11, 1970, [[Miami Beach, Florida]]) was a musician, music critic, composer and bandleader heard often on radio during the 1930s/40s. He rose to fame after he brought together an orchestra with only female musicians, a novelty at the time.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0819120/ Phil Spitalny profile], imdb.com; accessed April 25, 2015.</ref>
'''Phil Spitalny''' (November 7, 1890 – October 11, 1970) was a Russian Empire-born American musician, music critic, composer, and bandleader heard often on radio during the 1930s and 1940s. He rose to fame after he led an all-female orchestra, a novelty at the time.


==Radio==
==Early years==
Spitalny was born into a Jewish family of musicians in [[Tetiiv]], [[Russian Empire]] and later was a student at the Odessa Conservatory of Music. A child prodigy on clarinet, he toured Russia and came to the United States in 1905<ref name="nyt" /> or 1906.<ref>{{cite news |title=Phil Spitalny |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103667506/phil-spitalny-1890-1970/ |work=The Californian |date=October 13, 1970 |location=Salinas, CA |page=8 |accessdate=June 13, 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>
On radio, Spitalny was introduced as ''Phil Spitalny and His All-Girl Orchestra'' featuring Evelyn and her Magic Violin. The magic violinist was Evelyn Kaye Klein, who used the professional name Evelyn Silverstone. She helped Spitalny find the women he needed to assemble his all-female orchestra. Together, they auditioned more than 1000 musicians in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh. {{citation needed|date=April 2015}}


==Orchestra==
Spitalny's 22-piece band was known as the ''Hour of Charm Orchestra'' during the time it appeared on the radio program, ''The Hour of Charm'', hosted by [[Arlene Francis]]. The program aired in various timeslots on CBS and NBC from 1934 to 1948, and sometimes invited famous guests, such as pianists [[Dana Suesse]] and [[Esther Allan]].<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Swing-Shift-ldquo-All-Girl-rdquo/dp/0822328178 Swing Shift : “All-Girl” Bands of the 1940s]</ref>
After playing with bands in Cleveland, Spitalny moved to Boston to direct the orchestra at a theater. Later, he returned to Cleveland, where he led his own orchestra, then went to New York to lead the orchestra at the Pennsylvania Hotel.<ref name="nyt" /> For two years, he conducted the orchestra at the [[Benedum Center|Stanley Theatre]] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<ref name="pp">{{cite news|last1=Monahan|first1=Kaspar|title=Girl Band Maestro Retires|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19792335/phil_spitalny/|work=The Pittsburgh Press|date=March 16, 1958|location=Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh|page=Amusements - 1|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|accessdate = May 3, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref>


He led orchestras under the name Phil Spitalny and His All-Girl Orchestra, beginning with [[Hour of Charm Orchestra]] on his radio program ''[[The Hour of Charm]]'' in 1934. Spitalny and [[Evelyn Kaye|Evelyn Kaye Klein]] auditioned over one thousand women to fill the twenty-two piece orchestra. Klein was the featured performer, a virtuoso violinist introduced as Evelyn and her Magic Violin. The program lasted for over ten years on radio. He and Klein married in 1946.<ref name="Eder">{{cite web|last1=Eder|first1=Bruce|title=Phil Spitalny|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/phil-spitalny-mn0001008311/biography|website=AllMusic|accessdate=1 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="Behrens2011">{{citation|last=Behrens|first=John|title=America's Music Makers: Big Bands & Ballrooms 1912–2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKgJNIaWn1IC&pg=PA36|accessdate=August 31, 2017|date=March 2011|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4567-2952-3|pages=36–}}</ref>
Spitalny and Evelyn Silverstone married in June 1946.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}


The orchestra made a guest appearance in the [[Abbott and Costello]] movie ''[[Here Come the Co-Eds]]'' in 1945.<ref name="Eder" /> Spitalny also appeared in ''[[When Johnny Comes Marching Home (film)|When Johnny Comes Marching Home]]'' (1942) and on Ed Sullivan's television program ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show|Toast of the Town]]''.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}
==Films and television==
Spitalny appeared in at least ten musical shorts and two features, ''When Johnny Comes Marching Home'' (1942) and ''[[Here Come the Co-Eds]]'' (1945). Between 1951 and 1953, he made three appearances on [[Ed Sullivan]]'s ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show|Toast of the Town]]''.


==Composer==
==Composing==
Spitalny wrote music with [[Gus Kahn]], jazz musician [[Lee Gordon|Lee "Stubby" Gordon]] and others.<ref>[http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/general_library/files/archives/collections/guides/latesthtml/MUM00682.html [[Sheldon Harris (music historian)|Sheldon Harris]] Sheet Music Collection, University of Mississippi Libraries], olemiss.edu; accessed April 25, 2015.</ref>
Spitalny wrote music with [[Gus Kahn]], jazz musician [[Lee Gordon (musician)|Lee “Stubby” Gordon]]<ref>[http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/general_library/files/archives/collections/guides/latesthtml/MUM00682.html][[Sheldon Harris (music historian)|Sheldon Harris]]<span> Sheet Music Collection, University of Mississippi Libraries</span> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322122151/http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/general_library/files/archives/collections/guides/latesthtml/MUM00682.html|date=2007-03-22}}, olemiss.edu; accessed April 25, 2015.</ref> His compositions include “Enchanted Forest”, “It's You, No One But You”, “Madelaine”, “Pining for You”, “Save the Last Dance for Me”, and “The Kiss I Can't Forget”.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|title=Phil Spitalny, Leader of All‐Girl Orchestra, Dies at 80|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/12/archives/phil-spitalny-leader-of-allgirl-orchestra-dies-at-80.html|accessdate=1 May 2018|work=The New York Times|date=October 12, 1970|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501233755/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/12/archives/phil-spitalny-leader-of-allgirl-orchestra-dies-at-80.html|archivedate=1 May 2018|location=New York, New York City}}</ref>


