Ben Bernie

Biography

From Wikipedia

Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 23, 1943), born Bernard

Anzelevitz, was an American jazz violinist and radio personality, often

introduced as The Old Maestro. He was noted for his showmanship and memorable

bits of snappy dialogue.

Bernie was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. By the age of 15 he

was teaching violin, but this experience apparently diminished his interest in

the violin for a time. He returned to music doing vaudeville, appearing with

Phil Baker as Baker and Bernie, but he met with little success until 1922 when

he joined his first orchestra. Later, he had his own band, "The

Lads," seen in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound short, Ben Bernie and

All the L...