==Last years/death==
==Last years and death==
In retirement in Miami Beach, Spitalny was a music critic for a local Miami newspaper. He died of cancer in Miami Beach in 1970, aged 79, and is buried in the Tetiever section of Ridge Road Cemetery #2 in suburban [[Cleveland, Ohio]], with other members of his family.<ref>[http://www./tetiev/ridgeroad2table.htm Tetiever Sections Ridge Road No. 2 Cemetery Cleveland], shtetlinks.jewishgen.org; accessed April 25, 2015.</ref>
In retirement in Miami Beach, Spitalny was a music critic for a Miami newspaper. He died of cancer in Miami Beach in 1970 at the age of 79.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}


==Legacy==
Spitalny has a Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]].
Spitalny has a Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]].


==See also==
==See also==
*[[List of old-time radio people]]
*[[List of old-time American radio people]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==Listen to==
*[http://mikesnoise.typepad.com/noisepage/files/phil_spitalnys_music_nows_the_time_to_fall_in_loveafter_the_ball.mp3 Phil Spitalny: "Now's the Time to Fall in Love"]


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category|Phil Spitalny}}
*{{Find a Grave|22991}}
*{{Find a Grave|22991}}
* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110582 Phil Spitalny recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].
*[http://www.nfo.net/usa/s3.html#PS Big Bands Database]
*[http://archive.org/stream/radiotelevisionm00macf#page/n51/mode/2up Photos of some members of Spitalny's orchestra in Radio-TV Mirror magazine.]

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:1890 births]]
[[Category:1890 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
⚫
[[Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American jazz violinists]]
[[Category:American jazz violinists]]
[[Category:Male violinists]]
[[Category:Big band bandleaders]]
[[Category:RCA Victor artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American violinists]]
[[Category:Cancer deaths in Florida]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:American male composers]]
[[Category:20th-century violinists]]
[[Category:American music critics]]
⚫
[[Category:American male jazz musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]

Latest revision as of 20:37, 14 February 2024

Phil Spitalny
Background information
Born(1890-11-07)November 7, 1890,
Tetiiv, Russian Empire (now Ukraine)
DiedOctober 11, 1970(1970-10-11) (aged 79)
Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, bandleader, composer

Phil Spitalny (November 7, 1890 – October 11, 1970) was a Russian Empire-born American musician, music critic, composer, and bandleader heard often on radio during the 1930s and 1940s. He rose to fame after he led an all-female orchestra, a novelty at the time.

Early years

[edit]

Spitalny was born into a Jewish family of musicians in Tetiiv, Russian Empire and later was a student at the Odessa Conservatory of Music. A child prodigy on clarinet, he toured Russia and came to the United States in 1905[1] or 1906.[2]

Orchestra

[edit]

After playing with bands in Cleveland, Spitalny moved to Boston to direct the orchestra at a theater. Later, he returned to Cleveland, where he led his own orchestra, then went to New York to lead the orchestra at the Pennsylvania Hotel.[1] For two years, he conducted the orchestra at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[3]

He led orchestras under the name Phil Spitalny and His All-Girl Orchestra, beginning with Hour of Charm Orchestra on his radio program The Hour of Charm in 1934. Spitalny and Evelyn Kaye Klein auditioned over one thousand women to fill the twenty-two piece orchestra. Klein was the featured performer, a virtuoso violinist introduced as Evelyn and her Magic Violin. The program lasted for over ten years on radio. He and Klein married in 1946.[4][5]

The orchestra made a guest appearance in the Abbott and Costello movie Here Come the Co-Eds in 1945.[4] Spitalny also appeared in When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1942) and on Ed Sullivan's television program Toast of the Town.[citation needed]

Composing

[edit]

Spitalny wrote music with Gus Kahn, jazz musician Lee “Stubby” Gordon[6] His compositions include “Enchanted Forest”, “It's You, No One But You”, “Madelaine”, “Pining for You”, “Save the Last Dance for Me”, and “The Kiss I Can't Forget”.[1]

Last years and death

[edit]

In retirement in Miami Beach, Spitalny was a music critic for a Miami newspaper. He died of cancer in Miami Beach in 1970 at the age of 79.[citation needed]

Legacy

[edit]

Spitalny has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Phil Spitalny, Leader of All‐Girl Orchestra, Dies at 80". The New York Times. New York, New York City. October 12, 1970. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Phil Spitalny". The Californian. Salinas, CA. October 13, 1970. p. 8. Retrieved June 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Monahan, Kaspar (March 16, 1958). "Girl Band Maestro Retires". The Pittsburgh Press. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. p. Amusements - 1. Retrieved May 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b Eder, Bruce. "Phil Spitalny". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  5. ^ Behrens, John (March 2011), America's Music Makers: Big Bands & Ballrooms 1912–2011, AuthorHouse, pp. 36–, ISBN 978-1-4567-2952-3, retrieved August 31, 2017
  6. ^ [1]Sheldon Harris Sheet Music Collection, University of Mississippi Libraries Archived 2007-03-22 at the Wayback Machine, olemiss.edu; accessed April 25, 2015.
[edit]
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